LOCAL TREASURES

 

                   

Finding Local Treasures

I went on a bicycle ride the other day. I had no particular route in mind and no particular area in which I needed to be. I just needed to be outside, in the fresh air, to see, feel, hear and smell the beauty of Spring. It was 20 degrees Celsius.

When I got to Osprey Village in Pitt Meadows, I sat on a bench along the river’s edge. The Fraser River is an arterial passage that flows from the Rocky Mountains in eastern British Columbia, north and west to the City of Prince George, before meandouring south, through many, many villages and towns, to its delta at the Pacific Ocean, a few kilometers from where I was sitting. It is the longest river in British Columbia.

The mighty Fraser was the fur trade route and an ideal base for forts when conquering or claiming land was prevalent. It provides easy transportation for mill logs, work for tugboat, beachcomber and barge operators, fish for fishers and sustenance for our Indigenous communities along the 1400 km route. It has been designated a Canadian Heritage River. I only seem to remember all of that when I sit there and ponder.

As I turn to look at whatever is happening behind me, I see a steady stream of people flow into a multipurpose building. I decide to lock up my bicycle and have a look.

Turns out there is a new exhibition in the Pitt Meadows Art Gallery on the main floor. It’s free so I go inside.

Local Pitt Meadows artist Liz Boulton is proudly sharing her vast array of artistic mediums: water colours, acrylics, clay work, and fabric pieces. 

Her imagination springs from her life experiences, her pride in creativity from imagination, curiosity and moments that have shaped her life. Her work is incredible and her passion is very real. You can easily see it and feel it by just being in that room, but it was especially powerful during my conversation with her that day. This is a very worthwhile field trip for one and all, and it runs until June 21.

As I leave the building and wander over to the seasonal ice cream parlour, I look back at the Fraser and remember when my youthful years had no interest in knowing things like that. Clearly my brain carried the information forward for me to appreciate  now. 

The same can be said about art. It just wasn’t “my thing” in my younger years as I wandered through the Louvre, the Rijks, the Prado and the Uffizi. I just wanted to be on a beach! When I studied art history in university, that all changed. 

As they say, life is all about living. There is a time and place for everything, eventually … for some of us discoveries come later when all the other things are no longer pulling or pushing! Finding them right here close to home is even more appealing.