Hornby rock lace
5:53 pm
7:40 pm in Canada and BC, Nature, Photoworks by Marja-Leena
salt and sun bleached beached tree,
roots like twisted tentacles
squeezing blue green rocks in captivity
12:01 am in Books, Canada and BC, Rock Art & Archaeology by Marja-Leena
“Salmon Man” on beach at Quadra Island – drawing by Hilary Stewart
I am slowly savoring Spirit in the Stone by Joy Inglis, a book that was recommended to me by reader Irene from Manitoba and which I recently found in our local library. The back cover describes it best:
Mysterious and impressive, the art of the petroglyph has intrigued people around the world. Petroglyphs played an important part in the rituals and ceremonies of Shamanism – the religion of many early cultures. The rock carvings of the west coast of North America are related in style and content to the rock art of the Far East and to the cave paintings of Europe.
Spirit in the Stone offers a worldwide background for rock carvings in art and religion, with a practical focus on the petroglyphs of Quadra Island, British Columbia. The 11 petroglyph sites (more than 100 carved boulders – ed.) on the island are described, with detailed maps and directions for finding them. West-coast rock art was often connected to the life-cycle of the salmon, the basic resource of coastal peoples, and this book discusses the probable meanings and uses of the awe-inspiring petroglyphs.
The wonderfully evocative drawings by Hilary Stewart, and the Foreword by native Elder Ellen White, will help everyone understand these treasures, and to appreciate the silent magic of ancient rock art.
Joy Inglis, an anthropologist, has worked for 20 years with the Kwagiulth people of Quadra Island, studying the locations and traditional functions of west-coast petroglyphs.
Reading this well-researched and rich little book made me recall a question from Beth in a comment some time ago: “why do you like rock art?” I couldn’t seem to find a satisfactory answer then, though obviously I was attracted to these beautiful, mysterious and very ancient art works with a mysterious feeling of connection between artists over vast periods of time. But I could not quite articulate a deeper reason. Reading this book clarified for me how the Shamanic spirit instilled into the rock art is what makes them even more compelling for me.
Spirit in the Stone, by Joy Inglis, was published by Horsdal and Shubart, in 1998, with 111 pages. ISBN 0920663583. It seems to be out of print now as I’ve only found two used copies on the web, one hugely and perhaps incorrectly overpriced and one Down Under. I’ll keep looking, for I want a copy for myself, as much as I want to go to Quadra Island.
And, here’s a book review.
10:09 am in Art Exhibitions, Art Institute (Printmaking), Canada and BC, Other artists, Recent Exhibitions by Marja-Leena
detail: ARKEO 2, Marja-Leena Rathje (may or may not be in exhibition)
You are invited to:
An exhibition of prints by the Art Institute Printmakers of Capilano University
at The Gallery at Artisan Square

589 Artisan Square, Bowen Island, BC
Artists’ Reception: Sunday, September 20th from 2-4 p.m. Open to everyone
Exhibition runs September 11th to 27th, 2009
Gallery hours: Friday – Sunday, Noon – 4 p.m.
The exhibiting artists are Wayne Eastcott, Bonnie Jordan, Michiko Suzuki, Peter Frey, Joan Smith, Hans-Christian Behm, Christel Kleinewillinghofer, Linda Robertson and Marja-Leena Rathje.
The Bowen Island Arts Council runs this gallery along with many cultural programs. This is a fascinating fact on their website:
Based on a recent national study of communities with a population of less than 50,000 people, Bowen Island was identified as the 4th most artistic community in Canada.
Bowen Island is a short 20 minute ferry ride from Horsehoe Bay, West Vancouver. Here is a map of the route to the gallery from the ferry landing at Snug Cove.
I’m looking forward to this special visit to Bowen Island and hope to meet a few readers there!
12:38 pm in Books, Nature, Photoworks by Marja-Leena
More lichen studies at the scanner (see previous post and comments).
A few days ago, I received my copies of MERCY ISLAND by Ren Powell and I’ve been dipping into the poems at random, allowing a slow digestion of the remarkably rich imagery that Ren Powell evokes with spare words. Today, as I’m composing this blog entry, I enjoyed a review of the book by poet and blogger Rachel Barenblat of The Velveteen Rabbi. The synchronicity in the following lines struck me:
Sacred painting’s
yellow ochre
my skirt
trimmed with lichen
From Ren’s poem A View from an Island. (Please read the whole poem at Rachel’s). I personally like to think it’s of Hornby Island, off the BC coast, since my photo on the cover is taken on one of its shores.
Update: March 31st, 2011: Another most interestingly written review including some gratifying comments about the cover by Carolee Sherwood. Thanks for sending it to me, Beth!
8:05 pm in Canada and BC by Marja-Leena
Last week we took a few days’ escape to our favourite ‘treat and retreat’ on the west coast of Vancouver Island near the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. We always love the journey – the ferry trip there and back and the drive over the island’s mountains. Being spring this time, we particularly enjoyed all the native Pacific dogwood with their white blossoms contrasting with the dark evergreens and the fresh new lighter greens of the deciduous trees.
I recall the mind-blowing first impression on our very first visit in late October 1992, a few weeks after my father passed away. Since then it has been ‘our place’ for restoring body and spirit. I’m not sure how many times we’ve been there over the years, maybe a dozen or so and most frequently in the past few years, and always to the same rustic little cabins by the sea near Tofino. Once we took our youngest daughter, maybe about eight years old at the time during her spring break and once with our Danish friends.
This time our dearest friends who now live in Victoria met us there and stayed with us for the first three days. They have often hosted us at their little cabin on Hornby Island, another special place for us, so we were delighted to show them some of our favourite spots. The last time they were here was in 1970 and so much has changed, though not the majestic sea and the forests.
We had many walks along the many lovely sandy beaches of the area. The Wickaninnish Center on Long Beach was open (it’s usually closed in the winter when we most often visit) so we were able to enjoy the Interpretive Center which has excellent displays and films of the history of the First Nations culture of the area, then a special birthday lunch in our favourite restaurant in the same building overlooking the ocean. A tour around Tofino with some shopping at the excellent First Nations gift store, then coffee and baked treats at the local bakery-cafe was our small town fix one afternoon.
The weather was mixed and very changeable with some sunny periods, allowing us to enjoy lunch outside our cabin one day, with a cheeky seagull then a bold crow almost stealing my lunch.
One day was exceptionally windy, a delight for the many surfers in the area. We even hit a blinding sandstorm coming around a point – a first! Later that evening those powerful winds knocked out the power for several hours overnight. Thank goodness I always pack along candles and a flashlight, and more were provided by the management. Sometimes it felt like our little cabin was being pounded by something heavy and the rain thundered down loudly all night, keeping me awake. A most unusual storm for May we were told, more typical in winter but the strongest we’d experienced in our visits.
Our last day rewarded us with afternoon sunshine and a glorious sunset, something we’ve been blessed with at least once at every visit I think! We wished our friends had seen this.
I didn’t think I took as many photos as the last time but between us we still managed to rack up almost 300, so it’s taking time to sort and delete some of them. Here are a few, some are my husband’s. I’ll likely keep sharing more from time to time, especially the detail shots that I so love to take.
Long time readers may be familiar with some of the posts I’ve written of the earlier trips we’ve taken in the years since I started blogging: 2008, 2006, 2005 and 2004. As this has grown far too long already I won’t bore you with all the links to the many photos I have posted here and there in the archives.
2:50 pm in Art Institute (Printmaking), Blogging, Recent Exhibitions by Marja-Leena
What a fantastic day we had yesterday! The gloriously sunny day began with the arrival of a cousin and her husband from Germany. After a quick visit over tea and biscotti on our deck, we whisked them to the ferry over to Bowen Island. Hans-Christian, one of the artists in the exhibition and a resident of the island, invited all the artists and their guests for pre-show nibbles and wine at his home. How lovely it was on his deck looking out over the sea, getting ourselves in a mellow mood for the reception to come. What was very unusual was how many German speakers were present: three of the artists including our host, and three visitors from Germany, plus my husband! Our daughter Erika was enjoying practicing her German with them but I was quite lost beyond the pleasantries.
Anne and I in front of some of my work
Then on to The Gallery at Artisan Square to see our exhibition and be there for the artists’ reception. I was immediately greeted by a beautiful lady – Anne Wadleigh, the amazing 20th Century Woman and her husband Jerry! How delightful that they made it and how honoured I felt that they had made the trip up from their island on the other side of the border in Washington! Though this was our first meeting face to face, Anne and I felt like we’d known each other a long time. Jerry and my husband found many things of common interest while Anne and I talked about printmaking. With her own background in printmaking, Anne had many perceptive questions and comments and was interested to learn about the Capilano University Art Institute. Anne expressed the desire to be able to work in such a place and be inspired by other printmakers. I look forward to another visit one day and to showing her our facilities.
left to right: Michiko Suzuki, Wayne Eastcott, Curator Ann Ramsay, Peter Frey, Linda Robertson, Hans-Christian Behm, Joan Smith, Christel Kleinewillinghofer and I (Bonnie Jordan was unable to attend)
The opening was very well attended and the work well received. It was hard to get good installation photos but the show looked great in this lovely space. Our special thanks to Ann Ramsay, Gallery Coordinator/Curator for giving us this wonderful opportunity to share our works with Bowen Island residents and visitors. Thanks to my husband for taking all the photos, also Erika though I haven’t seen hers yet.
Then a lovely ferry ride home again. I was a little tired from all the excitement and had dinner to prepare (thankfully I’d prepared the main dish the day before). Our family circle around the table was larger and richer with the German cousins and we were grateful for this wonderful day.
12:35 am in Books, Canada and BC, Rock Art & Archaeology, Travel by Marja-Leena
Back to our visit and explorations a month ago (already!) on Gabriola Island. I previously featured a few images taken of some petroglyphs we found on one forest trail.
The next day we visited the Gabriola Museum. Though closed mid-week we enjoyed a stroll on the grounds, named Petroglyph Park with its numerous reproductions of many of the petroglyphs found on the Island, with the aim of preventing further erosion of the originals as well as showing less eroded images than those originals are now. Most are flat stones and some are upright, all placed in a natural setting with spreading moss and lichen.
The Museum’s pages have information about the history of the petroglyphs and about the background on the reproduction project.
Some years ago, when I became interested in learning more about BC’s own native petroglyphs and pictographs, one of the books I acquired is Gabriola: Petroglyph Island by Mary and Ted Bentley. The back cover states that the Bentleys have explored and recorded the rock carvings of Gabriola Island since 1969. They discovered a major site of over fifty carvings in 1976, then thirty more glyphs at four more sites. They are committed to the preservation and to promoting an understanding of the native culture that produced these and have been very involved in the reproduction project at the Museum.
I’m so thrilled to have at last seen even a small fraction of these works on Gabriola, both the original and the well done reproductions. Perhaps one day we’ll go back to see more.
8:19 pm in Being an Artist by Marja-Leena
above: a note to myself,
scribbled at 1:00 am, Saturday November 14th, 2009.
Below is the unedited text
beach, west coast
sound of waves
as I drift to sleep
misty – then
between dream back
to awake
images of steps, paths
twisting winding
own shadow or
Louhi, owl-woman
out of focus
ephemeral, shifty
hard to grasp
moving pictures in
mind
must get up & capture
on paper somehow
idea(s) for next ARKEO(s)?
connections with earlier
Arkeo – paths towards
the next ones w. London
underfoot images.
Hornby rocks…?
slide show of the mind…
state of half sleep, half awake…
may make no sense in the light of day…
yet…yet…is this a creative vision…
a guiding light to the next work?
…the essence…work from the heart rather
than the overly self-critical, analytical mind…
occasional benefits of insomnia? – overactive mind – ideas
in between these jottings, sleepily reading
few more passages of book
about the geology of Hornby Island…
1:36 pm in Canada and BC, Photoworks, Urban by Marja-Leena
Arriving at the Denman Island ferry terminal:
On the ferry to Hornby Island:
© Marja-Leena Rathje 2004-2025