The Cold Lake Visual Arts Society (CLVAS)’s Mothers Day Art Show is back.
The society has offered the annual event throughout most of its 25-year history but missed the past couple of years because of pandemic health concerns. This year’s show will be Friday May 12 and Saturday May 13 at the Cold Lake Seniors Society hall.
Finished works will be on display, and most will be available for purchase. There will be a Mothers Day card activity for children on Saturday, and also a live demonstration with artist Svala Dunn showing how she creates a painting.
Svala’s daughter Linda is president of the society. She says art is something anyone can learn at any age, and the process has benefits for those coping with a stressful world.
“It’s something that really helps people cope with other aspects of life,” she said. “Making art is very meditative—you just get into the zone and you forget everything around you and you just create. And it really helps people cope with stress and with any kind of problems they have in their lives.”
And despite what some people might think, innate talent is not a prerequisite. For everyone who wants to learn, there are people willing to teach.
“Anyone can learn it. The important part is to have the idea and the desire to make art,” Dunn said. CLVAS offers classes for anyone looking to get started or to pick up where they might have left off.
“It doesn’t matter what walk of life you’re from. We’ve had teachers, we’ve had mathematicians and engineers. Join in and start making art,” she said.
CLVAS has hosted paint nights, where people gather to create their own picture in a group setting. According to Dunn, many participants come away with their insecurities and intimidation factor washed away.
“A lot of people are a lot better than they ever expected they would be. We’ve had tea parties with senior citizens who have never picked up a paintbrush in their life, and they’re doing fine. And having a lot of fun while they’re doing it,” she said.
And that can lead to a lifetime of creative recreation.
“Once you have the bug,” Dunn says, “it never really leaves.”
