November Artists-in-Residence open their studios Saturday, Nov. 19

Spend the Morning with our November Artists-in-Residence Saturday, Nov. 19

Please join us in welcoming Jan Creelman, Jess Richter and Heather B Thomas when we hold an open studio day at the Caetani Centre on Saturday. Nov. 19 from 9 a.m. to noon.Both the Sveva and Jüül Studios will be open to the public during those times to meet the artists, learn about their respective projects and processes, and see what they are working on during their Caetani residency.

Meet our artists

Jan CreelmanBorn of settlers in Mi'kmaq Territory, Jan grew up on the East Coast and now lives in Scarborough, On. An award-winning batik artist, Jan says she “fell into batik” while observing a friend compose a market scene with wax and dyes.Batik is created with wax and/or interfering shapes that prevent and resist dyes from penetrating the medium of choice. The design emerges after successive applications of dyes and resists, until the resists are removed and the final image is revealed.While at the Caetani Centre, Jan will be working on two batik paper series: Rapture, Not Ruptures (2021 - present) speaks to the lines that hold us and from which we all walk from far inside ourselves and out into new conversations with the world around us, perhaps with a newfound trust in vulnerability, faith and courage – where they reside as the birthplace of innovation creativity and change.  As with all art; life, decay, death and rebirth occur, we evolve outside the lines, and ultimately show that we each belong to this cycle of living. Flight (2022 - present) is largely loose, abstract and explores Jan’s wild abandon and the courage it takes to express one’s self with the grounded excitement of the brick and olive colours exploded alongside the stability of the top dye, usually a primary colour to gesture towards birds in flight.Jan will work with some traditional batik techniques using cotton and will be using her photography to help generate questions to inform her current and future work.https://jancreelman.com/home.htmlJess RichterHailing from Regina, Sask, Jess Richter is a contemporary folk artist who explores nostalgia, place, intergenerational trauma and folk practices within contemporary Canada, while also prioritizing the perspectives and experiences of ethnic German immigrants to rural and isolated areas.Jess is particularly interested in viewing the relationship to land and Canadian identity through the lens of the British folk-horror tradition. Seen in films such as Midsommar, The Wicker Man, and The Blood on Satan’s Claw, folk horror is a reflection of deep land anxiety felt by those who seek to live in close connection to the land and the outsiders who interlope on those ways.During her self-directed residency, Jess plans to research and create a series of detailed ink drawings and papercuts that explore the importance of folklore and re-enchantment during volatile times. https://www.jessrichterprints.com/pages/aboutHeather B ThomasOur current Writer-in-Residence at the Caetani Centre, Heather is working on her first major writing project. The current working title for her memoirs is "Aspens Calling," and it is written as a young woman’s coming-of-age story woven throughout with the themes of breasts, body/body image, sexuality, healing and mothering. Heather has published several short pieces of prose in literary journals and on her semi-active blog. She is a multi-talented, multi-passionate individual who enjoys painting as much as she does writing. Heather hails from Okotoks, Alberta where she runs a bed & breakfast retreat space and an Art Studio/Gallery with her husband, Russell. While her husband is a homebody, Heather loves to travel and often does some of her best writing away from home. https://www.birdsongstudios.ca/Heather will be giving some impromptu readings during our Open Studio event, Saturday, Nov. 19 between 9 am and noon.Parking is available adjacent to the Caetani House, located at 3401 Pleasant Valley Rd., Vernon.Please look for the directional signs to the Sveva and Jüül studios, and take care to wipe your boots on the provided mats before entering as there is still plenty of snow on the Caetani property.Please note that the house/museum is not open for tours during this time. For more information, please visit www.caetani.org or call 250-275-1525.