Venture down to the Orange Door Gallery (located behind Zoe’s Bakery in Ucluelet) to be wowed by eighteen months of pure pandemic artistry.
Locally known for her intricate driftwood birdhouses, West Coast artist Judy Schmidt spent her lockdown creating four stunning tiny houses made from materials collected on the beach.
“I found a little doll on Wickaninnish so I thought, I need to make her a little house,” said Schmidt, who went on to forge ‘The Hideout’ a three-story swiveling tree house crafted with toothpicks, tacky glue and bamboo skewers for the strawberry haired plastic figurine.
She later found a Thor action figure and made him a ‘Surf Dance Beach Hut’ and for the doll she found on Chesterman Beach, she created a ‘Beach Bum Art Gallery’.
“There are about 75 little paintings in there and little driftwood birdhouses,” said Schmidt. Her husband Tom, who is also an artist, contributed tiny wood and stone sculptures to the miniature gallery. The fourth tiny house called ‘She Sells Seashells By the Seashore’ valued at $6,500, features a takeout window, coffee nook, patio lanterns, and tiny little edibles made from FIMO clay.
“They are so impressive it blows me away,” said artist and Pacific Rim Arts Society’s staff member Kelly Deakin.
Orange Door Gallery is open Thursday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Judy Schmidt’s Tiny House exhibit will be showcased until July 31. Visit cloudbreakgallery.com to learn more about the artist and her work.
nora.omalley@westerlynews.ca
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