MONET TET ee +e ee INSIDE COMMUNITY EVENTS B2 SECTION B CRIS LEYKAUF 638-7283 T THE LIBRARY SHEELAGH MEIKLEM A gardener’s delight PRING AT last! And while young men’s fancy is lightly turning to thoughts of Jove, the rest of us, not so easily distracted, are heading into the garden. To sit on your back porch looking over a gar- den full of flowers and vegetables that you planted and nurtured can be a moment of pure contentment. The library has many books and videos to help you achieve suck a moment. The New Northern Gardener by Jennifer Ben- nett, published by Firefly Books, is a revised and expanded edition of The Harrowsmith Northern Gardener and is designed specially for colder climes. It is 2 very comprehensive guide with growing tips for both vegetables and flowers, as well as beautiful color photos, Bob Flowerdew’s Complete Book of Com- panion Gardening, published by Kyle Cathie Lid., is an in-depth look at a new ‘‘old science,” His theory is that the interaction of plants with neighbouring plants can have con- siderable effect on their development. Like people, plants can be good neighbours or bad neighbours and a wise gardener will plant ac- cordingly. If you are unsure which location is best for 4: certain-plants there is a brand: new book by Roy. . Lancasté What Plant Where, published by ‘Dorling Kindersley, This book has Javish pho- tographs of the best plants for every possible location, a delight to browse. For people like me whe want maximum effect with minimum effort, Ortho Books have pub- lished Easy Maintenance Gardening. This book starts with the basics at the pre-garden stage and advances in easy steps through planning, designing and planting gardens that thrive on minimal maintenance. This is a pictorial celebration of some of the most beautiful gardens in Cana- da, with representations from every province. After an hour with this book, the laziest soul will be heading off to buy a trowel and hoe. The Victory Garden Kids' Book by Marjorie Waters is a great tool for kids who want to help in the garden or do their own gardening. It has simple language and great illustrations. For ambitious souls there is a book called Step-by-Step Ouidoor Stonework by Mike Lawrence, with casy to follow directions on building projects ranging from paths and patios to walis and backyard ponds. Once the patio is built you can fill it with pots of flowers after reading A Creative Step-by-Step Guide to Can- tainer Gardening by Sue Phillips. This is a very useful and informative book that deals not only with growing flowers in a varicty of ingenious containers, but also fruits and vegetables. The ultimate coffee-table book for garden lovers has to be in a@ Canadian Garden By Nicole Eaton and Hilary Weston. This is a pic- torial celebration of some of the most beautiful gardens in Canada, with representations from every province. After an hour with this book, the laziest soul will be heading off to buy a trowel and hoe. If you are a person Wha would rather receive a bouquet than grow one, there is a fascinating book called The Language of Flowers, a history by Beverly Seaton. This is a scholarly study of the meaning of ioral symbolism in art and life through the ages. So if you receive a carnation it means strong and pure love. with a gardening theme, Susan Wittig Albert writes about China Bayles, a big city attorney who opts out for the quiet life of an herb gar- dener in a small town, but instead is confronted with a constant stream of murders to solve. There are wonderfully eccentric characters and Jots of herbal information. Some of ihe books in the series are Thyme of Death, Witches’ Bane, Hangman’s Root aud Rosemary Remembered, So whether you like te plant gardens, or just reap thelr produce, there’s something at the 1i- brary for you. To paraphrase Tolkien, at the li- brary around the corner, there may wait 1 new road or a secret gate. Sheelagh Meiklem is the new library colum- nist for The Terrace Standard, Sheelagh works as a bookkeeper at the Library and replaces our former library writer Peter Hepburn, For mystery lovers there’s a murder series See : ae WATERCOLOUR painter Dyan Myhr has teamed up with Smithers’ potters Mary Lou Westman and Jo Kilback for the show currently on display-at the Terrace Art Gallery, entitled Fira and Water. Although Myhr works ina completely different medium, her paintings comple- S ee ment the raku pottery of Westman and Kilback, almost as though they worked side by side. it's this smooth blending of styles that led to this first collaboration between the artists. Earth’s elements on display FROM THE metallic gold and bronze starfish in raku pottery, to the vivid orange of a fish, swim- ming through a watercolour painting, elements of fire and water are found throughout the new exhibit at the Terrace Art Gallery. The exhibit is a collaborative effort by Smithers potters Mary Lou Westman and Jo Kitback and Terrace watercolour artist Dyan Mybhr. Mybhr and the potters have known each other for a few years now, from craft shows where they’d exchange paintings for pottery. Their similar styles and tastes led them to this first-ever joint showing of their works. This is also Myhr's first major show, while it's West- man’s and Kilback’s third. “It’s funny how much we all seem to have the same sort of likes and dislikes,’’ says Westman. She feels more comfortable in this shared set- ling, where attention is divided among the three of them. “Sometimes I think putting on a show is an act of bravado,’” she says, describing her ner- vous anticipation of opening night. But opening night scems to have been very successful. Approximately 150 people dropped by and small red sold stickers are sprinkled throughout raku works and paintings in the gal- lery. ‘Tt’s sort of self-affirming when people like your stuif,”’ says Myhr. ‘‘It makes you want to go on.’’ She admits she stil] “‘hasn’t come down from opening night.” Her paintings feature killer whales, set in soft mauves and blues, a variety of other animals, and old totem poles in overgrown settings. She’s been busy since Christmas preparing for this show, and it’s mostly new works she has on display. Kilback and Westman also have put together a series of new raku pieces for the show. Some of their most interesting works are raku wall hang- ings of masks, fish and one stuaning work of killer whales. “We started doing fish after a trip to Can- coon,'’ says Wesiman, ‘'We brought textured rocks home from the beach to push into clay.” What makes these iridescent pieces of pottery even more amazing is that they come to life in the duo’s home-made garbage can raku kiln. It’s a complicated process to make raku pot- tery, and Westman just lost a number of new pieces she planned to bring to the show, That’s because raku involves heating the clay to very high temperatures, and any flaws such as weak joins can’t withstand that kind of heal. Although both Westman and Kilback sell their works in Smithers, it’s only through shows such as this that they have a chance to reach a wide _ ‘audience, They appreciate the chance to come to Ter- tace, where they say having a facility such as the art gallery makes a big impact on the town. It was a test of brains, not brawn g i [ year in Hazelton. STUDENTS GOT down to some serious pencil chewing during the first annual Math Olympics, put on by School District 88 and Thornhill ur. Secondary. A second event is scheduled for next AND SKEENA JR. students proved they had the right stuff. Skeena students came out on top last week during the first ever Math Olympics held in school district 88. The contest was organized by Thornhill Jr.’s Brian Draper in an effort to make math more fun, and more relevant to students. It was open to students in grades 8-10 throughout school district 88. Teams came from Hazelton, Stewart and Kitwanga to com- pete in the event, which at- tracted 90 math students, A number of local businesses supported the event. Studenis were first asked to write an exam, and then take part in two manipulative prob- Jems: One involved making a paper airplane, and the other a balsa. wood pyramid that would hold the — greatest amount of weight. Skeena swept the competi- tion taking first place in grades 8-10. Thornhill placed second overall. But the best result of the day was that all the students who took part actually had a good time doing math. —