We offer local Arts & Crafts in a warm and inviting atmosphere. Sit and enjoy a delicious cup of coffee or tea and nibble on a home-made cookie or locally made pastry
I’m going to be reading from my new book “All Roads at Any Time” this Friday May 24 from 2pm until about 3:30pm, at Shavasana Gallery & Café on Mayne Island.
I’m planning on reading one story from my book, then taking a short break to give everyone a chance to grab a coffee or tea while I field any questions that may arise.
Following this, I’d like to read a new short story that I wrote recently called, “The Panic Attack” which will – hopefully – make it’s way into Volume 2 – the follow-up book of story stories that I am currently working on. After this we’ll stop for a little Q & A session.
As a self-published author I can also field any questions that the audience may have about the self-publishing process and what to expect after that…writing and publishing are – as I am discovering – the first 2 steps in a rather long and circuitous journey (but…it’s worth it! 😅)
OK, I might be a little optimistic to call them “summer hours” when, as I write this on April 30, it’s only 8 degrees outside, overcast and threatening rain…but I’m optimistic!
The Fall/Winter/Spring-ish season was good, managed to keep the hearth fires alive by coming over once or twice each month to open up, stir the embers, throw another log on the flames, and visit with my Mayne Island chums. The slower season also gave me more time to hang out with my partner Cathy, and with my Vancouver family, which includes my new grandson Mateo…he’s a cutie!
Mateo slurping a popsicle on a recent visit to Saltspring Island
May is also the beginning of our new show at Shavasana Gallery…the show is called “Island Eclectic” and features 9 of Mayne Islands most talented & creative artists. I am thrilled to be hosting & exhibiting their assembled brilliance😎…here’s a poster made recently by one of their talented lot – Bill Maylone – which will give you further details:
As mentioned at the outset, I am beginning my summer hours this weekend, so likely won’t be posting as much on this website or social media unless there is a change in my days/hours, or an event to announce (we are expecting to have a “Meet the Artist Night” on June 14…details to come) So, until further notice:
Hours of Operation:
Saturday 9am – 4pm
Sunday 10:15 – 4pm
Monday 9am – 4pm
Please come on by for a coffee or tea and a chance to view the 30+ pieces we have assembled for this show!😄
I’m just making arrangements to open Shavasana Gallery Café for what is, ostensibly, the last weekend of my slower Winter/Fall/Early Spring season. If my previous weekend over on Mayne for the “Made on Mayne” event was any indicator (Mar. 29 – Apr.1) it’s going to be a very busy “Summer Season” which, for me, runs May through October.
The current show, 9 of Mayne Islands most talented artists, in no particular order: Bill Maylone, Linda Church, Ranjeet Dhaliwal, Dell Maxwell, Stephen Cropper, Tina Farmilo, Jodie Waldie, Famous Empty Sky, and Robbin Yager (and I’ve thrown in a few of my pieces in an act of unabashed self-promotion🤣)
Shavasana Gallery has become a little cultural hub (if I may say so myself) with art, crafts, hot coffee, spirited conversations, and Monday afternoon jam sessions. A large part of the joy I receive when I open up my shop is visits by friends & off-island visitors who drop in – (kids and dogs – and yes, sometimes cats – are always welcome, and add their own brand of joy to an already happy mix…there are treats!)
Esnie Shum & Joseph Loh hanging out with the Smith grandkids
Hours of Operation:
Sat. April 20. 9am – 4pm
Sunday Apr. 21, 10:15am – 4pm
Monday Apr. 22, 9am – 4pm
Please drop by for a coffee and a chance to view all the beautiful art!
Dear Friends…It’s Sunday March 24th and I’m sitting at my local Starbucks in Kitsilano – getting ready for my annual Just Push Play Theatre Society AGM https://justpushplayaudiomotion.wordpress.com/ (our 35th I believe) – and taking a little time, in what appears to be a very busy week coming up, to announce the “soft opening” of my new 2024 season at Shavasana Gallery & Café (my 11th!)
I’m coming over to participate in the bi-annual “Made on Mayne” event which is a really cool celebration of all things, “made on Mayne”…art, crafts, clothing, food – beer!…you name it, if it’s made on Mayne Island – we celebrate it, with a well-organized tour of all the local studios, shops, roadside stands, businesses & more! It’s a fun & informative couple of days with maps, websites & posters (thank you Arts on Mayne! https://www.artsontheislands.org/mayne.html ) and is definitely worth checking out👍
I’m changing my format this year – rather than the 4 or 5 rotating shows I’ve had in previous years (1 artist for 1 month) , I’ll be welcoming 5 new artists (Robbin Yagger, Linda Church, Ranjeet Dhaliwal, Dell Maxwell, and Stephen Cropper)and 4 returning artists (Famous Empty Sky, Bill Maylone, Tina Farmilo, and Jody Waldie) to join me for the Made on Mayne event, with the option to leave their art up or change it – as they see fit – throughout my May to October season. We are planning on having a “Meet the Artists” night sometime in June, the details of which are still to be determined, this may be followed-up with some kind of closing party at the end of season…also TBD.
I’m looking forward to hosting you all at next weekends “Made on Mayne Crawl”…drop in for a coffee and a chance to check out the fabulous talent we’ll be exhibiting!
It’s Sunday, Feb. 25th and I’m sitting in one of my neighbourhood cafés, on Broadway in Vancouver, just penning a few words to let you know that I am planning on opening the Gallery Café this coming weekend. Despite my commitment to my slow season, which allows me to spend more time with my partner Cathy in Kitsilano, I always miss Mayne Island, my little island business, and all the lovely people that I call my friends, and who make up the broader community there.
One thing I absolutely love about running my little gig on Mayne, are the oft-times unique and enriching experiences that I have there. When I was over, earlier in February, my friend Peter brought his friend Adam in for a coffee. Adam saw my little window table – which looks out over Active Pass and where I do
some of my own creative work – and noticed my collection of paintbrushes. “Are those your brushes?” he asked. “Yes,” I replied. “Do you have any paints?” he continued, “and canvases?” “I do, but I haven’t used them in a while so I’m not sure of their condition.” “Well, if you give me a canvas & some paints, I’ll paint you a picture.”
Thrilled by this offer – and curious to see what Adam had in mind – I hauled out my collection of paints and a canvas and let him have at it. He went right to work and within half an hour produced the above image.
Adam is an Ojibway resident of a small reserve on the shores of Lake Nippigon, and produced this image of a “Bondabée” (sp?) which is a being that his mother and her brother saw many years ago, when they were young, crawl out of Lake Nippigon and up onto the stairs of their local church. She described it as part man, part woman, and part mermaid. Anyway, as mentioned, these moments are – for me – pure gold. If you’d like to see the Bondabée, it’s on the wall at Shavasana winking at you as you walk in the front door…come on down!
After a rather long and unexpected hiatus, Shavasana Gallery & Café will be re-opening this coming weekend from Saturday Feb. 10, to Monday Feb. 12 9am til 4pm (except Sunday 10:15 til 4).
My intentions to open up in January, were thwarted by 2 weekends of snow and cold, and, that second winter wallop with temperatures below -12, wound up bursting some pipes requiring the honest & hardworking plumber, David Rae, to come around and work his magic. Long story short, I was unable to open up on my third weekend attempt in January until Dave got the wet stuff running again.
All is well now, and water – that essential ingredient for a good cup of coffee – will be flowing through the new pipes and taps again.
We had a lovely Art Opening on Friday Aug 25, with a well-attended appreciative crowd, enjoying Deborah’s beautiful selection of coloured-pencil drawings of Birds.
Black Oystercatcher, Great Horned Owl, Song Sparrow, House Wren, Kinglet and Swallow (click on the third photo to see a Kingfisher and a Downy Woodpecker)
Over the last several days since the Opening, I’ve had many guests drop in to admire Deborah’s exhibit, and some have compared her work to that of James Fenwick Lansdowne, and even John James Audubon – both of whom had a fascination with birds and an uncanny ability to capture them using only watercoulours, oils and – in Deborah’s case – coloured pencil on illustration board and clayboard cradled panel.
Yellow-Rumped Warbler (click on the photo to see a pair of Goldeneye Ducks, a Chickadee and House Wren), Swallows, Pileated Woodpecker, and Great Grey Owl
It seems that everyone has a favourite bird, or a fondness for a particular encounter with a feathered friend, which has been driving sales of particular bird species. I became fond of House Wrens when I put up a wooden bird box on the back of Shavasana Gallery about 7 years ago, which was promptly occupied by a little wren family who returned annually for many years to have their babies. In this exhibit, Deborah’s depictions of birds are species she has witnessed locally (with the exception of the Great Grey Owl).
Young Barred Owl, “The Watering Hole” with 9 different species of bird…and Deborah! On hanging day having some fun placing all the art with yours truly😊
Deborah’s show, “Feather and Bone” runs until October 1st – Don’t Miss It!
Here’s a short story I wrote several years ago, about how young, self-absorbed drunks on a bus could have inadvertently added fuel to the revolutionary fires that were building – in pre-revolutionary Iran. And a review of Joseph Synn Kune Loh’s exhibit, “Who Am I” by Bill Maylone…click the attached link for the podcast:
I just wanted to send out a quick note to let people know that my new book, “All Roads at Any Time” is now on the shelves of Mayne Islands best bookstore – Books on Mayne! The ever-wonderful Gail Noonan has agreed to stock my little book of short stories, which is a blessing as I am not open throughout the Christmas season and am thrilled that it at least has a venue through which to be purchased🙏
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas & a healthy, happy & peaceful New Year. Sorry I can’t be over there this holiday season to share in the festivities with you❤️
Yes, Christmas is now officially less than a month away😱 I’m not sure how it’s possible that I’ve allowed myself to be busier now – in my “off season” – than I was during my regular May – October “summer season” (which also happened to be my busiest year yet at the Gallery) but here I am at 7pm Monday night, at a Starbucks in Kitsilano…updating my website to let everyone know about my upcoming weekend Hours of Operation.
I’m rambling…probably a little too caffeinated, which goes with the territory when one spends too much time in coffee shops doing online work😆. Anyways, I hope you are all well and that I have a chance to see you when I’m over on Mayne this weekend, and the coffee is hot and the Open sign is up👍
Hours of Operation:
Friday Dec. 1, 9am – 4pm
Saturday Dec 2, 9am – 4pm
Sunday Dec. 3, 10:15 – 2:30ish (leaving early to attend the Noonan/Heshedahl/Jackson concert at the Church)
Art Gallery & Café 