Mentorship can play a powerful role in an artist’s journey, and on Wednesday, September 23 our Grade 10s had the opportunity to learn from some seasoned experts on a day trip to Galiano Island. It was a beautiful, sunny day full of learning and immersing themselves in storytelling, as well as meeting a few special guests along the way.
Printing Perfection
Before the field trip, each student carved a 3×5 inches linocut block inspired by the theme Flora and Fauna: Land, Sea, or Air. This theme was provided to them by Dr. Kit Grauer and Mr. Peter Scurr, retired art teachers who the students would be meeting on the island.
Each year Dr. Grauer and Mr. Scurr put out a theme to the art teacher community, where everyone is invited to volunteer a block to a communal art print, a project that Ms. Mehrer has been participating in since 2012.
Once on the island, the students brought our blocks to Dr. Grauer and Mr. Scurr’s home and printing studio, located right on the oceanfront. This visit was an extra special privilege for the students as Dr. Grauer and Mr. Scurr are dear friends of Ms. Mehrer, who was a former student of Dr. Grauer at UBC. The students enjoyed meeting their “teacher’s teacher.”
Under Mr. Scurr’s instruction, students learned how to properly ink their blocks and produce clean prints. While taking shifts in the studio, others spent time drawing from life in the yard, with several students climbing up to a tree platform to sketch the surrounding views, eclectic cabin and local plant life.
Ms. Mehrer will arrange a time to pick up the finished work in the future, at which point each student will receive a copy of their communal art print as a memento of the experience and their work.
Learning from Indigenous Perspectives
Following a lunch break, the students walked to the Yellowhouse Art Centre for a special viewing and artist talk by Galiano Indigenous leader and artist Rosemary Georgeson.
Ms. Georgeson spoke about her exhibition Islanders II: Galiano Arrival and Survival Stories, which explores the relationships between settlers and Indigenous peoples on Galiano.
Two years ago, our art students saw Part 1 of the exhibit The Water we call Home, which focused on contemporary Indigenous history. This current exhibition, Part 2, highlights the stories of settlers who made Galiano their home in the 1960s and 1970s.
It was a beautiful honouring of the community, and our students engaged deeply, asking thoughtful questions and sketching their own ideas about what home and heritage mean to them. Ms. Mehrer looks forward to returning for Part 3 in a couple of years, which will explore the generations that followed and how these cultures intertwined.
Takeaways to Bring Home
Overall, the trip highlighted how art builds and enhances community, whether through creating together or appreciating shared stories.
“Art enriches our personal and collective lives whenever we have the opportunity to gather and share ideas, a value I hope our students carry with them no matter what path they choose after high school.”
—Ms. Mehrer
And to top off a gorgeous day, the students were even treated to the sight of a pod of humpback whales from the ferry!
