Sonja Pawliw wishes she could find more room in her house. At the moment, her home is stuffed with paintings, mosaics, and other projects. She鈥檚 filled every square inch with art. She wants to redesign her house to have sliding walls so she can store her work away.
鈥淚t鈥檚 overwhelming,鈥� she said.
Luckily for Pawliw, the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery took some of her artistic endeavours off her hands. They sifted through Pawliw鈥檚 decades-old projects and selected a handful of outstanding materials. They moved the pieces to the gallery, creating a brand-new exhibition.
鈥淭hey knew what to choose,鈥� Pawliw said. 鈥淭hey did such a good job.
鈥淚 was very humbled.鈥�
The exhibition, titled 鈥淪onja Pawliw: Living Garden,鈥� opened on Sept. 9. Sonja鈥檚 friends, family, and fans filled the gallery for an afternoon reception, enjoying a selection of food and the wide variety of art.
鈥淭he exhibition is a retrospective of Sonja鈥檚 work and it demonstrates all the different mediums she鈥檚 engaged with over the years,鈥� said Edie Skeard, co-curator of the exhibit. 鈥淲e wanted to show how diverse her work is.
鈥淚t鈥檚 fantastic.鈥�
Pawliw has worked with the art gallery for years, often contributing to its annual local artist event. Executive Director Don Stein reached out to Pawliw to make a specialized exhibit for the fall.
鈥淚 had the idea that if we took all the work she did in the last 10 years, we鈥檇 have enough for a show,鈥� he said.
The exhibit鈥檚 offerings stretch beyond the last decade. The work encapsulates Pawliw鈥檚 experiences from the current year to her childhood.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the last 60 years of my life,鈥� she said.
Pawliw is best known in Yorkton for her garden (which won the 鈥淐anada 150 Garden Experience鈥� award last year). Skeard built off that reputation when she designed the exhibit鈥檚 layout.
鈥淚 grouped things by theme,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 tried to build pathways through the different works, much like pathways in a garden.鈥�
The exhibit is full of landscapes and intimate portraits of nature, with a specific focus on Pawliw鈥檚 visit to Ukraine. There are also several mosaic shoes and orbs. Mosaic is the art of creating something using small pieces of coloured glass. Pawliw enjoys breaking glass for her mosaics.
鈥淚t does take out some frustrations,鈥� she joked.
One of Pawliw鈥檚 proudest creations is an obituary she made for her grandmother when she was 15. She wrote it in Ukrainian on glass. Pawliw credits her grandmother for nourishing her creative spirit.
鈥淢y grandma was my angel, my soul,鈥� she said.
Pawliw wants to make more time to explore creative ventures in the future. She plans to spend less time with chores and more time feeding her artistic side.
鈥淒on鈥檛 waste any time聽 because life goes by so fast,鈥� she said. 鈥淎ge is something you can鈥檛 hold back.
鈥淚 always make time for the things I like to do.鈥�
Pawliw is thankful for the opportunity to share her art with the public. She hopes she can contiune to create and explore.
鈥淚鈥檓 sort of in a high cloud right now,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 very grateful for my health and my ability.鈥�
