Jim Gerwing

By Anne Hansen

Jim Gerwing, longtime artist in the James Bay Art Walk, proclaims he doesn't know the meaning of "bored."

Given his diverse careers, creative pursuits and volunteer jobs, there could be no time for boredom. Jim has been a priest, high school principal, folk festival president, funeral service provider, sports coach, printmaker, painter, writer, and public speaker, among other things.

You might wonder how he has time for art. "If you want to create, you will find the time no matter how busy you are. If you can't find the time, you haven't got the passion for art," he believes.

Jim has studied ancient and modern languages, and has earned degrees in history, education, and philosophy. In his teens, he entered a religious boarding school in Saskatchewan, where he grew up. He joined the monastery and became a priest, leaving ten years later. "Obedience is a very dangerous thing if you follow it blindly."

Jim Gerwing now volunteers at the James Bay Beacon and the Royal BC Museum. He praises the museum for training and treating their 500 or so volunteers royally.

It was in a previous volunteer capacity at Langham Court Theatre that he learned about the myriad uses of rigid insulation styrofoam as a creative medium. Theatre and opera-goers wouldn't necessarily know that those Greek marble columns and brick facades are often constructed of styrofoam, also widely used in museum displays. It is featherweight and ideal for carving, once the technique is perfected.

Jim's home is full of his exquisite wood carvings. including masks, human figures, and horses that he's shown in previous studio tours. Last year, he made forty small multi-media Christmas ornaments to give as presents to family and friends. That provided the incentive to create well over a hundred for this year's James Bay Art Walk.

Carved styrofoam serves as the core of the ornament, followed by layers of papier maché, then the painted surface, sometimes including tiny carved wooden pieces. The final step is glossy varnish. Jim is "allergic" to mass production, so every ornament is different. They are not all based on traditional Christmas themes. He showed me a snowboarder angel, and one that will be a female hockey player clad in pink and black, bearing a Canuck logo. There are also fat Santas, birds, choir singers, and well-fed reindeer.

Jim admires the work of Henry Moore, Michelangelo, Modigliani, many of the impressionists, and some of his own friends and family. One of his biggest pleasures of being an artist is "creating something that did not exist before I started." As a child, he and his brothers used simple, hand-held tools to produce their own toys out of scraps of wood, mostly from apple boxes. Over the years, he has also explored printmaking, fabric arts, and calligraphy.

Jim's advice for aspiring artists who want to make a living at art is, "Get an agent who believes in your work and don't sweat the percentage. It is almost impossible for most artists to make a living. Only dead artists become millionaires, so get another job until then."

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See Jim Gerwing's artwork on the James Bay Art Walk, September 22 & 23 (11 am - 5 pm), exhibiting at the James Bay Beacon office in James Bay Square, entrance off Croft Street.