The Sunshine Coast Botanical Garden is delighted to showcase five sculpted art works by local Sechelt artist, Kate von Riesen. The sculptures are installed throughout the garden collections and will be available to view until July 2nd.
Every April, after spending the winter months in the Sonoran Desert, Kate von Riesen can sense that familiar feeling take hold of her once more: a longing to return home to the Sunshine Coast.
Von Riesen, whose creative mediums have spanned from designing garden beds to bending metal and fusing glass, says it is here where she finds constant inspiration, both in nature and with the arts community. Though she welds her creations at her studio across the border, it’s here at home in the Pacific Northwest, influenced by the layers and textures of the rainforest and the spirit of the Salish Sea, where her ideas are born.
Her piece, ‘Coming Home,’ is an homage to the West Coast. Currently installed in the Native Plant Gardens collection at the Sunshine Coast Botanical Garden, this treated steel screen stands at over 5’ and is a two-dimensional depiction of the Western redcedar (Thuja plicata), a quintessential character of the west coast backdrop, one we might be guilty of taking for granted. Nestled between the plants of the Mountainside Habitat and Rainforest Grove gardens, the vibrant red steel Cedar is honoured, contrasted against the greens of the Salal (Gaultheria shallon), the Pacific Rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum), and the Dull Oregon Grape (Mahonia nervosa).
Von Riesen credits her earlier career as a horticulturist and landscape designer for providing a creative outlet. “The flow, layers, textures, hardscapes, and companion plantings became integral elements to my creative art process. Drawing from my love of landscapes – this is where my art emerged.”
It was in 2016 when an introduction to welding changed her course of direction; steel became her choice medium, and her art took on a life of its own. She would go on to add the practice of fused glass to her portfolio, repurposing broken shards into ethereal, light-catching treasures.
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ART IN THE GARDEN: On July 11th & 12th, Von Riesen will host an art show in her personal garden and studio in Sechelt. She has invited Laurie Beeman and Donna Stewart to showcase their collections of nature-inspired works and garden sculptures.
The artists have generously offered to donate 10% of the sales from the opening reception on July 11th to the Sunshine Coast Botanical Garden.
