Art House, the communal art studio project of local photographer and painter Jess Zoerb, will host seven other artists from in and around Moose Jaw on July 1 from 12 to 4 p.m. with lemonade, pop-up galleries, studio tours, and live art demonstrations.
“When I first purchased Art House, I had envisioned other artists creating by my side on a regular basis,” Zoerb explained. “However, this venture has shown me a slightly different agenda. While I’m the only artist that uses the studio regularly, events like this open house intermittently bring other practicing creatives and art lovers into the space to fulfill that community-oriented role.”
The artists sharing the space on July 1 will be:
- Jess Zoerb
- Erin Zimmerman
- Laura Blackman
- Lisa Dautremont
- Faith Morrell
- Sara Robichaud
- Brennan Daradich
- Christine Johnson
“A good portion of the artists involved are sharing their work for the first time,” Zoerb said. “At last year’s event, three of our artists made their first-ever sales. Combining emerging artists with more experienced artists makes for a really special community. It’s a great recipe for learning from one another.”
Zoerb has been profiling guest artists leading up to the event, such as Laura Blackman. Blackman is a recently retired artist who paints across a variety of mediums: Oil painting, colored pencils, watercolours, acrylic, and pastels. She has been an art lover her entire life and is enjoying all the extra time she has now to hone her skills.
Blackman paints, draws, and illustrates across whatever genre or style catches her eye, including landscapes, people in faraway places and coffee shops, or faces in coloured pencil. She is self-taught for the most part, and counts on her husband Duncan Blackman as her biggest fan.
July 1 will mark only the second time that Blackman has shown her work. Her husband Duncan is an orchestra-trained cellist who will be providing live music at the open house.
Another artist on the program is Faith Morrell. The youngest of the bunch at 21, Morrell paints mostly with oil. She is a teacher in Regina’s Catholic school division and made her first art sales last year at the inaugural Art House open studio event.
“In planning these events, I keep an emphasis on making it enjoyable the whole way,” Zoerb said. “It is more than just showing and selling our work — it’s about coming together, building connections, inspiring one another, and working towards a shared goal that’s bigger than ourselves.”
The Art House is at 720-2nd Avenue Northeast in Moose Jaw, just north of Crescent Park. On July 1, Crescent Park will host the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery’s annual Park Art, one of Saskatchewan’s largest craft festivals, so the area is going to be generally overflowing with creativity.
Stop by the Art House this Saturday, July 1 between 12 and 4 p.m. to meet the artists and browse their wares.
