Gallery hosting two art events tonight

The Two Rivers Gallery is welcoming a pair of artistic stars into their downtown environment today to speak their creative minds.

One of these VIP guests will be involved in upstair activities while one holds court downstairs at the city’s premier art gallery.

The upstairs events take place in the MakerLab where the public meets up each week to work on inventive hands-on projects ranging from knitting to robotics.

It’s the kind of place where Emily Smith thrives.

She is a textile artist, researcher and educator, is the co-founder of Vancouver’s annual Mini-Maker Faire, and is a driving force behind the Vancouver Maker Foundation.

“Join Emily at MakerLab for an activity that’s out of this world,” said a gallery spokesperson.

“In this workshop, you’ll learn the basics of needle felting and build your own planets. Put them together to make a mighty mobile or pretty awesome planetary ring.”

This workshop is called Felting Cosmic Crowns and is recommended for ages eight and up. The MakerLab drop-in fee ($5.25 plus tax) is in effect. Smith’s

(Maureen) Faulkner committed to paint an artwork per day for the duration of the year.

— Two Rivers Gallery statement

workshop starts at 7:30 p.m. Downstairs at the Rustad Galleria, another 7:30 p.m. event gets underway.

One of Prince George’s best known artists, Maureen Faulkner, will unveil the fruits of a tall project she’s been growing since January of 2016.

That’s when Faulkner set herself to a particularly consuming artistic challenge.

“Faulkner committed to paint an artwork per day for the duration of the year,” said a gallery spokesperson. “She determined the size of her paintings would increase by an inch in both height and length each month and that she would compose a piece of automatic writing to accompany each work.

Faulkner shared her paintings digitally through her social media channels and invited followers of the project to mail her objects that she could feature in her paintings.

This multidimensional body of work has been an exercise in commitment, daily reflection, and communication.”

Faulkner called her finished project Cultivating Habit and it opens tonight for an exhibition running until May 6.

The opening reception is free of charge. Light refreshments will be served, and Faulkner will be on hand to discuss the process and the finished works.