'Memories Mark Our Journey' Exhibition Comes to Blyth Gallery

Beginning July 26th, the Blyth Festival Art Gallery will be presenting the second of this season's three professional-level exhibitions, featuring artwork by Debbie Schenk.

Debbie is a mixed media artist living and working in Walkerton. She is a graduate of Ontario College of Art (OCA) where she majored in photography. She continues to expand her method of expression by attending workshops by artists she admires.

For this exhibition Debbie says, "What moves me in my work is a deep need to tell a story. The title of this show is "Memories Mark Our Journey". The theme or thread through the work began with my mother's journey with dementia and how memories from her past are so clear and the present so hard to hang on to. To enable my story telling these new works are created with layers of collage, paint or other media to build a history or memory, then an old photograph, a word, phrase or piece of the past brings the painting to life. Who we are is where we have been......and a story told is a life lived."

Living in rural Ontario keeps Debbie connected with her roots and the landscape. She believes this connection heightens respect for our natural environment, the importance of conservation and keeping our environmental footprint as small as possible

Debbie's first solo show was at the Durham Art Gallery in 2004 and she continues to exhibit: her work can be found in many private homes in Canada and the USA.

The public is invited to view Debbie's exhibition "Memories Mark Our Journey" in the Bainton Gallery, Blyth Memorial Hall, from July 26th to August 18th. The exhibition is presented by the Blyth Festival Art Gallery and is curated by Greg Sherwood and Colleen Schenk and sponsored by Joan Perrie. The gallery is located in the Blyth Memorial Hall, next to the Blyth Festival box office and is open during box office hours. Admission is free.

The public is also invited to meet the artist at the Opening Reception at the Gallery on Friday July 26th at 6 pm.

For more information about the Blyth Festival Art Gallery go to https://blythfestival.com/blyth-festival-art-gallery/.