Author Samantha Adkins, composer and musician Cindy Fairbank, and textile and visual artist Sarah Haxby are preparing a special evening of readings, music, and art on Saturday, March 25 from 7 to 9 pm at the Hearth Gallery, with the generous support of The Hearth Gallery and Bowen Island Municipality.
The event is called 'Sampler' and will be an evening of bite-sized music, stories, and stitchery shared by the trio of talented Bowen Islanders.
Samantha will be reading from her recently published novel, Enough, an historical fiction work written in parallel narratives telling the stories of Elrica Braun, a painter and pastor’s wife living through the Depression and World War II, and her granddaughter Caroline Williams, a pianist and pastor’s wife living in 2018.
The novel explores the importance of creativity. While writing her novel, Adkins dreamed of releasing her work in the company of other artists.
Artist-Teacher Cindy Fairbank moved to Bowen Island from Toronto, Ontario with her family in 2014. Cindy received her degree in Jazz Performance (piano) at McGill University, a Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto, and is currently working towards her master’s degree in arts education at Simon Fraser University.
Cindy has shared her love of music, band, and choir with the students of Bowen Island Community School for the last eight years while pursuing her own performance, recording, and creative projects, including collaborations with local Canadian musicians Shari Ulrich, David Graff, Christie Grace, Buff Allen, and John Stiver. She also released her Jazz Album, Imaginaries.
Sarah Haxby received a BA at Emily Carr University and a Master’s Degree in Art and Art History from the University of Wales and is a talented multi-media visual artist, writer, and is a community school coordinator. She will be presenting textiles inspired by historical practices as well as other art collections.
“My work is hand-drawn on to the surface of the canvas using vintage, new and reclaimed threads. I juxtapose and overlap ideas of high and low brow art by placing needlework in the realm of fine art and the traditional painted surface - with a sense of humor and detail... that is best conveyed by experiencing the work in person. My work seeks to be wry in a Canadian fashion,” says Haxby. Every artwork has a story behind it.
The three artists all find inspiration in their family histories. They plan to weave their individual music, written and textile story threads together throughout the evening with a special surprise collaboration at the end.
The trio of talents are calling their event 'Sampler', a small decorative piece of needlework, a collection, or assortment. There is no charge to attend this event.
