Eat Your Art Out a sensational experience

Eat Your Art Out, billed as a fashion show exploring the transition from fall to winter, was a sensory feast held in Killaloe on November 9. Teaser hashtags on social media in advance of the event proved to be eminently accurate predictions of the evening:

#EatYourArtOut  |  #FoodArt  |  #KillaloeOntario  |  #CommunityArt  |  #WearableArt

The event was the fourth annual fund-raiser for Killaloe-based Ottawa Valley Creative Arts Organization (OV-CAOS). It featured food and drink, costume, music, poetry, decorations created by local artists/foodies/musicians/poets — all themed to explore the transition from fall to winter. Six courses were served at tables around a fashion runway installed at the Killaloe Lions Hall, with non-alcoholic drinks and optional alcohol pairings for each course, while six models each displayed a transition-themed costume accompanied by appropriate poetry and music. The evening’s themes were:

• Colour to monochrome
• External to Internal
• Warm to cold
• Water to ice
• Light to dark
• Loud to quiet

Roberta Della Picca, who also modelled the External to internal costume, opened the evening with a traditional Anishnaabe welcome. OV-CAOS Artistic Co-director Anya Gansterer co-ordinated the event and fellow OV-CAOS Artistic Co-director Andy Trull contributed original poetry between courses. The cast of contributors came from all corners of the Valley’s exuberant artistic community who enthusiastically designed and served food, drink, costume, music, poetry, set design and more. These photos give but a mere hint of the experience:

Left: Musician John David Williams and creator/model Amber Flosktra Radema celebrate Warm to cold; Light to dark costume by Shanti Nordholt-McPhee, model Sigrid Geddes;

Water to ice dress design Tanya Lyons, model Abigail Clapper (left); Colour to monochrome food by Nicole Zummach and Michael Howe of  Valley Burrito

Audience transfixed by Loud to quiet sequence featuring drumming and a capella singers

Eat Your Art Out was sponsored by The Sands on Golden Lake, the Town of Renfrew and Kristen Callahan. A number of local artists and artisans contributed goods for a Silent Auction organized by OV-CAOS Co-chair Doug De La Matter. 2020 art calendars were available for purchase and can still be obtained via OV-CAOS. (See link below)

There’s still time to participate in The Handmade Feast art installation

Another project by OV-CAOS is The Handmade Feast, running from October to April 2020, which culminates in a community feast next spring. Curator Anya Gansterer is working with artists Andrew Trull, Lydia Vanderstall, Eva Gallagher, Zosia Kosinski, Theresa Prince, Joyce Lorbetskie, Catherine Bloskie, Talli Chaimovitz, Tanya Lyons and Shirley Murphy to create an art installation based on “setting the table.” Free workshops are being held throughout the Valley to develop each element of the table settings which will constitute an art installation to be revealed at the springtime meal. There’s still time to participate in weaving, glassware, Kashubian embroidery, candlemaking, and tablemat design. Next up is weaving with Shirley Murphy at the Opeongo Senior Centre in Barry’s Bay on November 22 from 1 to 3 p.m. Pre-registration is necessary. For more details about this series of free community art workshops click HERE to visit the OV-CAOS website.