Gregg Simpson and I have teamed up to share with Bowen Island a “non-collaborative collaboration” at the Cove Commons from October 24 to November 18. The opening reception, which includes a book launch, is from 3 to 5 pm on Sunday, October 28. Everyone is welcome.
“Pastel Journals,” the exhibition of pastels and works on paper by Gregg Simpson features a selection of work he completed while on the road. Although not consciously intended as a travel diary, the works document Gregg’s travels in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands. The West Coast is also represented in several torn paper works and three large, organic abstracts that reflect elements of our local environment.
The opening reception for “Pastel Journals” includes the launch of Pastel & Pen: Travels in Europe, a book that pairs my writing with Gregg Simpson’s pastels. Some of the works exhibited in the exhibition are also included in Pastel & Pen(but not all.)
My collection of vignettes, flash fiction, comic memories and short stores are paired with a selection of Gregg’s pastel drawings down over the past 27 years. The relationship between each writing piece and each pastel is symbiotic. Sometimes, I wrote a piece in direct response to one of Gregg’s pastels and at other times, I wrote a piece in isolation and then matched it with a complementary pastel. Pastel & Pen celebrates the joy of creation that Gregg and I experienced as a direct result of responding to the world in their separate ways—I with words and Gregg with chalk and oil pastels.
Pastel & Pen also includes a piece by our daughter Julia Simpson. Entitled “View from the Back Seat,” the piece presents Julia’s point of view as a nine-year-old sharing the family adventures.
Carol will do a reading at the launch and refreshments will be served.
I am also offering a writing workshop “Eat, Drink, Write” on Tuesday, November 6 at 7:30 p.m. at the Gallery to go along with the “Pastel Journals” exhibition and the launch of Pastel & Pen.Travelers and dreamers and anyone who loves to write can join me for a socially creative evening to explore ways to use writing to create space for processing experiences and uncovering new insights. In this fun, two-hour workshop, I will guide participants through a series of writing activities to help them capture the sights, tastes, smells and sounds that stimulate them and explore how to immerse and entertain readers with their experiences. No experience required. Treats and a glass of wine (or beverage of choice) is included in this no-pressure environment.
