Art a perfect fit for chalet-inspired home
Alberta artist will see his work adorn the walls of Rotary Dream Home at this year’s Stampede
The work of a rural Alberta-raised mixed medium artist and this year’s ski chalet-inspired Stampede Dream Home go hand in hand, says builder Homes by Avi.
Brad Holt, who grew up near Strathmore, will have about 20 of his pieces on display in the 2015 Stampede Rotary Dream Home, which is the 20th by Homes by Avi.
This year’s Calgary Stampede runs from July 3 to 12. The Dream Home is valued at $864,125 and later will be moved to a lot in the southeast community of Walden.
“It’s more than a perfect fit,” says Julie Punter, Avi’s show home manager of selections and presentation, about Holt and the approach to this year’s home. The theme is a hat tip to Calgary’s surrounding natural beauty, such as the Rocky Mountains, which led its ski chalet design and decor.
This plays into Holt’s art, which he calls “very Alberta, very agricultural and Rockies.”
Holt’s art pieces are hand painted with acrylics over a gesso mosaic of his own raw and black and white photography. There’s also the rustic element of handmade frames from reclaimed wood. Some of the reclaimed wood comes from old Alberta homes, grain elevators and barns, says Holt.
When Homes by Avi saw what Holt could do, “we thought, Canadian,” says Punter. “He had a lot of photographs that he had taken and transferred into art that were mountains and lakes and themes that were close and dear to what every Calgarian thinks when they think of living in Alberta,” she adds.
The Dream Home is known to draw more than 100,000 visitors each year.
“I’m thrilled,” says Holt. “I think just the exposure and the chance that I have to be an Alberta artist and showcase my work in Alberta and for an Alberta company — I feel very blessed.”
Holt’s no stranger to the Calgary Stampede. In fact, he credits his time at the annual summer event as one of the reasons his interests turned to art.
“I grew up going to the Stampede through 4-H, and I’d hang out in the dream home and look at the art,” says Holt. “Spending most of my days during the Stampede looking through the (Calgary Stampede Western Showcase), that’s what inspired me to be an artist.”
Holt’s art will also make its way to this year’s Western Showcase, where he says 30 to 40 of his pieces will be on display.
This year’s Dream Home will have three bedrooms, three bathrooms and measure 2,442 square feet. One of the many ski-themed elements to the home is a chair lift-inspired bench in front of a natural rock wall at the front entrance. This is intended to create the feeling of a ski lift in the mountains, says Punter.