A River of Light: Community Lantern Installation (2015-2018)

From 2014-2018, I've been Artist-in-Residence with the City of Maple Ridge, a municipality of approx 80,000 people located 45-minutes east of Vancouver, BC. The mandate of my residency is to engage community members in making art that connects us more deeply to nature and to each other. Throughout my residency, I've led workshops in nature sketching, nature printing, place-based collage and journalling, and lantern-making. 

My core project has been to develop and co-create a community-based lantern installation, A River of Light, that celebrates our connection to nature and the annual return of spawning salmon to the Alouette River. During the summer months, I've led workshops outdoors at the studio in a municipal park along the river. Over four summers, more than 200 people have made lanterns. In late summer, over a couple of evenings each year, we've installed the lanterns along a forest path and down at the water's edge, lighting them as the daylight fades to dusk. The public is invited to wander through the installation and take in the magic at their own pace. The experience constantly shifts as the light changes and darkness takes over. In 2018, more than 250 people joined the artists over two nights for the grand finale of A River of Light.

A River of Light is inspired by the work of artist Paula Jardine, founder of Public Dreams and Artist in Residence at Mountainview Cemetary in Vancouver BC.