Sea to Sky & Inbetween brings glorious glasswork, photography, and bead artistry to Bowen Island’s Hearth Gallery

    1 of 4 2 of 4

      (This article is sponsored by the Bowen Island Arts Council.)

      Five artists embark on a journey to share their inspiring art in a joint show. Their work depicts the beauty of the West Coast using glass panels, sculpture, photography, and glass beads.

      Who would want to miss that? Especially when it includes exquisite creations of internationally renowned glass artists and twin sisters Leslie Rowe-Israelson and Melanie Rowe, as well as Kae Sarich.

      In addition, the show will feature the works of West Coast photographer Andrew Cotton Chamberlayne and acclaimed bead artist Megan Parks, a sister of Rowe-Israelson and Rowe.

      This exhibition, Sea to Sky & Inbetween, will be hosted by the Hearth Gallery on Bowen Island from September 7 to 26.

      Caption: Leslie Rowe-Israelson’s Strolling With My Peeps. Glass, metal bird sculptures pictured with Rowe-Israelson’s glass-fused panel Misty Skies over Coastal Mountains 27" x 17".

      For collectors, personal art buyers, and designers, it offers rare opportunities to purchase one-of-a-kind, high-end pieces, including glass sculptures, wall pieces, wearable glass, bead artworks, and stunning West Coast–themed photography.

      Rowe-Israelson has spent the last 40 years focusing her attention on the cast-fused glass genre, developing a stylistically unique voice sought by collectors from around the world. Delicate sculptures, intricate open-face vessels, and plates—all done with detailed glass cutting and multiple kiln firings—makes her work stand out. It’s often presented on hand-forged steel or hand-carved and polished stone, all collected from where she lives near the western slopes of the Canadian Rockies.

      Melanie Rowe also called this area home before moving to the West Coast. And she is inspired by the beauty of the mountains, particularly in Banff and Jasper national parks. Rowe has received training from the Alberta College of Art, Andrighetti Glassworks, Colton Glass School, Pilchuck Glass School, and the Vancouver College of Art.

      The third glass artist at Sea to Sky & Inbetween, Kae Sarich, demonstrates amazing technical skills with her multi-layered glass panels. She, too, attended the world-renowned Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington.

      A close-up of Leslie Rowe-Israelson’s Strolling With My Peeps.

      Andrew Cotton Chamberlayne’s day job for 22 years has been as a special-effects coordinator in the TV and film industry, which has given him an opportunity to travel up and down the B.C. coast, taking evocative and emotional photographs.

      The other artist in the show, Megan Parks has spent 30 years creating and refining her bead work, developing signature pieces with intricate design features.

      “With our collective thought, we hope the viewer will come away inspired to go for a walk along a coastal beach or in the forest or climb a mountain perhaps with the joy a bird would feel flying in an updraft and just soaring through life.” says Leslie. 

      All five artists of note will attend Artist pARTy at Hearth Gallery on Bowen Island from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, September 10. It’s just a short and picturesque ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver—offering a wonderful opportunity for art lovers to learn what inspired each of their pieces on display.