The people have spoken, and they chose Christine Earl, and her vibrant textile piece Lioness III as the recipient of this year's 'People’s Choice Award' for the 55th Cowichan Valley Fine Arts Show, which concluded its month long run on May 31.
Earl, a fabric artist who combines fabric collage, thread painting, and quilting to create bright, layered works, felt much pride to learn that her piece Lioness III captivated audiences, garnering the most votes out of the 350 ballots cast, receiving the award of a cheque for $250.
"I am thrilled that Lioness III won the People’s Choice Award! It is so nice to know that others appreciate my work amongst so many other wonderful pieces of art," said Earl. "The award is generous, but the recognition is a reward in itself.
"Lioness III was inspired by photos from a friend’s trip to Africa," said Earl. “The lioness looks slightly threatening, a hungry mother wondering what she’s going to feed her children.”
To see the step-by-step process of Earl's award winning creation art lovers can visit her website at quiltiquity.wordpress.com.
“We’re dedicated to community art, so we love the opportunity to present an award chosen by the community," said Cowichan Valley Arts Council president Janet Magdanz.
The long running Cowichan Valley Fine Arts Show saw 1,600 visitors for its 55th anniversary this year which was a 30 per cent increase over last year. Cowichan Valley Arts Council Executive Director Elizabeth Croft said their annual Fine Arts Show is one of their most popular events, and that they are very grateful for the support of the Rotary Club of Duncan, and the Hand of Man Museum this year, which helped them reach new audiences.
Earl will be spending the next few months on two of her animal portraits she has in the works, one a lion, the other a curly horned sheep. Meanwhile, the celebration of fibre and textile art will continue at CVAC with two exhibitions from the Surface Design Association of BC, and Yukon: Current Threads 2025 and Small Wonders 2025 will both run out of the CVAC Galleries, located in the Cowichan Community Centre until July 3.
