Marionettes, Sculptures Featured In Upcoming Art Show At Blyth Art Gallery

Whimsical puppets, sculptures invade Blyth Gallery BLYTH - Visitors to the Blyth Festival Art Gallery will be treated to a show of whimsical marionette puppets and sculptures created by artist Gemma James Smith that caricature both imagined local characters and real historical figures. We've Been Here for So Long - the Huron County Show runs Aug. 25 to Sept. 25.

Drawing her inspiration from local stories and through historical research, James Smith depicts both day-in-the-life characters such as Mail Order Bride and School Marm, to titans like Tiger Dunlop. Also represented are lesser known local heroes such as Jennie Smillie, Canada's first female surgeon and one of the founders of Women's College Hospital. Each of her characters has a story to tell. James Smith comes to her understanding of the subject matter honestly. She has made a career as a theatre creator, performer and designer working all across Canada on many of the country's premiere stages. Gemma spent more than a decade as a studio assistant to the world-renowned puppeteer Ronnie Burkett, learning old-world puppet-making techniques and using an array of contemporary sculpting media. A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, James Smith also studied sculpture at the Ontario College of Art and Design. Her own costume designs have been seen on stages in Montreal and Toronto, and have been featured for the past few years in several productions at the Blyth Festival.

"I grew up in a world of puppets. There is something very compelling for me about miniatures. From a very young age I was obsessed with dollhouse furniture. As a kid, I would spend hours stenciling tiny wallpaper patterns, or making tiny frames out of toothpicks that could go around a postage stamp and make it look like a painting hanging on a dollhouse wall. I could spend hours and hours at it, reimagining the things around me as though they were actually part of a tiny world. I'm still really drawn to repurposing found objects, especially when I can see a way to replicate the shape of a tiny thing," James Smith said. "I also think humour is essential to art; that it contributes to art's acceptance by the general public. I want my art to be part of my community and I feel that my art has to be responsible to it. Above all I hope that it invites an audience in, and offers something they can recognize," she said. She now lives on a small farm in Bayfield with "many chickens" and her growing family.

The public can view Gemma James Smith's fascinating exhibition in the Bainton Gallery, Blyth Memorial Community Hall, from Aug. 24 to Sept. 25. We've Been Here for So Long - the Huron County Show is presented by the Blyth Festival Art Gallery. It is curated by Kelly Stevenson and Colleen Schenk and sponsored by Maarten Bokhout and Helena McShane. The gallery is located next to the Blyth Festival box office and is open during box office hours. Admission is free. For further information, phone 519-345-2184.