Sointula Art Shed Interview, Virtual Residency, May 2020
1. Can you tell me a bit about the history and location of the Art Shed?
The Art Shed is located in both a shed and a cottage beside our home in downtown Sointula BC. The studio artists in residence work in is in the shed, and they stay in the cottage right next door. Our house is on the other side of the shed, so we have three buildings all in a row, quite close to the road, facing our backyard and the ocean, and the east side of northern Vancouver Island across from us.
The cottage evidently used to be a float home, maybe used in logging camps. Then it was towed to land here on Malcolm Island, and eventually the former owners of our place towed it up to this property - I think to be a suite for one of their parents. Lots of people in town have stories of grandparents and friends who used to live in it.
I’m not sure when the Shed was built, but it looked like it was used to repair and store nets. That’s a big thing here, repairing fishing nets - it’s kind of beautiful to watch, though when I tried it, it was really tricky! But I love it aesthetically, and I love all the shades of blue and green the nets come in... did you know they are dyed to match the waters they will be fished in? So cool.
Then our house was evidently added on to a zillion times, but we heard the original house was a small farmhouse with an attic upstairs with a loom!
Home, Art Shed, Residency Cabin
2. How did the idea of the Art Shed residency develop and how has it been as an endeavour?
Tyler and I have both had a lot of really great “art world” type experiences in terms of us both having shown our work lots, and we’ve both built a lot of wonderful relationships that came from that world, etc...so we don’t really have any sour grapes in that regard, but I think we have both found ourselves really yearning for conversations and lives outside of that world, too, which can get a bit insular.
So, it makes sense for us to live away from larger art centres, and it makes sense for us to find work that isn’t necessarily arts related...neither of us have ever been the sort of artists who make art inspired by the art world or art theory, you know? I have many friends who do, and I can enjoy and respect that art, but it’s not where we are at. So, stepping out a bit sideways from that world wasn’t really all that difficult for us in lots of ways.
The great thing for us is that our residency brings a wide variety of art worlds to us...so we haven’t left that world behind, we’ve just created a new relationship with it. And then within our residency, we continue to prioritize working with a wide variety of artists from a wide variety of art worlds. We really didn’t want to bring any of the competitive vibe that can be felt in some art worlds up here with us, and I think one way to avoid that is to keep accepting artists at all stages of their careers, and artists who work in any and all kinds of ways.
And honestly, in all these years of running our residency here, and the one we used to run in SK, it’s extremely rare that we pick up on any competitive vibes from the artists who come here. The vast majority of our experiences have been incredibly positive, and have resulted in true friendships that we both treasure. We are truly inspired by so much of what the artists who come here do...it’s just a total joy getting to know them and their art.
3. What’s the philosophy or mission statement of the Art Shed?
We really want to build relationships within this community and beyond. We are interested in the various dynamics that arise when artists from other places come and spend a month here interacting with this community, place, and landscape, and we love helping to facilitate those relationships. With our Window Gallery, for example, we show someone local for the first part of the month, and then we show the artist in residence (if they want). So, it’s important to us that we aren’t just highlighting interesting work by folks from elsewhere, but that we are also highlighting interesting work by folks from here.
We dislike any art world vibes that are elitist, and strive to create a welcoming atmosphere where anyone making any sort of art can feel welcome and inspired. Over time a series of really compelling conversations have evolved...also, all the artists who come here connect to this place and these people differently, and that’s always fascinating to us. And the artists who come here sometimes make deep connections with people we are less close to, which is also great...it’s one of the many ways the residency hugely enriched our lives and adds greatly to our experience of living here.
We truly feel honoured when artists apply to our residency, when we get their applications and see the thought and care they have put into the idea of coming here, and that they are going to find the time and money to make it happen really does feel like an honour. We understand what it’s like to be a struggling artist, and we don’t take it for granted, you know? We try to honour that back by being as generous as we can with our time and energy - we put a lot into the artists who come here, and it always feels very worth it. Honestly, we are both so grateful for our residency, it makes for a very interesting life!
Sointula Art Shed, Window gallery
4. How would you describe the aesthetic of the Art Shed?
With both the studio and cottage we wanted them to feel cozy and homey, so artists could feel right at home as soon as possible. The cottage in particular is full of things we like, and that we feel make a home feel cozy. We both like hand-made objects, and especially love all the incredible art that can be found at thrift stores - things that come with a bit of history, and a bit of a story. I guess it’s kind of a cozy, folksy, artsy grannie aesthetic.
5. What’s the most coveted/precious object in the Art Shed?
We really love everything we put in the cottage - the books, the records, the VHS collection, the art, the cups, etc - but one of our very favorite things is a tambourine we got at our favourite thrift shop in SK - the Good Neighbour in Humboldt. This tambourine has some stories to tell. It is very banged up and has duct tape all over it, and a bunch of the metal tines were replaced by flattened metal Pilsner bottle caps. That resourcefulness and DIY spirit are totally the sort of thing Tyler and I love most. I remember when Tyler found that tambourine in The Good Neighbour - we couldn’t believe how lucky we were to find such an amazing thing.
Special things - tambourine from The Good Neighbour
But almost every little thing in there has a story - like the floral towels we thrifted in SK, or the ceramic mugs we’ve thrifted and also bought from various artists, and the record collection is also very special...etc.
5. How has the Art Shed been described by previous residents?
Cozy and charming, comfortable.
6. If the Art Shed had a theme song what would it be?
I want to say the Littlest Hobo theme song Maybe Tomorrow because Tyler and I love it so, but the lyrics don’t fit, just the tone. Smog’s Let’s Move to the Country fits :)
7. If the Art Shed had an astrological sign what would it be?
I don’t feel I know enough about astrology for this! My first thought was Cancer because I think of them as homey and into family, but I really don’t know...I can research astrology more and get back to you!
8. Has the Art Shed had any struggles or setbacks that it has had to overcome? If so, please explain.
Well there are many ongoing repairs, and we had a major bathroom renovation recently that was kind of an emergency due to a leak and some structural issues. It’s been a major project from the get go - it was a very good deal because it needed some work. (We are hugely grateful for the deal the previous owners gave us - we could have never done this if they hadn’t.) I’m personally also very grateful that Tyler is so handy! So yeah, there are always repairs, big and little, to deal with, and we’ve had some financial setbacks in dealing with them, but overall, we are doing ok. Obviously, this pandemic is a big setback, but we have other jobs so we are doing ok and I know we are very lucky.
9. What is the color scheme/vibe of the Art Shed?
There’s a lot of green in the main living area (we might shift that a bit eventually), but there are also some really nice bits with a soft pink, yellow, and a softer green. It’s kind of old fashioned in my mind, which I like. I prefer muted colours, but I also like the things like the quilt on the bed that’s so vibrant.
10. If you had to describe the Art Shed in one word, what would it be?
Cozy.
View from the Art Shed studio