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Art blooms like a breath of fresh air

Let beauty, blossoms, colour and craft soothe winter’s stress
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“Mother’s Day Lilies by Elaine Hughes. Take a break from daily stress and check out works from the Coast Collective’s spring show Bloom 12 by visiting their Facebook page.

When the weather is gloomy and grey, when the news of the world is perpetually pessimistic, when your work and life stresses are piled higher than a month of laundry, there’s no better inspiration than the first brave blossom of spring.

Taking time to stop and smell the roses is about connecting with the everyday miracles of our world and giving your mind a break to regroup and re-energize. “Smelling the roses” doesn’t have to mean sticking your nose in a flower; there are many ways to pause and refresh, and one perennial favourite is looking at art.

“After a long grey winter, the South Island really shines in spring,” says Jessica Stein, Marketing Coordinator for the Coast Collective Art Centre. “There’s a blossoming of colour to inspire local artists.”

The Coast Collective’s annual spring show Bloom is one of their most popular every year, and it’s set to run April 29 to May 24. While the gallery will be closed until April 28, you can still get a splash of colour online by following the Coast Collective’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Even when life prevents you from getting out to a gallery, you can still enjoy a bit of art and a moment of reflection.

Art inspires, restores

The Coast Collective is a nonprofit that brings the work of emerging and established Canadian artists to the community through monthly gallery exhibits, classes, and a gift shop of hand crafted creations. All exhibitions are juried, and only the best submissions make it on the gallery walls. Take some time away and reflect in front of a painting, sculpture, or mixed-media creation of upcycled local materials.

Every month the gallery puts up a new show, and artists are invited to submit on the theme. Later this year you’ll enjoy artistic interpretations of cityscapes, collaborations, student shows and individual showcases. Keep an eye on coastcollective.ca to submit your own work, or make a plan to visit the gallery. There’s always an opportunity to escape and recharge at the Coast Collective.

Put on your smock and get involved!

Inspired by the beauty of spring and the blossoming art at the Coast Collective? Take a class to grow your skillset and nurture your creativity. Check out the Coast Collective Classes Page for a full list of offerings from experienced instructors. Learn to sculpt, work with watercolours, or take up a pencil for drawing fundamentals.

“We keep our class sizes small, which gives participants lots of space to spread out and create, while getting plenty of individual attention from our expert instructors,” Stein says.

Check out all your options at coastcollective.ca, and visit the gift shop and gallery at 103-318 Wale Road in Colwood.

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”3 Pears and a Pot” by A. MacPhail. Get inspired at Coast Collective’s “Bloom 12” exhibition, then sign up for a class to grow your skills.
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