{"id":41947,"date":"2023-08-18T01:59:28","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T08:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=41947"},"modified":"2023-08-17T16:24:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T23:24:00","slug":"zack-exhibit-celebrates-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2023\/08\/18\/zack-exhibit-celebrates-nature\/","title":{"rendered":"Zack exhibit celebrates nature"},"content":{"rendered":"

Enda Bardell (photo from Enda Bardell)<\/em><\/p>\n

Creativity manifests itself in people\u2019s lives in different ways and at different times. For Enda Bardell, various forms of art occupied her for decades, while Mike Cohene discovered woodcarving only a few years ago, on his way to retirement. Their double show, Artistry in Wood and Water, opened at the Zack Gallery on July 26.<\/p>\n

Bardell told the Independent <\/em>that she was born in Estonia. In 1944, when she was a young child, her family fled from Estonia, then occupied by the Nazis, to Sweden. Her mother worked at a paper factory there, and Bardell played with paper dolls she made herself. She also drew all the dolls\u2019 colourful outfits. \u201cI gave the dolls away to other girls, to make friends,\u201d she recalled. \u201cMy first attempts at fashion design.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few years later, the family was forced to move again. The Russian communist government wanted the return of all the Estonians who had escaped the Nazis during the war, and Sweden was going to comply with that demand. But Bardell\u2019s father didn\u2019t want to live in communist Russia, so they became refugees again, this time ending up in Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1951, we came to Winnipeg,\u201d said Bardell. \u201cI went to school there and I desperately wanted to fit in. To belong. To be Canadian. I participated in many school clubs and activities. Entered an art class, too. My teacher praised me and recommended that I send one of my drawings to an interschool art competition. I did. And I won. I knew then that I was an artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interested in landscapes and abstracts, Bardell painted a lot as a teenager, but, after her high school graduation, she became deeply involved in fabric art. \u201cI sold my batiks at craft fairs and house parties. People liked them, and someone suggested I should open my own store,\u201d she said. \u201cI did. I designed lots of different textile objects: skirts, pillowcases, aprons, etc. I felt that I needed a business course, in addition to my art education, so I took it. My store was very successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, as soon as the store achieved that success, running it lost its challenges. \u201cI became bored,\u201d said Bardell. \u201cIt was time for a change.\u201d<\/p>\n

She sold the store and did many other things in her professional life. \u201cI always want to try something new, something I\u2019ve never tried before. At one time or another, I was a lamp designer. I worked in banking. I was a realtor. I designed costumes for the Vancouver movie industry,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She also traveled a lot. \u201cI have visited 38 countries. I like adventures, like it when I can\u2019t speak the tongue. Then I have to express myself through body language. I have to be creative,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Art always shimmered on the periphery of her life, a constant creative supplement to her various commercial careers. First, abstract oils and acrylics, and, later, watercolours. Painting eventually metamorphosed into the focus of her existence. In the past two decades, she has participated in multiple solo and group exhibitions in Canada and abroad. In 2008, she even participated in an art show in her native Estonia, the Estonian Art in Exile exhibition at KUMU, the National Museum of Art in Tallinn. KUMU acquired one of her acrylic abstracts for their permanent collection; another of her paintings is in the Tartu Art Museum in Estonia. Her paintings are represented by many local galleries.<\/p>\n

The current exhibition at the Zack is the result of a trip Bardell took to Yukon shortly before the COVID pandemic temporarily closed all travel. \u201cMy son lives in Yukon,\u201d she said. At his prompting, she applied and was granted residency for one month at Ted Harrison Cabin in 2018. \u201cWe hired an RV and traveled there for two weeks,\u201d she said. \u201cYukon was amazing: mountains, rivers, lakes. The place resonated with me. I took 1,400 photos during our travels. Based on the selection from those photos, I painted 40 watercolour pieces during my stay at the cabin. It was a privilege to stay in that wonderful place, especially because I had met Ted previously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of Bardell\u2019s paintings in this series involve rivers and lakes. \u201cI like water,\u201d she said. \u201cI have always lived on the water, except for one year in Winnipeg. I swim year-round here, summer and winter. Sometimes, I have seals swimming with me. It feels magical.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she submitted her Yukon series to the Zack Gallery, it was accepted, on the condition that it would be a double show, as gallery exhibitions must have a Jewish connection. Bardell\u2019s Jewish connection became Mike Cohene, a local woodcarver. His colourful carved fish complement perfectly Bardell\u2019s watercolours of Yukon\u2019s rivers and lakes.<\/p>\n

Unlike Bardell, Cohene didn\u2019t do anything artistic until 2009. \u201cI had a solid clothing business,\u201d he said. \u201cAwhile back, I started thinking about retiring and selling the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Mike Cohene (photo by Linda Babins)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the summer of 2009, Cohene visited Steveston Farmers Market. \u201cThey had a booth of the Richmond Carvers Society \u2013 I thought their works were outstanding,\u201d he said. \u201cI always whittled but I never considered myself artistic. I started talking to the man in the booth, expressing my admiration. He said anyone could learn to do it. He invited me to come to the club meeting in September. I went.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since that day, he has learned a lot about the artistry and the technique of woodcarving. His journey began with woodcarving classes at the society. Later, he took a course at Emily Carr University of Art + Design and enrolled in carving workshops.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first carving was a bear cub,\u201d he said. \u201cThen I made a dolphin. Then I started carving fish and birds\u2026. I\u2019ve always been a fisherman, but I never studied fish anatomy before. I caught a fish and tossed it into a bucket. Now, I catch a fish and study it: the fins, the tail, the scales, how the colours change. I look at fish from a new perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2017, Cohene participated in his first two-artist exhibition at the Zack Gallery, with photographer Joanne Emerman. Since then, his art has become even more refined. \u201cI learned more sophisticated techniques and tools,\u201d he said. \u201cI got several residencies in B.C. and Oregon.\u201d Three years ago, he began teaching woodcarving to other Richmond Carvers Society members.<\/p>\n

To create his wooden creatures as life-like as possible, Cohene uses various reference materials. \u201cMostly I use my own photographs,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen other people photograph wildlife, they give it their own interpretation, but I want to follow my own vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

His statues of fish include rocks and corals, all carefully carved and painted in bright, realistic colours. \u201cSometimes, one statue takes up to 20 coats of paint \u2013 different wood parts absorb paint with different intensity,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

He also uses tree branches as mounting blocks \u2013 they are not carved, just sawed off, polished and lacquered. \u201cI only use dead wood for my statues. I often walk along the beach and pick up interesting pieces of driftwood. I\u2019ve never harmed even one living tree,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Recently, Cohene has started exploring First Nation carving. The motifs attract him, and he has several pieces on display at the gallery, including two decorative oars.<\/p>\n

He also creates Judaica \u2013 mezuzot, chanukiyot and dreidels \u2013 some of which can be seen at the gallery. Cohene has been to Israel 34 times. \u201cOnce, I brought 12 kilograms of olive wood with me from Israel, and I make many of my Judaica pieces from the reclaimed Israeli wood,\u201d he said. \u201cOlive wood has such a beautiful texture. And dreidels are fun to make.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever he works on, Cohene always gives it his all. \u201cFor me,\u201d he said, \u201cwoodcarving is a form of self-fulfillment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Artistry in Wood and Water runs until Sept. 5. To learn more, visit the artists\u2019 websites: endabardell.com<\/a> and mikecohene.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Olga Livshin<\/strong> is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at olgagodim@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Enda Bardell (photo from Enda Bardell) Creativity manifests itself in people\u2019s lives in different ways and at different times. For Enda Bardell, various forms of art occupied her for decades, while Mike Cohene discovered woodcarving only a few years ago, on his way to retirement. Their double show, Artistry in Wood and Water, opened at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41949,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[989],"tags":[6801,22529,2845,6823,6803,6691,22530,7763,40],"class_list":["post-41947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visual-arts","tag-carving","tag-enda-bardell","tag-environment","tag-judaica","tag-mike-cohene","tag-painting","tag-watercolour","tag-yukon","tag-zack-gallery"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}