www.markpenneygallery.com

Pacific Rim Arts Society, is having a local Artists showing. ‘Wave Art Show’ runs October 26-27-28 (in the Harbour Lounge) at Weigh West Resort, 634 Campbell St., Tofino.

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For 2 weeks (July 1st to July 15) Ucluelet and Tofino host a new event; Pacific Rim Summer Festival. Organized by the dynamos over at P.R.A.S (Pacific Rim Arts Society) the event has a list of local events featuring Music and Performance art. In our own Whiskey Dock way, we invited traveling street performers from Quebec to entertain Ucluelet’s Historic Waterfront District. Randy ( an eccentric local ) cranked up the music from his pickup in support of the french speaking duos efforts. The crowd from the Francis Barkley and those milling around in front of the Aquarium seemed to respond to the impromptu display of culture.

Canada Day in Ucluelet is punctuated by fireworks at dusk in the harbour. It draws a crowd down to the Whiskey Dock.

The official ceremonies are conducted at the village green, and followed by live entertainment in the afternoon. This year Elgin with Pacific Rim Arts Society had a table featuring several donated pieces of art to fund raise for the Pacific Rim Summer Festival a week long event with a focus on performence based art and music in the area. Elgin Ambrose, Nigel Brooks Peer and I donated pieces in support of the raffle.

Marla was born in and grew up in Vancouver, next to Kitsilano Beach, then moved to the Spanish Banks area and has lived in Ucluelet for almost 30 years. By the ocean most of her life, her father claims she must have been born with a paintbrush in hand, as there was never a time when she wasn’t creating art. At age 11 she won her first competition and was shown at Vancouver Art Gallery. She claims to have never had formal training acquiring knowledge from books and various workshops.

Marla is known as Ucluelet’s Artist, a title she’s very proud of. She was the president of the Pacific Rim Arts Society for 6 years, revamped the annual art show and currently organizes the craft fair. As the creator of Art in the Gardens, an art festival held each September at the Tofino Botanical Gardens; now in it’s 6th year and the organizing force behind Artists-in-Action during the Whale Festival she acts as the defacto authority on the local art scene. A number of murals are featured around town.

Marla works in many different mediums and a variety of styles, and is well known for doing commissioned works. Her style is eclectic and she pushes herself to explore new fascinations. The Whale Festival Posters garner a lot of attention, and her work has appeared all over the world.

Originals can be viewed at Mark Penney Gallery, Ucluelet and at Cedar Corner Gallery in Tofino, as well.
www.marlathirsk.com Marla’s new website
http://marlathirsk.blogspot.com/ Marla’s blog

Posts tagged Marla Thirsk

We support our local art scene, so this year Mark Penney Gallery participated in Pacific Rim Art Society’s Random Acts of Art week. 1st we chalked up the parking lot at Whiskey Landing with a fish mural, a bit of a nod toward the aquarium, and our local fishermen.
Then at, Elgin’s suggestion, we made a sculpture out of found objects (garbage) at the south end of Florencia Bay. The sculpture and chalk drawings appeared on the P.R.A.S. website and in their online photo album.