The Walking Canvas

For the past few years, I’ve spent one day each summer wandering the Sooke Fine Arts Show in a blank white outfit, inviting visitors of all ages (anybody who can hold a sharpie) to draw on me.

It happens on Family Day. While the artists’ work hangs safely on the walls, I turn into a different kind of exhibit: one that moves, makes awkward eye contact, bends down to help kids reach, and sometimes gets doodled on by three generations from the same family.

It started in 2018, when I inherited the role from the unforgettable Myles, then known as “Artman,” wearing a lab coat and funny glasses. Over time, the character shifted from “Artman” to something quieter and more ethereal. Now, people just call me “The Walking Canvas” or “The Walking Piece of Art”.

Over the years I’ve cycled through lab coats, aprons, and a pair of painters’ overalls that turned out to be disappointingly sheer in daylight (not ideal if you want to show off people’s art). So this year, I decided to go all in with a wedding gown.

The dress needed to be the right material, something that could take ink without bleeding, provided lots of space, and wasn’t covered in beading or tulle. After a mildly absurd treasure hunt through thrift racks and online listings, I found the dress in the Sooke SFRS Thrift Shop of all places. As far as I can tell, the dress has seen at least two weddings. Bev, who manages the shop, heard what it was for and generously donated it to the show on the spot. (The Sooke arts community really is something else.)

Wanting to make space for visitors who might not feel confident drawing or writing directly on fabric, I used my art supply budget to create some extras: materials to make a veil, and small dangly bits and pieces that people could decorate it with.

The end result is so cool. Dozens of people of all ages added their unique mark this year, from squiggles to elaborate illustrations, poems, music, and signatures, and it was briefly featured on CHEK News.

The dress will be worn for two more occasions this summer, and will then go back to Sooke’s fabric artists for taking apart, so some parts like the beading and underskirts will get yet another life in other projects.

I don’t know how to top it next year. A chef’s jacket and hat, maybe? (I’m open to suggestions.) Right now, I’m still just basking in the artful afterglow of this joyful day!