The influence of the Ottawa Little Theatre transcends distance. Our dedicated volunteers travel from all across the city to work on our productions and our artists are located throughout the country. Case in point: Grace Solman based in Rose Bay, Nova Scotia (18 minutes from Lunenburg).
In her youth, Grace moved around quite a bit; born in Nova Scotia, she lived in Central Ontario, Vancouver and returned to various locations in Ontario prior to moving to Ottawa in 1979. It was there that she started working in theatre, a great place to meet people and learn new skills. She is basically a “non-drinker” and “non-sportsperson” so she needed a venue to encounter people. In fact, it was at Orpheus that she met her Ottawa-born and raised husband and soon they’ll be to celebrating their 40th anniversary together. Orpheus proved a launching pad for collaboration with the OLT.
Her first set design was The Odd Couple in 1987 and she has since been part of 24 productions. (Her husband John Solman has designed lighting for over 60 OLT productions and more for various other companies in Ottawa and Lunenburg!) Over the years, Grace has worked on over 100 theatre designs for 17 theatre companies in Ottawa and elsewhere. In 2016, they moved to Nova Scotia,Grace as a “Rebounder” having been born in Nova Scotia, versus new residents who are referred to as “Come From Away” (also the name of the Broadway musical) .
She works from her home studio named Secret Circle Studio which is a free-standing 20 x 16 square foot structure with windows on all 4 sides, one of which is facing the ocean. She affectionately describes the where they live as being a Canadian “secret bit of heaven” in an under-populated area.
She has painted pretty much her whole life and is self-taught, aside from those art classes many moons ago in an after-school program with a local Dutch woman. She was accepted into the Vancouver Art College but a different direction in life took her further south to California.
As a scenic artist she has taught herself to capture images very quickly. She completes her works, depending on their complexity, in anywhere from one afternoon to many weeks and has been known to paint 60’ x 21’ drops within a week and a half. She tends to also work on multiple pieces simultaneously.
Landscapes and trees are frequently her inspiration, and more recently goddess imagery or female power imagery bordering on mythology.
Of the 14 examples on display, one of her favourites is a textural piece called Early Autumn. It is also one of her husband’s preferences, however, she has his blessing to sell it (as long as she paints a replacement for him). The other favourite is called Looking Up. It is also a textural piece of a tree but it is the colours that make it very special. Her colours are unique and not normally associated with trees: random blues, purples and yellows but never black. In fact she does not own any black paint but creates shadows from complementary mixes. They are both palette knife paintings.
Although not necessarily intending to sell her artwork, she has learned that if it is on the wall you should be prepared to part with it. If you really don’t want to sell it, just keep it out of view. If it sells, move on to the next piece without trying to replicate the departed piece. A local Nova Scotia MP recently visited her studio, curious about the name, and she fell in love with one of the pieces hanging on the wall which was not 100% finished. Fast forward three weeks, it was completed, sold and delivered.
One painting in the OLT show entitled Saving Grace has a bit of a story behind it. She had entered an open air event and it started to rain nonstop. The storm was blowing in from the ocean and the only thing she could see through the flap of her protective tarp was a close-up of a tree trunk, so she painted it.
Many of her paintings are on display in her studio. She participates in an annual plein air event in the spring as well as periodically showcasing in a Lunenburg Gallery. Of course, she is now exhibiting here at the OLT. She has done some commissions – both paintings and full wall murals – and is open to doing more.
Her message to the OLT patrons is that she hopes that a viewer will only buy something that moves them. Art either affects you or it doesn’t. If it draws you to the wall, you should consider buying it; if art does not speak to you just leave it there even if it’s something by a famous artist.
What’s next for Grace? She is currently studying under an artist by the name of Shiloh Sophia who is teaching an approach entitled Intentional Creativity. The piece she is currently working on is a 13-moon process on a 4’ x 6’ canvas. She is also playing with other media such as gilding (thin sheets of metal) combined with ink and watercolour. This is radically different from acrylics and more delicate. If invited next year to our theatre, she would certainly show them. Grace, you have an open invitation to come back as a Rebounder.
Grace’s artwork can be seen at the Spotlight Gallery in the Janigan Studio from Jan 8-25.
– Albert