Victoria Park Gallery features quilt challenge, and local artist's work

The Victoria Park Gallery in downtown Kincardine is offering a double-bill for the month of May.

The Kincardine Sunset Quilters' Guild has the entries for its Past-President's Challenge 2015 displayed; and local artist Andrea Zimmer has her work hanging in the guest gallery as well.

The quilt challenge, "Backyard Dreams," called on the guild members to create an imaginary spot using all of their quilting and embellishing imagination. It did not have to be a "garden" with flowers. It could be what they dreamed of in their backyard or what a fantasy garden might have or it might actually be their backyard.
It might be full of bugs, or real money plants with loonies and toonies for leaves. It might even be a clothesline full of quilts or a vision of dancing gypsies - anything goes.

Each entry had to use three kinds of embellishment and must somewhere in the main work use the colour yellow. Entry size was limited to 160 inches in perimeter; freestanding entries were to be no larger than 24 inches wide and 12 inches deep.

The winner of the challenge will be chosen by Viewer's Choice votes at the Victoria Park Gallery, from now until May 31. A Judge's Choice will also be awarded, and the prizes presented at the June meeting of the quilters' guild.

Meanwhile, Kincardine's Zimmer has a variety of her work on display, including acrylic on canvas, mixed media, and fabric and twine.
 

Born and raised in Dashwood, Ontario, Zimmer moved to Vancouver to study at the Emily Carr School of Art. She graduated and then stayed there for 18 years, and began working with a company doing outdoor celebration art. She did a lot of festivals, working with stilts and puppets, something she continues to do in Kincardine.
 

In 2008, she moved here, and she and her husband, Bill Morrison, have two dogs, "Queenie" and Ace."
 

While she enjoys doing the Smiley-face paintings, using acrylic on wood, she eventually branched out into mixed media, creating 2D and 3D pieces. The Smiley-faces stemmed from her plan to create a children's book. Drawing from her work with puppets, she sat down and did a few sketches, and from there, the spontaneous and fun Smiley-faces appeared.
 

She enjoys creating with mixed media, using items, such as a tin can lid, in a different way.

The gallery is located in the Kincardine Arts Centre in downtown Kincardine, Its summer hours are Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Noon to 3 p.m.

For more information, check the website at www.vpgallerykincardine.com