Gaklery Exhibitions Coming Up at the McMillan Arts Centre in Parksville, BC

Come to a beautiful region of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and nestle in at the McMillan Centre for a new dazzling show.

Pictured: Ruth Beiber

October 28 – November 23, 2025

CONCERT GALLERY

Layers of the Living World

Michelle NYBERG

I’ve always loved nature, but it wasn’t until my teenage years that I realized how deeply the natural world shaped my sense of well-being. On a trip with my parents from our suburban home outside Vancouver to camp on Vancouver Island, I noticed that as the landscape grew wilder and greener, the anxiety that I always carried with me began to ease.

The realization that I feel most at home among trees and the ocean has been a guiding force in my life ever since. It has led me to many beautiful places, including Hornby Island, where I now live, and to a creative practice rooted in close attention and appreciation of the living world.

My paintings sometimes start from direct references -landscapes before me or photographs I’ve taken- but more often than not, early layers are all about play and experimentation, adding paint and other mixed media intuitively at first, but then becoming more considered in my choices as I respond to memories, observations, and emotions. The resulting pieces reflect both my inner world and the living world that continues to sustain and inspire me

 Michelle Nyberg (she/her) is a visual artist and teacher of online art classes, known for her joyful, impressionistic works in acrylic and mixed media. She draws inspiration from nature around the world, with a particular focus on the gardens, forests, and beaches of Hornby Island, where she has lived for over 20 years.

Michelle’s formal art training began at Langara College in Vancouver, BC, where she gained a foundation in painting, ceramics, sculpture, and design. She continued her studies at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, concentrating on ceramics and painting.

She has exhibited in solo shows on Hornby Island, participated in group shows in Vancouver and Vancouver Island, and shared her work in online exhibitions. Her paintings have brought joyful expression to collectors’ walls in Canada, the United States, Europe, and New Zealand.

Website: www.michellenyberg.com

Instagram: @michelle.nyberg.art

Youtube: Michelle Nyberg Art

NEMETH GALLERY

FEEL FREE, TOUCH THE ART

Ruth Bieber

As a blind artist, it might come as a surprise to most viewers, that I have a close and treasured relationship with colour.  In scientific terms I experience what is known as Charles Bonnet Syndrome.  Interested viewers can learn about this phenomenon by simply asking Google, or any of the AI platforms.  Alternatively, search for a very popular TED Talks by Oliver Sacks, which features his own experience with CBS.  Not all blind people see vibrant colour swirling around them, however it is safe to say, that blind people normally do have a rich sense of haptic.  Thus, my goal is to create art that is both pleasing to the eye, as well as to the sense of touch.  In short, liven your imagination; feel free; touch the art!

For a more extensive look at CBS, refer to a podcast series on the topic.  I am interview #33.

Shaimond Foye

Host, The Charles Bonnet Syndrome Podcast

https://cbsyndromepodcast.com/

Ruth Bieber holds a Master’s degree in Education, from the University of Calgary, with a specialization in Rehabilitation.  Prior to obtaining this degree, her professional focus was as a Counseling Therapist, working with clients with disabilities; often more than a single disability. This work challenged Ruth to ever discover more effective therapeutic modalities. To this end, she shifted from traditional, verbal approaches, to the power offered by the arts. In the early 1990s, she founded InsideOut Theatre, which was a reflection of her own evolution from therapy to theatre; from the therapeutic arts, to the power of performance for people with a wide range of mixed abilities.  Ms Bieber was the Artistic Director of this groundbreaking, integrated theatre company for seventeen years. During this time, she spoke and performed at conferences and festivals, both nationally and internationally, including the Learned Conference in Newfoundland (1998), the High Beam Festival in Adelaide, Australia (2000) and the Come To Your Senses Conference in Toronto (2009). Her publications reflect the evolutionary nature of this process.

Ruth has received numerous awards for her specialized work including, YWCA/Global T.V. Woman of Vision (2004), the Euclid Harry award for Leadership (2006), The Donald Norman Award for contribution to the Theatre Arts (2008) and The Spirit of Kelowna for inspiration in promoting diversity within the visual arts community (2011).  Ruth is pleased to bring the “Beyond the Horizon” exhibit to the McMillan Arts Centre, autumn (2025) Parksville, Vancouver Island, where she currently resides. She is the proud mother of two adult sons; Erik and Martin.

www.sageing.ca

OCEANSIDE GALLERY

Melinda WILDE

Painting and teaching watercolours for over 35 years Melinda has a growing following of students in her spring and fall semester classes and summer seminars. Several local public art pieces can be seen throughout Gabriola: the electrical box at the ferry terminal, a hydro pole (with the ferns and frogs) on the ferry hill, the mural inside the Agricultural Hall, many yearly murals at the Kid’s Club Summer camp at Gabriola Fellowship Church and the mural at Gabriola Elementary School library.  

 Melinda has been involved in many artistic ventures from private and public murals to volunteer after school art programs, community “Art Start” workshops, Professional Development seminars for CUPE and BCTF and the B.C. Ferries Artist and Speaker program.  She is currently a director at the Pier Gallery Artist’s Collective on Gabriola Island where she lives with her husband after raising 5 children, various dogs, chickens, ducks and rabbits. Her works are in private collections in Australia, Europe, Asia and throughout Canada and the US.

  www.melindawilde.com  IG@mwildeexperiencewatercolours

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