So why is Gibsons called ‘Gibsons’ when George and Charlotte were ‘Gibson’? These and other thorny questions continue to puzzle me when I ponder the early non-aboriginal days of the Sunshine Coast. (Have we finally learned not to call white folks the first settlers? I hope so.)

Given the 126 years of history, dating back to 1886, and there’s plenty of room for questions about what life was like for the Gibson family (collectively known as ‘the Gibsons’, perhaps?). The perfect place to get answers is The Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives in Gibsons Landing, and the date is Saturday May 19th from 2pm – 4pm.

Refreshments, live music, and a slideshow on the history of Gibsons will all be on offer. Heck, you can even meet living descendants.  This museum is what a community historical resource should be like. Run by younger, historically-engaged people who appreciate the stories and images from hundreds of years before, and know how to present it in the current day so it becomes fresh and interesting all over again to an entirely new generation.

SUNSHINE COAST MUSEUM & ARCHIVES

SunshineCoastMuseum.ca
716 Winn Road
Gibsons BC V0N 1V8
604-886-8232
scma_manager@dccnet.com

Click to view larger

13 year old Magnus Manson has been declared the winner of the Sunshine Coast Mountain Bike Film Competition after intense online voting and the final vote cast by extreme freeride photographer Bjorn Enga. Magnus has won $1000 of bike/camera gear, and will have his film shown on Sunshine TV Network screens in Vancouver, Sunshine Coast, Nanaimo, Tofino, and Horseshoe Bay. It will also be shown on KrankedBikes.com. Kranked Bikes has already announced Magnus’ win to 1400+ fans on their Facebook Page, giving Magnus and the Sunshine Coast some great exposure.

Let’s all work together to ensure the momentum moves the Coast higher into mountain bikers’ perceptions as a great place to ride.

First prize of $1000 worth of Mountain Bike Gear is sponsored by the Sunshine Coast Credit Union.

2nd & 3rd prizes donated by:

• The Source
• Off the Edge Biking
• Side Dish Cafe
• Bigpacific.com
• RE/MAX Realty

A huge thank you to Annika of Sunshine TV Network for putting this all together!

Terry Barker’s beautiful drawing of the Sechelt market
look for his booth and buy his books! 

If you’re like me, the start of the Sunshine Coast outdoor markets spring season is outright twitterpating (watch Bambi, if you don’t know what that means… the spring-est movie ever).

Fresh produce from local farms and gardens, homemade baking, preserves, and other delectable edibles… I can taste them already. Add to that fresh-frozen seafood right from the boat, the world’s best granola bars, garden plants, jewelry, music, art, photography, handmade cosmetics, toys, and collectibles and crafted items and you can plan to be there at least an hour just bopping between the booths.

This year marks a location change for the Sechelt market – from the old spot at the Ravens Cry Theatre, to a more accessible and larger venue at the top of Cowrie Street in Sechelt that will also allow for longer hours. The District of Sechelt is closing down Cowrie Street in front of the old elementary school and by Rockwood Centre for the market starting this year, and this is where you’ll find the spot-to-be Saturday mornings April – September for the next 5 years.

See you there!

p.s. Tell me your favorite booth and why and you could win a randomly awarded prize!

RELATED LINKS:

Sechelt Farmers’ and Artisans’ Market web site
Sechelt market on Facebook

This time, the spotlight is on WildArt Photography’s Shel Neufeld, who is at the centre of the upcoming benefit at the Roberts Creek Hall on April 14th to fundraise for Elphinstone Logging Focus, affectionately known as ELF.

Elphinstone Logging Focus is a non-profit grassroots environmental group, whose mission is to ‘Protect Key Forests and Habitat… [with a] foremost goal to protect provincial forests for their long-term ecological functioning.’

Shel’s spectacular images have been taken around North America, and are both vivid and ethereal. His musical compositions are a lush blend of acoustic wanderings, deep bass lines and guitar percussion.

The event will be opened by members of the Squamish and Sechelt Nations.

If you love music, imagery and a kaleidoscope of them blended together, this is the event for you.

PRESS RELEASE

April 14 is a Benefit Concert to Raise Awareness of Mt Elphinstone’s Forests, showcasing hundreds of photographs, with live music to be held Saturday, April 14, 7:30 pm at Roberts Creek Community Hall. Advance tickets available for $12 from MELOmania, Gaia’s Fair Trade, and Strait Music. Suggested Donation at the door, $14-$20, kids under 12, free or by donation.

This show will feature Shel Neufeld, who will project his West Coast images on a large screen, while performing his original acoustic guitar music. Members of local First Nations groups will open the show.

Shel Neufeld is no stranger to at risk forests, nor to supporting them with his striking colour photographs and musical compositions. Neufeld, whose West Coast photography is displayed across Canada, has toured the country countless times with his music, and opened for the likes of the Grapes of Wrath, Jeremy Fisher, Don Ross, and Lynn Miles, and collaborated with Mae Moore and Don Kerr. While artistic to the core, Neufeld’s passion for nature extends into other realms as well. His visions are built on true connection with both landscape (Shel has done mountain and valley trips over a month long and loves a good bushwhack) and the communities that have utilized the forests for millennia. “My greatest hope is that, through this concert, residents of the Sunshine Coast can gain a greater connection to our forest here, while at the same time, grow in deeper understanding of the Sechelt and Squamish Nation. Through understanding and respect, we can accomplish amazing things.”

Formative for Neufeld was his volunteer time with Uts’am Witness, a cross-cultural collaboration between artists, a Vancouver community centre, and the Squamish Nation. The program succeeded in helping to protect ancient forests in Sims Creek and the Elaho Valley in the Northern part of Squamish territory; and raising awareness of the Squamish Nation culture and traditional territory claims. Neufeld explains ”In 2005, when several Squamish Chiefs ceremonially closed the work that began ten years earlier, the Uts’am Witness Project had inspired and educated over 8000 participants from the general public at camping weekends, workshops, and events, and several areas of the Squamish Watershed were protected as Wild Spirit Places.”

Since moving with his family to a Roberts Creek acreage, Neufeld has grown in appreciation of, and respect for the forests of Mt Elphinstone. “For the water that local residents and wildlife depend on, the wild mushrooms and medicinal plants that are harvested by both First Nations members and the larger community, the incredible biodiversity that feeds both our lungs and our spirits, we need to do a much better job of safeguarding these forests for now and future generations ”

Proceeds for the show will benefit Elphinstone Logging Focus’s efforts to protect local forest areas.

CONTACT:
Shel Neufeld 604-886-6713
WildArt Photography

Ross Muirhead, ELF 604-740-5654
Elphinstone Logging Focus

Okay, so I’m not a runner. I’ll admit I have thought of it from time to time, but then common sense takes hold again and years later, I remain a distant admirer of distance runners. Gaspingly distant.

One of my colleagues in web design on the Sunshine Coast, Teresa Nightingale, in addition to being one of BCs best small not-for-profit web designers, has been involved with the BMO April Fools Run since 1999. This fact continues to astound me (being the high octane desk jockey that I am). Larry won the race twice, with Teresa running in relay teams pregnant with possibililties: the first year one friend had just given birth; the same friend was pregnant again for the 2000 race; and in 2001, Teresa had just given birth to a daughter. THAT’S taking running seriously.

Larry and Teresa Nightingale - Larry was the M45-49 Age Division Winner, and Teresa the Female Masters Winner at the 2010 BC XC Championships.

Teresa and her husband Larry have been the Race Directors since 2003, which explains her wild schedule this time of year. With an expected 500-600 racers for the Sunshine Coast’s largest running event – the perfect spring warmup for marathon season – it’s no small feat to put on this level of footrace. Their commitment to the race extends into the hundreds of hours. This dynamic team has created one of the most unique and lasting half-marathon events in BC, and has set a Sunshine Coast athletic gold standard.

The BMO April Fools Run is popular because it’s one of the most affordable races to participate in, is run in a rural community on the doorstep of a metropolis, offering small town friendliness, and it’s a smaller field of runners. The unique shirt designs and awards are popular too.

“This was one fine race – variety of terrain, great support and wonderful ambience. I will put your race on my must-do events for next year.” – previous runner

George Matthews and Fran Berger settle their bet, 1978. From http://www.aprilfoolsrun.com

The race has a great story in its genesis, according to the ‘Race History’ section on the Fools Run site. George Matthews, an English teacher who also wrote a column for the local paper in the 70s, boasted to fitness service coordinator Fran Berger that he could run from Gibsons to Sechelt without training. (What a fool, indeed). They set the date for April Fool’s Day, 1978, and were joined by 17 other foolish souls to run the then ‘14 mile’ route between the communities.

April Fool's Run 1982

63 runners begin the 1981 April Fools Run in the rain

Kissing the Winner - do you know who they are? http://www.foolsrun.com/history/hist1979.htm

Unfortunately George is no longer with us, passing from cancer in 2001. However, ‘his’ race lives on, and now includes the Relay Division 2 or 4 person relays, allowing people of all abilities to participate. Each year, the top male and female runners from the Sunshine Coast are awarded the George Matthews Memorial Trophy and have their names added to the pantheon of engravings. The trophy is exhibited year round at Elphinstone Secondary School, where George taught for so many years.

The Fools Run is race #4 in the Lower Mainland Road Race Series – the only half marathon in the grouping. The event has become well known for the many special touches:

• Pre-Race Pasta Dinner at various restaurants on the Coast (for full list see here)
• David Jackson, who ran for Team Canada in the 2009 Toronto Marathon, will announce the names of the runners as they cross the finish line
• DJ Astrid will be keeping the energy up
• Pastimes is sponsoring the kids Jester Dash, a fun 400m run around Mission Point Park at the terminus of the seawall in Davis Bay (just before the bridge across the Creek)
• A kids entertainment tent hosted by everyone’s favorite childcare gals, Sunshine Coast Nannies
• Costume Contest – win a ‘head-to-toe’ running gear gift certificate from Impact Magazine!
• Club/team challenges
• Every race finisher is entered into a draw to win the GRAND PRIZE of a getaway weekend at Painted Boat Resort

Teresa tells me this year has a special participant: the impossibly gorgeous Mr. Gay Canada People’s Choice, Brian Webb, will be running the race, bringing the gay-friendly vibe of the Coast to a world-wide GLBT audience.

Brian Webb, Mr. Gay Canada People's Choice Winner 2012

I spoke with Brian by phone to ask him about his upcoming race, running habits (being entirely unfamiliar with any such thing), and whether he had ever been to the Sunshine Coast before.

“I started running in 2005 after deciding I needed a lifestyle change. I ran my first timed race in 2008, the Vancouver Sun Run, and by 2010 I was running half-marathons. This year the BMO Vancouver Marathon will be my second marathon.”

So, what kind of commitment does it take for this level of running? (If talk of exercise makes you dizzy, cover your ears and lalalala): “I run 10-16k/week in off season, just to keep the fitness level, and during race season – looong pause for intense calculations – 50-70k a week.”

I had to ask what that actually meant in terms of time, since anything over 20 minutes is considered long-term duration for me. This past Sunday, Brian ran a 32km long, slow-distance run – slightly slower than a marathon – and it took 2 hours and 51 minutes. Hell, that’s 3 hours. I get why runners keep it to the minute, but for the rest of us…. THREE HOURS??

“It literally becomes a part time job,” Brian said. “It’s five nights a week and I also go to the gym for strength training 4 to 5 hours per week.”

Brian has not been to the Sunshine Coast since the late 80s or early 90s so there will be some great visual surprises for him in this year’s race, and he plans to get out and around as much as he can in the limited 24 hour race+ period… and I plan to be there for his crossing of the finish line to see how those looks hold up in a half-marathon. He’s a great ambassador for the GLBT community and an excellent role model for anyone looking to make a life change through the transformative power of running.

To sum up this story, I asked Teresa for advice for someone considering entering the Fool’s Run for the first time (shh, I haven’t committed yet!), and here’s what she said:

“ANYONE can become a runner – in fact we already are: humans are designed to be long distance runners – it’s our biological make-up. I’ve read stories of people overcoming incredible obstacles to ‘become’ runners. Losing hundreds of pounds, overcoming disease, disabilities, addictions. If they can do it, so can you. The key is to start small and build slowly. It gets much easier after a certain point.

Most people give up before that point, after trying to do too much, too soon, and getting injured or discouraged. It also helps to join a running group or clinic. Running alone is fine once you’re established but for beginners, having a partner or a group makes it way easier. Also we live in a beautiful place and running is a great way to fully experience our surroundings. I was running along the beachfront trail in Sargeant Bay Park this afternoon and felt like I was in one of those running posters. Incredible!”

APRIL FOOLS RUN
www.aprilfoolsrun.com

See you there!

APRIL FOOLS RUN RACE UPDATES:

Excerpt:

March 27, 2012, Gibsons – The battle for top spots and cash prizes should be an exciting one at this year’s BMO Sunshine Coast April Fool’s Run presented by Coast Cable, set for Sunday April 1st. In both the men’s and women’s fields the top contenders are quite evenly matched, while a couple of top locals may also have a shot at the podium.

On the men’s side, multi-time top local Shaun Stephens-Whale of Roberts Creek is expected to be in the lead pack with last year’s 2nd and 4th place winners David Palermo of Vancouver and Drew Nicholson of Surrey, along with 2007 & 2009 winner Graeme Wilson of Vancouver. Whether UBC graduate and former varsity team member Stephens-Whale can stay with them is the question. His best half is 1:13:33 while the other three have all run in the 1:10-1:12 range in the past 12 months – but a big PB is very possible for this 22-year-old who has had big breakthroughs in the past, and he has the home-town advantage: the family home is at the 15k mark.

READ MORE…

If you have ever seen Peggy’s iconic squirrel and the cookie jar photo, you will recognize her work: whimsical, graceful, and engaging, these cards are popular both at market booths and commercial locations, and online at Peggy’s Zazzle store for her brand ‘FunNaturePhotography‘.

Peggy came to the Coast 10 1/2 years ago from the Commercial Drive area of Vancouver, where she had hosted a booth in the East Van market selling hand made jewellery and as a sideline, photo cards, as part of her hobby of photography. With a real film camera and everything (kids, ask your parents).

It wasn’t until she and her husband arrived in Madeira Park that she made the plunge to go digital, with a Canon 20D – which was one step up from the famous Canon Rebel – to really be able to focus on bird photography in particular. She chose a camera that allowed for SLR like use, and could take additional lenses though almost all of her work is done with a 100-400 focal length lens, on a Canon EOS 7D for the last two years (there you go, men, the stats!)

Knowing that the camera you use is the one you have with you, I asked Peggy if she always used a big camera or sometimes swapped out for something lighter to carry. No dice. The big camera or nothing, and the only time it doesn’t go is when the weather is rainy. “At 5’11″ I’m tall, so that makes it easier for the weight,” she offered, but I know height or no height, when I’m hiking I find the Nikon D70 plenty heavy enough, without even a longer lens to cart around.

But that’s how you know you’re dealing with someone who makes a living from their photography. They do the work: carry the camera at all times, ever ready for those fleeting shots (instead of cursing oneself as I do when those magical moments pass me by with my iPhone), and willing to do the laborious work of downloading to the computer to go through each one to provide file notes, shooting info, and otherwise treat those golden images seriously.

We had a very interesting discussion about digital rights management, and etiquette around linking to images taken by someone else, otherwise known (my words) as theft. “People help themselves all the time,” Peggy says, and it’s true. She even traced back the use of one image, which happened to be the pet of someone close to her, and the person who had taken the image was using it as an avatar for a site about demonic possession and wanting an artist to edit the image to add gaping wounds, and red, bloody eyes. “That one just ticked me off for some reason… it was probably some young person who didn’t know any better. The webmaster freaked out on me because I posted something in the forums like ‘it’s not okay to just take someone’s pictures’.”

“I get asked constantly, for free images, through my Flickr account. Lately I’ve been saying, ‘No, I have earn my living this way. I have to ask for something.’ I don’t ask other people to work for me for free…. Dentists… I don’t ask them, hey would you fill my tooth for free?”

In an age of Pinterest, aggregated news, right-clicking madness, and a growing monopoly by a few concentrated players in the stock image industry (Corbis, Masterfile, and Getty, which in 2006 bought out the independent and affordable istockphoto.com*) means photographers and their customer base are being alienated and siloed from each other.

We have an opportunity, in our small communities, to really see where the money changes hands, and who is creating and who is legitimately buying and playing by the rules. In a region so dominated by the arts, the ability of our creative people to make a living for their efforts is no theoretical discussion.

So support the artists in our community. Buy from them at markets and galleries. Visit them online and comment/engage to find out more about them and their work….

…and admire the skills and eye that give us marvels such as these. Check out Peggy’s Fun Nature Photography Store – you can get these images and hundreds of others, as cards, prints… and printed on almost everything you can imagine!

The photo of the deer above was published in Canadian Geographic’s “Best Wildlife Pictures of 2012″, and two additional photos are scheduled to be published in the upcoming Canadian Geographic ‘Special Edition’ focusing on extreme weather. Peggy’s work has been published in a number of magazines, books, and even on TV.

*In an interesting aside, in “April, 2008 Getty Images disclosed, as part of its agreement to be sold to a private equity firm, that iStockphoto’s revenue in 2007 was $71.9 million USD of which $20.9 million (29%) was paid to contributors” – Wikipedia.com)

CONTACTING PEGGY:

Fun Nature Photography Store
Peggy Moon Collins – Blog
PeggyCollinsPhotography on Facebook

I’ll admit it, I find night driving challenging. Sometimes the drive down to Bonniebrook Beach from Sechelt seems long, but the sneak preview of the new tapas experience at Chasters Restaurant is giving me all kinds of reasons to travel out Gibsons way to end up at the Bonniebrook.

Chasters has now split into two separate spaces: the elegant dining experience and the new tapas bar that takes up one half of the space. The seating is different on the tapas side: tall round tables offer plenty of elbow room and are perfect for small groups wanting great conversations along with their food, or for people who like to socialize and meet new people by sharing a group table; there are two traditional place settings; and finally, a lounge area for 6 near the fireplace.

Last evening the space was packed and the dining room was almost full on the other side, not bad for pre-opening on the new service.

Diners on the tapas side have a brand new menu to choose from and I had the opportunity to sample a number of dishes. A few favourites I intend to go back for full servings are:

• the cheese plate (which seems to need a better name to honour what came to the table) with an almost effervescent cranberry boisin, light blue, sharp cheddar, and a variety of nuts, fruit, crackers and chutney
• homemade beef and pork meatballs, saffron orzo & mushroom demi – wonderful
• warm red onion tart with lovely thin crust and sweetness
• coconut curry, which is rather perfunctorily described as “prawns or chicken, fresh seasonal vegetables & steamed basmati rice” but has a uniqueness to its sauce that I haven’t experienced before
• fingerling potato frites with truffle salt, aioli & parmesan cheese, which arrived in silver stand and napkin and disappeared immediately at every table

For those who enjoy spirited libations, Chasters has an excellent wine selection and is becoming known on the Coast as ‘the’ place for cocktails.

There is a very good special on until the rest of this month (March 31) to celebrate the new menu: 2 for 1 Small Plates, for a minimum of 2 people, with a purchase of a regular priced bar menu beverage (carafes & bottles of wine valid for two guests. The lowest price plates deducted are deducted from your bill.)

Reservations ONLY please for the duration of the special. After April 1, the Chasters Wine & Tapas bar will be drop in come as you can and reservations will be taken for the dining room only.  Tapas/Wine Bar patrons may also order from the main dining room menu (tapas are only available in the wine bar).

I strongly recommend you reserve your Wine & Tapas spot during the special. It’s very good value and the food was delicious.

Chasters Restaurant
at Bonniebrook Lodge & Oceanfront Inn

Reservations: 604.886.2887.

Schedule: available on Alpha web site

Highlights include product demos and tryouts, 5 & 10km ski races, introductions to cross-country ski & skate, kids ski race and a snowshoe mini-tour.

Here’s some tips for getting the most out of the day at WinterFest:

1. BOOK YOUR WINTERFEST PASS (and shuttle seat if applicable). $21 for WinterFest pass AND return shuttle, slightly less for kids to 16.  You will also need your Dakota Ridge pass ($5) and can get that from the SCRD, & Alpha in Wilson Creek (604.885.8838). Book & pay ahead to reserve your space and then meet at the SCRD parking lot up field road 10 mins before bus is scheduled to depart.
2. Dress in layers – you may have to wait to try gear and will need to stay warm.
3. Bring a small backpack that contains water, a protein snack and something sweet (baking or fruit or juice) and still leaves room for your outer layer to fit inside.
4. You must bring chains if you are driving up on your own; there will be signs where the chain-up is, or check the SCRD Dakota Ridge page on FB. REMEMBER: you are responsible for all towing costs (significant, $400+) and for the terrible karma if you manage to jam up the access on this very special day on the Ridge. Either bring chains and know how to use them, or book a spot on Alpha Adventures’ Big Yellow Monster shuttle.
5. Be sure to snap some photos and share them on Alpha Adventures & SCRD & SunshineCoastBigpacific Facebook pages!

Did you know there was a place on the Sunshine Coast where your dogs can take you for a holiday?

Bluff Hollow Bed & Breakfast in Garden Bay is a truly dog-friendly getaway: the entire property, cottage, and main house are all off-leash zones, with amenities every discerning dog will sniff out. They can swim in the country pond, go for hours long backwoods rambles on the network of trails, listen for squirrels, get their own special blankets & towels (guess who gives the toweling off and massages? You, that’s right!), and there are treats too… as well as a doggie-height mirror. It would be a dream destination for students in vet tech schools, as well.

When I visited, co-host Ann Harmer said many dog owners visit with dogs who have never been off leash in their lives, living the city lifestyle. “I remember one family who arrived with their child and dog; they were stunned that they didn’t need a leash for their dog… and the next day I came upon their daughter and the dog, just sitting together, and they both looked so happy.”

Bluff Hollow is located up in the country behind Garden Bay Lake. As soon as you turn down the drive you’ll notice masks and faces adorning the cliffs to the right of the driveway and all along the pond. Halfway in there is a sign that declares the start of the off-leash property. I walked with Ann, my dog Cougie bounding down the trails with her yellow retriever, Silas. The two dogs raced up and down the hills, checking out every fork and returning to us with lolling tongues and body language that telegraphed ‘happiness’.

That’s not the only reason to visit Bluff Hollow. Ann and her husband, Rick, are active in the social fabric of the Sunshine Coast, and have a diverse range of interests and surprising niche interests. Ann is the President of the Sunshine Coast Mushroom Society, and operates at expert level in using fungi for dyeing fabric and fibres. We looked at a rainbow of colours created by using mushrooms and mordants: blue, silver, gold, tawny brown, rich brown, orange, pink, purple, red. Amazing. She pointed out several varieties of mushrooms are verboten for indoor dye pots, and showed me a pot on the go on a hotplate in the laundry room, as well as a hammock loaded with fibre of all colours.

The fungi also has amazing use in papermaking, and Bluff Hollow has an ‘Artist’s Package’ with a workshop in creating a bowl fashioned of paper made from pulped mushrooms. Her business, Shroomworks, offers an excellent starting point for learning the alchemy of fungi.

The masks in the driveway are created by Rick Harmer, through his business, “Cement Works“. He sells these individually made concrete works (masks, faces, ammonite fossil, and treble clef) and runs workshops for creating the masks, often tied in with weekend stays via the “Artist’s Package” as well. Rick is also involved in the not-for-profit side; he chairs Habitat for Humanity on the Sunshine Coast.

Every stay also includes a full gourmet breakfast served in the main house, and Rick is some kind of cook. The day I visited he was making mozarella and ricotta cheeses, and shared his plans to move into the infinitely more challenging levels of cheesemaking.

Bluff Hollow breakfasts are an art form: Finnish Oven Pancake, Turkish Breakfast, Gourmet Oatmeal, and homemade biscuits for the four-legged family member(s).

Or, go for the ‘Foodies’ Three Nighter” getaway for the breakfasts, tiffin lunch for your hike, and a cooking lesson from Chef Rick ringside at the kitchen island followed by dinner with Rick & Ann. You’ll also get a gift certificate toward another memorable meal at The Restaurant at Painted Boat Resort, where young chef Spencer Watts will dazzle you with his beautifully creative creations.

I had such a good time visiting with Ann and Rick – it was hard to tear myself away to head back to Sechelt.

For all of you who get to stay there: lucky dogs!

BLUFF HOLLOW B&B
www.bluffhollow.ca
604-883-3678
Join Bluff Hollow on Facebook
Bluff Hollow Blog
Shroomworks Blog

Gigi Butterfly, an artist from Halfmoon Bay, very consistently, posts these gorgeous images from around the Halfmoon Bay area, allowing fans and friends to ‘watch the Coast’ in a unique way.

Gigi is also known for her dogs, Orion and Oreo the Saint Bernards, and mixed breed affectionately referred to as ‘The Boob’ or Boobie. They are as much a part of her photoblogging as the beautiful environment they live in, and those of us watching her photo posts on Facebook always look for them.

ABOUT GIGI:

Gigi came to the Coast fresh from traveling the world and running a bed & breakfast on Vancouver Island’s west coast, and found in the Sunshine Coast a spiritual home. She is a prolific artist, working primarily in oil pastels and mixed media, as she says “making a living from finger painting’.

Gigi also created a series of 12 paintings for the Marshall Islands for use on their national postage stamps, and frequently paints on commissions with a wide range of subjects.

Something I value highly in Gigi is her direct communication. Conversation with Gigi is always frank, fun, and completely lacking in guile. Here’s a few Gigi-isms to start your day off right:

“Listen, the fact of the matter is, is that I paint pretty feminine flowers and swear like a trucker.”

“Wouldn’t it be a good idea if someone created a pin that said, “Be warned, I ate garlic, I might smell!”"

In the event that you missed my latest 20×20″ painting earlier, here it is again. You can see more on my Artist Page if you like it, and if you don’t like it… Why the hell not?”

VISIT GIGI IN HER STUDIO:
www.gigibutterfly.com
gigi@gigibutterfly.com
Engage with Gigi on Facebook