This Saturday, June 22! Spend the day exploring 15 beautiful gardens and studios offering a range of landscapes and arts in areas from Whaletown to Cortes Bay to Smelt Bay to Mansons! 10 am to 4 pm.

Tickets are $20, and children 12 and under are free.

Tickets are available at the Cortes Museum, 957 Beasley Road; Wild Cortes, 1255 Seaford Road; Cortes Island stores (Natural Food Co-op, The Cortes Market, Marnie's Books, Gorge Harbour Marina Store, Squirrel Cove General Store, Whaletown Garden Centre, and Hollyhock); and on Quadra Island, Inspirations, 671 Plaza Road, Quathiaski Cove.

Discover Cortes Island: pack a picnic, hop on the ferry if you're coming from Quadra or Campbell River, carpool with friends, or bring your e-bike!

To book Hollyhock lunch, call 250-935-6576 (reservations are required; mention Creative Spaces to get a 10% discount).

Enjoy what our beautiful island has to offer.

The studios on tour are Christer Ekstrom's Paintings, Ayami Stryck's Whaletown Institute / Fiber Studio, Jeramie Ellingsen's Process Studio, Mary Claire Preston Foxglove Studio, Suzu Matsuda and Larry Cohen's Ceramics, Filipe Figuera in Old Schoolhouse Gallery, Kim Mark's Art Cart, and Tennant Farm Fabrics. Of course, there are also several beautiful gardens, introduced in an earlier post.


For more information, contact the Museum: call 250-935-6340, visit our website at www.cortesmuseum.com, or email cimascortesmuseum.com.

Top photo, Christer Ekstrom's studio

I was born in Sweden in 1943 and grew up in the countryside. My father was an art dealer. Even during my first years of school, a deep love for the arts, particularly painting, developed within me. In my early teenage years, I aspired to become a painter and to make it as an artist.
In 1959, I moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, with the intent to attend the Royal Academy of Arts, but this did not come to pass. I did, however, become involved in the art scene in Copenhagen, and I attended a new experimental art school. Over the next eight years, I had two solo exhibitions and some group shows. During this period in my art career, I was inspired by American pop artists, particularly Robert Rauschenberg.

I made my living as an antique restorer for many years. In 1968, a convergent experience changed the course of my life. I sold my Christer Ekstrom antique business and moved to Spain for two years, which I spent contemplating the metaphysical dimensions of life.

I moved to Switzerland in 1970 to study at the High School of Spiritual Science at Goetheanum, a centre created by Rudolf Steiner. For the next eight years, I immersed myself in metaphysical and meditative arts. My major studies were the Fine Arts of Dance, Music, Acting, Painting, and Singing, as well as pedagogical and healing arts.
...
In 2008, I moved to Cortes Island.
I have now dedicated myself to focusing on my work as a painter.
My direction as a painter is inspired by Goethe’s theory of colours. I attempt to unify Impressionism and Expressionism. Wilhelm Turner's work has been crucial in my development.
My muse is the human condition and its relation to the divine. The spirit and soul of colours are my medium. My paintings are like flowers; they don’t portray anything external. They are psychic and spiritual landscapes.
My intention is to bring Truth, Goodness, and Beauty together into one complete whole.