The world of Art and Academics collide to create pieces of art reflecting the textured world of Kaslo B.C. artist Arin Fay and her cast of colourful characters.

Arin’s group exhibition with fellow Kootenay artists at Nelson’s Craft Connections is the latest in a long line of work that has come from a medium developed when Arin and partner Brent first started experimenting with wood-working in 1992. Her figurative portraiture/caricature incorporates a combination of large brands, using found metal objects and small detail burning with a finishing technique which involves sanding and multiple layers of lacquer. For more examples of Arin’s work check out www.arinfay.ca/.

The titles for Arin’s exhibitions Conflict and Compromise (1999), Between The Lines (2006), and Bottom Feeders of the Machine (1997) make the viewer think deeply about the complexity which lies behind the piece itself.

“I think that overall what they have in common is a suggestion to look at specific issues from alternative vantages. They all have something to do with ‘the road less travelled’ or the spaces in between, or a challenge to the status quo.”

Arin’s first solo exhibition Between the Lines is intended as a tribute to numerous inspirational female writers including Alice Munro and Charlotte Bronte. The work accompanied by exploratory essays depicts female writers and their characters; a subject that has come out of Arin’s ongoing University studies as an English major.

“What has always struck me about studying and reading women’s literature (past and present) is how much information is embedded in the texts, the covert and sometimes overt struggle against patriarchy, for example. The history of women’s rights and women’s artistic output tells the tale of how difficult it has been for women to assert themselves, how far they have come, and how ingrained gender inequality still is today. Concepts such as: the glass ceiling, double work for less pay, misogyny, and how patriarchy is replicated in many, if not all, social conduits, including art and language, are issues that disturb and interest me.”

The exhibition Between the Lines recognizes the contribution of these women writers which Arin says has been a huge inspiration. Her work and accompanying essays on Between The Lines have been referenced in the British Women Writers Association newsletter.

Besides being an academic and artist, Arin has been with fellow artist Brent Bukowski for 17 years. Even though she laughingly reveals that both are type A personalities and therefore bound to be conflict; it isn’t really different than most relationships.

“There are hills and valleys, of course, good times and bad, but like the kids, art functions as a sort of glue that keeps us together. We have art in common. When it comes right down to it we support each other the best we can, and art is extremely important to both of us,” she explains.

It’s a definite priority then that Arin devotes much of her time continuing to produce works of art that reflect the academic in her as she gears up to apply for a distance Masters of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing upon graduation this spring.