On Saturday October 12, we had our final event for The Interpreter Project called Silent Wonders. It was a community exhibition of all the artworks created by the artist and community during the course of the residency. As it occurred during the Thanksgiving long weekend, the event was a way to celebrate the participants accomplishments as well as a way to thank the community and nature for its inspiration.

​The log house was transformed into a warm exhibition space with little people from Hidden Stories leading the path in. The fireplace served as a reading area for the legacy book, Passages. We had tea and treats along with inks and paints for those who fancied a longer stay. All those who came by got to take home a little sticker of Newton as a souvenir.

​My favourite part of the day was when participants from the Sensory Workshops came by, bringing friends to show off their artwork. They explained their process and the themes of the project, taking ownership and being proud of what they have accomplished. Having witness that, it made this whole project worth it.
 
We also had a little special friend from the Nature Park who came by to visit on his day off. Thank you, Perry, for being such a good sport and bringing so much laugher to the day. It was a very sweet conclusion to the year. 

​But that is not the very end, after the Nature Park’s own big event, I will be back to organize and sent off the artworks back each participant. Looking forward to that!

It has been a busy 8 months since the start of The Interpreter Project here at Richmond Nature Park. As I been organizing the artworks and documentations, it struck me just how much the community has done. From Story Exchanges, Sensory Workshops, Hidden Stories, Open Studios, Open Air Studio for Culture Days to Passages; we have a lot worth celebrating.

Between all the planning for the various events and workshops, I been enjoying quiet studio time at Richmond Nature Park, working on the legacy book. In reflection to the language demographic of the community here, the book will be wordless, letting the images be interpreted without the boundaries of linguistics. Therefore, the imageries become even more important and the transitions between need to speak volumes. I am excited to share with you the book in full soon at Silent Wonders, the celebratory exhibition of the project but in the meantime, here are some sneak peaks.
 
One of the themes of the book is the passage of time. As the residency is a yearlong, I thought the perfect way of presenting that idea is through the seasons. I been documenting the changes of winter to spring and spring to summer that occurs at the park. The changes in colour, density of the plants and even the sky – it is an amazing process to behold. Many people have told me that their favourite from the four seasons is fall, which one is yours?

​The funny situation is that I needed to get the book ready before autumn fully hits the Nature Park. Therefore, it was actually the only one that I had to imagine through the descriptions from the staff and photos references from the Wild Things event in the past. I used summer as the base and changed the colours and shapes of the leaves. They say it is pretty accurate, so I am excited to see if that is true later in October.
 
As the newt is a creature which cannot hear nor see well, we been drawing inspiration from its limited senses as the premises of the project. The book reflects that through artist and community interpretations on the senses in relations to the land and water. Here is a glimpse on the texture of earth; expressed through the taste of slugs which Newton eats and conveyed through abstracted colours and layers of artwork by the community.

​In celebration of the nation-wide Culture Days weekend, The Interpreter Project joined in with a more elaborate Open Air Studio on Sunday, September 29th from 1pm-4pm. Photos from Hidden Stories were displayed along with a selection of the books created from Story Exchange. Paintings for Passages, the legacy book was on display as well along with corresponding community artwork from the smaller scale Open Studios. We had large crowds come by, some new to the project while others have participated in various ways and were excited to see the display and documentations of their artworks.

​For Culture Days, I designed a blank postcard of Newton to give to the participants, inviting them to draw and paint from the perspective of the small vulnerable creature. I encouraged everyone to think how he perceives the world as his senses are limited from ours. It was such fun to hear the different ideas – a little boy insisted Newton can play video games very well, one drew him as a police newt, others took it in a different direction with abstraction, colours and even an eye doctor treatment. I feel the existing newt drawing provided more parameters so that more adults and parents joined in the activity and creation. Many painted the grass and newt while they thought, the action giving them the extra time needed to engage.