Art show opening Wednesday night

Art classes can teach painting skills or they can also teach life skills. The mental pathways to creativity often pass through emotional development and gathering general knowledge of the world. That’s why a set of adult art students keep going to teacher Donna Morrison’s classes at her Life Lessons studio.

The students will have their latest artwork on display for an exhibition at the Omineca Arts Centre from Wednesday to Saturday.

“There are seven of us. We will be putting in two or three pieces each,” said Penny Jacob, one of the students in the show. “It’s exciting for us because we’ve been taking these art lessons from Donna and the theme of Breaking Boundaries is open to our interpretation of that, what it means to us.”

All seven will be at a gala reception on Wednesday night from 7 to 9 p.m. Some will discuss their techniques and impressions for the audience in attendance, or in private conversations around the room throughout the night.

For each of these students, Breaking Boundaries really is uncharted territory, said Jacob. These are artists just at the start of their art explorations, even though they have perhaps more life experience than the typical art student.

It was Morrison who made the difference, to encourage them each to strive for new creative skills, Jacob explained.

“I took the art certificate course at CNC, a part-time program they have there, and sometimes you need to further what you’re learning,” she said. “Donna is so great at saying ‘ahhh, no problem’ and kind of rescues you from those moments when you get stuck in your progress.”

After the Wednesday night gala, the Omineca Arts Centre (located at Third Avenue and George Street) will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and from 10 to 4 on Saturday to close out the brief exhibition.