Full Metal Basket - exhibition opening @ Oxygen Art Centre this Friday
By Nelson Daily Editor
By Fiona Brown
Born-and-raised Nakusp artist Kate Tupper opens her latest exhibition, Full Metal Basket, at Oxygen Art Centre this Friday (7 p.m.).
Kate is a female tradesperson – a welder and fabricator – and a mother who tells her story in the weaving of her metal baskets.
“I have built a wall to keep my feminine emotions in check. As well as applying this to my professional life, I have had to apply it to my personal, as a mother,” she said.
“I have chosen to focus on the form of a vessel because my body is a vessel that carries my emotions tightly woven, sometimes fraying, often threatening to overflow.”
It’s actually very hard for her to build sculpture, she admitted.
“I go to my studio from 5:30 to 7:30 in the morning, then go back into the house to get my two boys ready for school (my husband is a logger and leaves early) and then I go to work in Nakusp all day. When I go home I make dinner and give some love to my family.”
But it’s not an option for her to not do sculpture.
“I would be disappointed if I didn’t,” she said. “When I feel stressed I weave metal for a while and I feel so much better. I could fabricate anything I want with metal, but I choose to weave with it.”
With one of her young sons suffering from mental illness, she can feel isolated and alone, particularly in a rural area.
“I try to physically take a lot of feelings and show them in my sculptures so people can identify with them and not feel so alone.”
To learn more about Kate’s work, go to sparktart.com. There will be an artist talk at 7:30 p.m., Friday, June 17. Gallery hours are 1-5 p.m., Wednesday through Friday.
For more information on upcoming programming, including the third annual Kids Summer Art Camp in July, check out oxygenartcentre.org.
Full Metal Basket – exhibition opening
@ Oxygen Art Centre, Friday, June 3, 7 p.m.
- 320 Vernon St, alley entrance, oxygenartcentre.org
