Karen Goodfellow doesn’t think gallery viewers quite get it.
They only see the finished products hanging on the walls — not the blood, sweat and tears that go into making the exhibited pieces.
Now, the celebrated First Nations’ artist wants to share her creative process so people have a better appreciation for art.
Next week, Goodfellow will be at Coquitlam’s Place des Arts to describe her “agony and ecstasy” journey as part of the Maillardville facility’s last Salon Speaker Series lecture of the season.
“I want people to understand how much work goes into this,” she said during a phone interview from her Osoyoos home on Monday. “Even setting up most shows is epic because I have over 40 pieces. I want to let people into the art world that’s not always as romantic as it seems.”
Her past shows have been at art galleries around North America as well as at healing centres, women’s art festivals and wineries.
Currently, she’s displaying her art in the Nk’Mip Winery Gallery in Osoyoos as well as at the Springbrooke Retreat Centre in Langley.
In November 2015, Goodfellow had one of the most successful shows ever hosted by Place des Arts, a centre spokesperson said, titled Ancestral Dreams.
Her artwork delves into abstract images as well as landscapes, animals, nudes and contemporary native American or aboriginal themes.
She also sells dressed-up gourds, 3D figures, and drums and tambourines.
All possess a spiritual dimension, she said. And, often, she employs her art as part of her job as a workshop facilitator and therapist.
For her Coquitlam talk on May 26, Goodfellow said she’ll have a slide show to help her describe the time and energy that goes into making particular pieces.
• For tickets at $8 to Karen Goodfellow’s lecture, call Place des Arts (1120 Brunette Ave., Coquitlam) at 604-664-1636 or visit brownpapertickets.com.
