“The artist never entirely knows — We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark” – Agnes de Mille I was born and raised in Switzerland and moved to the North West of British Columbia, Canada in 1995. At first, I felt a sense of being lost in the vastness of this big beautiful …
Pat Gauthier
I live in the historic town of Fort St James, north/central British Columbia. I was raised on a farm in Sorrento, near Shuswap Lake and went to school in Salmon Arm BC. Life on the farm taught me to work hard. I moved north to Fort St James, where I got a job in a sawmill. I quit the mill …
Terry Buchanan
Grande Prairie, Alberta Terry Buchanan grew up with a love and appreciation of nature and animals. Art has always been a deeply spiritual and therapeutic freedom of expression for her. After living in various parts of Alberta, B.C. and New Zealand, Terry is happy to finally come home to the Peace Country. Studying animal spirit guides lead to the creation …
Gwen Tomlin
Didsbury, Alberta Gwen Tomlin is a photographer with the passion and patience required to capture the perfect pictures of wildlife that make you pause in wonder. Gwen’s fascination with nature started while growing up on a farm in rural Ontario, where she spent countless hours exploring fields, swamps and lakes with her brother. This love of the outdoors continued after moving …
May the Forest Be with You – Part 2
A Tree Planting Photography Adventure by Sharon Krushel, Peace River, Alberta, 2019 Part 1 of this story is here May the Forest Be With You. Chapter 6 – The Purpose When I would mention my amazement at their strength and endurance, the tree planters would reply that it was difficult at first, but your body gets used to it. Their …
May the Forest Be with You – Part 1
A Tree Planting Photography Adventure by Sharon Krushel, Peace River, Alberta, 2019 This is the story that inspired the card May the Forest Be With You. Forward I’d like to introduce you to some truly amazing people – a camp of incredibly hard-working healers of the forest in the Chinchaga wilderness of northern Alberta. Think of this as a …
Valerie Palmer, Peace River, Alberta
Valerie Jeanne Williamson was born in Leeds, Yorkshire in 1933. “Children like me, growing up in wartime Britain, were often thrown on their own resources to fill their leisure hours. Hence, when I was not in school, or playing sports, I developed many hobbies, including drawing, painting, letter-writing and collecting everything from stamps to shells, rocks, and all kinds of …
“Peace Train” and the Runaway Caboose of 1947
A Comedy of Errors in Peace River’s history Researching a black-and-white photo can lead to the discovery of colourful stories! November 2018 was the 100th Anniversary of the completion of the railway bridge across the Mighty Peace River. I collaborated with Carson Murphy and Beth Wilkins at the Peace River Museum to create a commemorative “Peace Train” card with pictures …
Peace Train – Peace River’s Contribution to Peace
While I was putting the finishing touches on the story for the back of the “Peace Train” card I designed with the Peace River Museum, I was contacted by David Lawrence at Peace River High School and asked if I would sing the 1971 song, “Peace Train” (by Cat Stevens) at the end of their Remembrance Day service. I had …
The CANSO Flies Again! – a story of restoration
In 2015, my husband, Terry, and I flew to the annual Father’s Day Fly-in Breakfast. We took off from a farmer’s grass strip near Lac Cardinal in my husband’s homebuilt plane and landed on a lovely asphalt strip just outside of Fairview. There was a great variety of private aircraft to see and pilots eager to share their passion for …