It has been a 40-year tradition for Mel Bolen and Karen Holden.
And once again they opened their North Star studio and gallery to the public for the Mother’s Day Weekend open house on May 12 and 13.
Visitors could view and buy the paintings and pottery that were scattered across every surface of the renovated church, watch demonstrations from Bolen’s pottery wheel, and listen to music provided by Michelle and Kevin Ackerman.
Everything culminating into a cultural exploration, says Holden.
Every piece of work has a story, she says, with most of her paintings coming from a 150 kilometre radius of their studio.
“It’s endless the inspiration here. People drive through a prairie and not really see it but it’s subtle and it’s got its rich beauty.”
Even with a different medium, Bolen says he feels the same inspiration for his pottery. Both from a microscopic and macroscopic view of Saskatchewan, far away sights of fields, stones and sloughs, and microscopic designs of lichen and moss on rock and trees, inspirt Bolen.
“You can walk out onto the prairies here and you can take a far away look at things and see the landscapes and see the texture of the fields, sloughs, and bluffs. And then you can zoom right in and see the lichen, the colours, the tropical
moss that grows around the feet of aspen trees.
Feedback is another important reason the two artists open themselves up to the public, says Bolen, and there is no better feedback than people purchasing and piece of art and supporting their careers.
“There’s really no greater comment on your work than that stamp of approval of purchase or just picking it up and holding it and saying this reminds me of this,” he says.
Opening up their work spaces, as well as their gallery space, means a whole different level of discussion, says both Bolen and Holden.
People get curious about his pottery, says Bolen, with questions about materials, firing, and how he gets the looks to his pottery.
For Holden, she looks forward to people calling her over and discussing a painting, whether or not they purchase it for themselves.
“They tell you the story of what it makes them feel like, whether it brings them back to their childhood or takes to the lake scene.”
While Holden and Bolen have spent 42 years making history within their North Star space, they are making plans to sell and downsize their lives.
They will still be part of the community, reassures Bolen, they will just being doing their work in a smaller space.
With the church being up for sale, Holden hopes that another artist moves in and can keep the space as a cultural hub.
