~ by Bernice Ramsdin-Firth of the Chemainus Writers
Kaye Smillie
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Sitting on her patio overlooking a vista of farms, fields, grazing cows and surrounded by her flowers, Kaye Smillie talks of her need for beauty, space and serenity. Born in Alberta and raised on a farm, she came to love the changing beauty of the prairies, the endless land stretching to the horizon. After attending the Alberta College of Art she travelled extensively and moving to the Cowichan Valley with her husband Wayne, they raised a family.
As her work developed she came to realize how these early experiences have informed her life and art, and happily, during the interview, we found common ground in our ideas about art and nature. Wide ranging in her interests, she is also an artist of great skill and insight. Her pastels of farm life are truly fine and her drawings of nudes classical in their rendering. A large acrylic painting of a friend (for which she received a Certificate of Honour at the CVAC Spring Art show in Duncan) is so consumately portrayed it could hang in any top city Art Gallery and never have to apologize for itself.
Sitting, almost reclining, shoes highly polished, in an elegant chair on a beach with the sea thundering behind him, a tired smile on his face, he confronts us, and we ask "who is this man and why is he in such an incongruent setting?"
But it is in her small ceramics where her sense of humour lies. The Food Series, wiener dogs in buns, angels and devils in cakes, cow pies and gooseberry piesare so real one could almost taste them. Delightful chess sets of Canadiana-Sir John A. Macdonald, the queen, mounties and hockey players, with the iconic grain elevators standing in for castles with beavers as pawns ready to march across the board, or birdwatchers and hikers, bears and salmon ready to do battle on another. Lately she has done a series on Emily Carr, portraying her in delightful small ceramic pieces that accurately capture her life. New works portray mermaids in yogic positions that make one laugh and other, more serious and iconic figures of nudes, hark back to ancient fertility goddesses.
All this is not surprising when one meets Kate, her warmth and humour are genuine and though she is unassuming one can see her years of study have brought her art to a very high level. It will be interesting to see where her skill and talent will take her next.
If you wish to see more of her work go to: .
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