Betty Kovacic starts her morning with a fresh cup of coffee and her three dogs and draws inspiration from nature
Prince George artist, Betty Kovacic, will start her morning stepping into her home art studio with a fresh cup of coffee and her three dogs by her side. One dog sits under the table sleeping, while the others lazily lie on her window seat.
“They are my studio muses and are with me all the time,” Kovacic said.
With a view of her yard, Kovacic sometimes spots wildlife, which helps her stay mindful of the art she is creating.
“When I am looking out the studio, I see moose, deer, bears, foxes, coyotes, bunnies, sometimes a few feet from my window.”
“I have lived very close to nature and even as a child, I felt an affinity with other creatures, [which] I call other beings. They are not human, but beings,” she said.
Kovacic’s current exhibit We Are One is at the Smithers Art Gallery until Saturday (Aug. 31).
Her work features recycled and repurposed materials she already has in her home, which she ends up altering the appearance of in her creations.
“Consumerism is one of the big reasons our Earth is having such a hard time. There were things in my studio that I purchased many years ago and had not used, so I started to use materials in a way they were not meant to be used,” Kovacic said.
“I found leftover plexiglass [and] kept finding more things already in my house. I also asked other people if they had stuff. It just all fell together,” she said.
Some of the repurposed materials Kovacic has used over the years include old suitcases, wooden boxes, copper sheets and used books.
The opening ceremony of her show on Aug. 9 was positive and Kovacic had lovely interactions with those who attended, she said.
“When people look at my work, it might seem at first a bit separated. But, if a person looks at my visual language and the palette, it all works together. It is just a process of my creating exploration.”
Through this exhibit, Kovacic hopes viewers will be able to connect with nature and other creatures we share the Earth with.
“I’m hoping this will provide opportunities for people to contemplate relationships with other beings they may not have thought of in the past. Hopefully, they will watch their footsteps on the Earth and the environment more,” she added.
Many of Kovacic’s creative ideas come to her in her dreams or while she is meditating.
“I do not finish a project and think, ‘what am I going to do next?’ she said.
“I finish a project and then the ideas come into my head. Then I start to explore those and pursue ways [to] express them.”
Kovacic is currently working on a theme of paintings about biodiversity and writing poetry.
