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| We would really appreciate it if you could leave us a review on Google Maps Metchosin ArtPod Art Gallery – Google Maps  ArtPod will be closed from:22 December through 29 January Our Current Show WHITElight Fri Nov 7th – Sun Dec 21st  WHITElight: absence. emergence. possibility.“White light is the combination of all wavelengths of light and reads to the human eye as the colour white.” The WHITElight show invited artists to put the colour white under the light. To look at white not only as an inclusive space on the colour spectrum (white does contain ALL other colours), but also as metaphor, material, and mood. We were looking for works that reveal through restraint, find beauty in simplicity, truth in minimalism, hope in brightness. We were looking for artworks that speak in whispers rather than shouts, artworks that evoke: Beginnings. Absence. Calm. Quiet. Innocence. Perfection. Simplicity. Ease. Emergence. Restoration. Tranquility. Otherworldliness. Clarity. Stillness. Reflection. Possibility. Cleanliness. Antisepsis. Sparseness. Coldness. Emptiness. Aging. Endings. Artists were asked to probe the paradox of white: its ability to both conceal and reveal, its associations with both life and sterility, birth and erasure, light and death, calm and chaos. The WHITElight show is a a meditation on what lies veiled beneath the surface—and the blank slate of what is yet to come. Join us as we immerse ourselves in a world stripped to essentials in this season of excess. Workshop Playing Abstractly with Kevin Keliher Saturday,December 6th, at 12:30  This workshop, for all skill levels, invites you to explore the overlooked, the ordinary, and the everyday, uncovering the beauty in your immediate surroundings. You will look for patterns, symbols, meaningful objects, and/or create simple sketches, then use these raw materials to create abstract layered digital collages.Various techniques will be demonstrated, and participants will have the opportunity to play on their own smartphones or tablets. They will use apps (downloaded ahead of time) to create at least two unique compositions.The workshop is designed to build confidence in working with digital media, making creative technology feel accessible, playful, and empowering. Using Union and Snapseed, participants will have the opportunity to learn to edit, layer, and enhance images with ease—unlocking new modes of storytelling through visual composition.What to Bring:Fully charged smartphone and/or tablet.Pre-download, on your phone or tablet, the applications “Union” & “Snapseed” (these should be free)Paper, pencil, eraser, pens, etc, for mark-making, sketches and brainstormingWhy: Expand your creative self-expression through hands-on exercises and create your own, unique digital images. Learn the basics of two helpful and free image-processing Apps. The workshop is designed to build confidence in working with digital media. WHITElight Jurors Choice Winners:Congratulations to Mary Wulff, John McFetrick and David Good     JOY – the season for it Latest Exhibition Books WHITElight: Absence. Emergence. Possibility Talisman: The Art of Power and Meaning These books contain the work of all artists juried into the exhibitions, and the jurors’ work. They are available from Amazon for $25   Buy Now Click BUY NOW to purchase the latest book, WHITElightTo purchase books from previous shows click the link below https://metchosinartpod.ca/exhibition-books/ Open Call December 5th – January 16th THREADS: WEAVING NARRATIVES  Exhibition Dates: January 30th, through March 15th 2026Gallery Hours: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11 – 4 pm Deadline for Submissions: January 16th, 2026, results January 19th, 2026 Opening Gala: January 31st, 2 – 4 pm Curatorial Team: Phyllis Schwartz, Angela Menzies, Dyan Marie and Edward Peck Juror: Elizabeth Carefoot Workshop: Elizabeth Carefoot: Stitched Scrolls- Date TBD Threads invites artists to submit work that explores the intricate and interconnected nature of creativity. The theme of threads symbolizes connection, identity, storytelling, and the fabric of society.We are seeking works that feature thread, fibre, and weaving as central motifs, as well as pieces in painting, sculpture, photography, installation, digital art, and mixed media. This exhibition aims to highlight both the literal and metaphorical power of threads—how they bind, intersect, and carry meaning across different forms of expression.Through this theme, we hope to bring together diverse voices and practices, weaving them into a collective narrative that reflects the richness and versatility of human creativity. Our second show of the year to coincide with World Earth Day FIRE Destructive-Regenerative-Sacred OPEN CALL Jan 30th to Mar 6th Show Runs Mar 20th to May 3rd  Exhibition Dates: March 20th, through May 3rdGallery Hours: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11 – 4 pm Deadline for Submissions: March 6th, 2026, results March 9th 2026) Opening Gala: March 21st, 2 – 4 pm Curatorial Team: Khione Gardner and Kim Money Juror: Samantha Dickie Workshop: TBD In honour of World Earth Day, the Metchosin ArtPod presents The Fire exhibition, the Third part of the continuing Elements series. ArtPod is thrilled to once again have Samantha Dickie as our guest Artist and juror. We are looking for submissions that explore the elemental force of Fire across all artistic media, including but not limited to painting, sculpture, installation, photography, video art, digital media, performance, and mixed media. How has Fire impacted you? Maybe you think of destructive wild fires. Or sharing stories and songs around a campfire. A powerful force of change, Fire represents both renewal and destruction, the sacred and profane, safety and danger, passion and loss. All living beings have a primal relationship with Fire. Whether inspiration comes from personal, cultural or historical influences, the works should attempt to evoke emotions and spark conversation. We hope this exhibition will bring together works that highlight Fire’s transformative and dualistic nature. Let There Be Light By Diana Smith Spring has arrived early at ArtPod. For the last few weeks it has been out with the old and in with the new. That grubby old folding table covered with the cheap black tablecloth masquerading as a sales desk? Gone. The large dark IKEA storage unit that a member didn’t need anymore (i.e. was desperately trying to get rid of) that could be sort-of used for small artwork display? Exiled out-of-sight to the kitchen. The gallery has had a makeover. We now have a sleek white sales desk and our messy (in retrospect) dark alcove has been transformed into a gallery-within-a-gallery for solo shows or, like now, smaller artworks appropriate to the season. The whole space is lit up by an array of new bulbs that all match in shape and colour and shine the same kind light on the artwork below. Some of us, maybe even you, didn’t notice the mismatched lights or even mind the ancient CD player used to add background music to the space. (It was scooped up from the street, for free, years ago. What’s wrong with that? Eh?) Others, thankfully, did notice and did mind. This transformation is aided by a critical mass, three it turns out, of new and existing members who have certifiable OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and, not incidentally, a Cricut machine (label-maker, to the uninitiated). Ask to see inside our drawers. Please. We will not be embarrassed to show you. Proud even. There is a place for everything (that has survived the purge) and it is labelled and if other members dare put as much as a paperclip out of order – there will be blood! The changes are partly thanks to a grant from the West Shore Arts Council. And, at the risk of giving ammunition to those who are not supportive, some even vociferous, of tax-payer money going to the arts for the community, it is also thanks to the on-going subsidised rent we receive from our ‘landlord’ aka: the District of Metchosin. It is also due to the hours and hours and hours of volunteer time from members and their (mostly) uncomplaining partners that keep this little non-profit not just existing but thriving. This is all for art. This month continues the WHITElight show interpreted, as usual, both metaphorically and conceptually as well as literally. There is something for a wide range of tastes. One of my favourites was also a favourite of the juror, Kevin Keliher: Half life by local artist Mary Wulff, a piece (pictured) inspired by a virtual reality meditation program. Another favourite is WHITE (LIGHT) by East Sooke resident Dyan Marie. Her fabric-based artwork is large, eight by four feet, and her ideas are larger. In it she ‘explores white as paradox, a surface that both veils and reveals, a presence complicated by the shadows it gathers…’ Some, I fear, will dismiss this as ‘artspeak’ but those who are open to its meaning and, more, take some time to contemplate the artwork will be rewarded. Speaking of being open, ArtPod is offering a half-day workshop exploring the potential of digital imagery in art. Kevin Keliher will facilitate Playing Abstractly: analogue sketch to digital montage on Saturday, December 6th, 12.30 to 4 pm in the Event Room, upstairs from ArtPod. The workshop is an invitation to ‘expand your creative self-expression through hands-on exercises and create your own, unique digital images. Learn the basics of two helpful and free image-processing apps. The workshop is designed to build confidence in working with digital media.’ ArtPod has already planned a stimulating range of themes for our 2026 lineup of shows that are on our website for you to view, and better yet, get you creating. The call-for-submissions for our first show of the year is open December 5th to January 16th. Called Threads: Weaving Narratives, we are not only looking for artwork that uses all manner of fabric and threads but also artwork that will interpret the theme conceptually and metaphorically, whether made with sheep’s wool, oil paint, recycled bottle caps or practically anything. Details for all events and on-going art opportunities are at metchosinartpod.ca.  Painting by Mary Wulff It is light distilled, pared down, pressed forward, or allowed to drift before form takes shape. Yet white is not neutral. Beyond its optical brilliance and connotations of presumed purity or sterility, the word also carries layers of history, race, and expectation. Its meanings shift continuously—as does this work—shaped by perspective and experience, refracted like the light we encounter. Metchosin ArtPod’s Weekly Programs Monday Watercolour Drop in 1-3pm  WATERCOLOUR DROP IN SESSIONS. Bring your current project and work with us! 1-3pm all MONDAYS except Holiday Mondays DIY Room All levels Atelier! Hope to see you there!This is an open invitation to artists of all experience levels to play with watercolours with an expert available for consultation. Join us on Mondays from 1-3pm. For the first 20-30 minutes, Jean will give a mini-lesson. (People do not have to participate in this part if they do not wish to.) Jean is a Professor Emeritus of Guelph University who moved to Metchosin in 2020. She has a wealth of experience in printmaking and watercolour work, has an extensive CV, large body of work, and a love of teaching. Sessions will be held in the upstairs Events Room at the Metchosin Arts and Cultural Centre, 4495 Happy Valley Road, Victoria, B.C. V9C 3Z3. The room holds 20 artists, first come, first served, and does have a sink. Unfortunately, this room is not wheelchair accessible. The cost is $10 per session, payable in cash each day(s) you attend. No materials included. For additional information, please get in touch with the coordinator, Memet Burnett, at memetburnett@metchosinartpod.ca Wednesday Rural Sketching 2pm- 4pm  This is how rural skechers beat the cold of winter. We sketch indoors, either bringing material indoors or looking out the window. Here’s some members at the Juan de FUca Library in Colwood busy at work. Or is it ‘play’? Join us for a weekly two-hour sketching session, either in various outdoor locations on the Westshore or indoors, depending on the weather. We meet every Wednesday, 1.30 – 3.30. The weekly location is sent to those interested a day or so before Wednesday, depending on the weather. The sessions are drop-in, free and no instruction is given, although other members are more than happy to share tips and experience. All welcome from beginners to full time artists. For more information and to join the email list contact: dianasmith@metchosinartpod.ca. Tuesday Life Drawing 10am to 12pm   Sketches done by Joan BorutskieLife Drawing is looking for models. If you are interested please contact Glenda or Nell below: This an open invitation to artists of all experience to join us Tuesdays,10am-12pm, in the upstairs Events Room at Metchosin Arts and Cultural Centre. Sessions are $10 payable in cash on the day you attend. Models are nude and the room holds 20 people (first come first served) and sorry, is not wheelchair friendly. For more information contact one of the coordinators….. Glenda Balkan at glendabalkan@gmail.com Nell Gadd at hegadd@yahoo.comMember News Phyllis Schwartz’s image, THIS WAY UP, will be included in the next edition of the Collage Magazine: Cut Me UP, due for publication in January. It’s a fun project: each edition is made from images published in the previous edition. The theme for this edition was Ritual and Collage.    Two of Phyllis’s photo-based collages are included in the Pictures at the Intersection of Photography & Collage Exhibition. This show takes place at the Kolaj Institute Gallery from 10 December 2025 to 24 January 2026 as part of PhotoNOLA 2025.The Digital Weave by Phyllis Schwartz 7.25″x8.25″; archival hot press bright photo paper and glue; 2025 Torn Presence by Phyllis Schwartz 6.75″x8.25″; archival hot press bright photo paper and glue; 2025 22 Print Makers @ arc-hive  Around the Islandarc.hive Artist Run CentreArt Victoria: Arts MapCecelia PressCowichan Valley Arts Councilerrant artspaceECAH (formerly the Esquimalt Community Arts Hub)Fired Up!: Contemporary Works in ClayGage Gallery Arts CollectiveGround Zero PrintmakersMISSA Metchosin International Summer School of the ArtsRock Bay SquareSooke Arts CouncilSooke Fine Arts ShowTidal Art Centre, Lund, BCXchanges Gallery, Artist Run CentreVictoria Arts Council: (Victoria Arts Council Newsletter)Westshore Arts CouncilWilson & Co, Gallery and StudioSaanich Exhibition OpportunitiesArts and Culture in the Capital Regional DistrictArts and Culture in the Capital Regional DistrictWest Shore Arts Council, Student Art Virtual Gallery |