CHESTERMERE – I love living in Chestermere and one of the streets in particular that I enjoy driving on is West Chestermere Drive. No matter how many times I’ve driven down that street I always find something new that I hadn’t noticed before. I was told many years ago that some pieces of art are the same way; you can stare at them time and again and see something you hadn’t noticed before. Buy the art piece that makes you want to keep looking at it and you’ll never tire of it.
Unknowingly of my attachment to the thoroughfare, the Urban Beautification Committee in Chestermere has made my journey even better with the addition of some recently added new banners on the street light standards on West Chestermere Drive. The artwork was done by local artist Lesley Bergen. Lesley is a fabulous artist that is well known in Chestermere and has been involved with the Chestermere Art Guild. Lesley generously donated the artwork for the banners but this is not the first time she has donated her work. The Meow Foundation and others have benefited from her generosity as well. Her work this time is a little different than what she normally paints. She uses thousands of tiny dots of acrylic paint to create an image. This time she cut up several pieces of tissue paper and assembled them into the wonderful art pieces you’ll see on the banners. Her love of bright colourful paintings, Lesley was inspired by an artist by the name of Eric Carle, an illustrator of over 70 children’s books. “I consider myself as a visionary artist, a metaphysical connection with nature” says Lesley “and I feel pretty lucky to have been asked to design the banners”. She adds “We have so many talented artists and art groups here in Chestermere and it would be great to see other artist’s work presented within our community; Chestermere has lots of talent to share”. Lesley made eight pieces of artwork but they doubled up on them because they actually fit together to make four images. Lesley will take part in the Chestermere Art Walk that the Artisans of Chestermere (another art group in Chestermere) are putting together for Chestermere Art Days. The Art Days/Art Walk event is the last weekend in September – Saturday, September 29 & Sunday, September 30, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm. This will be the second year for the event; last year was really successful. The Art Walk is where artists in Chestermere open up their ‘studios’ in their homes for people to come and see their art. Lesley also has a link on Facebook and a webpage with some nice photos of her work.
Check it out at – http://www.lesleybergen.ca/#
So the next time you’re on West Chestermere Drive, you too may find the road just a little more stimulating.
