The Arts Station will be the temporary home for work by Sharlene Czeh and Ilona Webster starting on May 26. The exhibit, titled “A Life Without Dreams is like Having a Garden Without Flowers” will feature acrylic work from Czeh and mosaic art from Webster.
Czeh is Webster’s daughter-in-law, and says the two have a strong working relationship.
“We get along great and have lots in common,” said Czeh. “We do lots together and it works well.”
Czeh works with acrylic paints, but adds a little flair in the form of feathers, flowers and other additions that brings her art to life.
“I am really drawn to flowers, feathers and hearts. I concentrate on my flowers.”
According to Czeh, most of her inspiration for her art comes for her imagination. Czeh’s art often has a different style from other artists because of the focus and detail of her work.
“It is just something I come up with. I love looking at other artists and seeing their style. Mine is a little different. I put a little bit of detail into mine and it just comes from the top of my head. I am drawn to those things and it some how just comes out in my painting.”
While Czeh is not new to painting, only recently has she picked up the brushes more regularly, saying she has painted for a long time but started painting regularly over the last year. The two biggest reasons for becoming a regular painter was her youngest starting school and her mother-in-law’s painting classes.
“I took a couple of painting classes with Ilona. I knew I always wanted to paint, I just couldn’t fit the time in,” she said. “I just started again, my youngest went to school so I really wanted to try it and put some time into it again.”
While her painting has picked up only recently, she has been selling jewellery under the pseudonym Jewellery Junkie and has been with the Arts Co-op for some time.
“I work at the Arts Co-op and I sell copper jewellery. For seven years I have done that under the name Jewellery Junkie. I have been doing the markets around town and craft fairs and in the Co-op, I have my jewellery there. I have mainly been doing that, I just wanted to try painting again,” she said.
The Co-op has exposed her to the artistic culture and talent that is in Fernie.
“It is a great community to be an artist in. I think there is lots of creative energy in this town. I think it is a great place to be an artist because there are so many [artists] around.”
Czeh and Webster’s art will be displayed at the Arts Station until mid-June.