The Whistler Podcast

Season 2 Episode 23: Swimming with salmon: Art that celebrates the Sea to Sky’s ecosystem (with Christina Nick)

• Resort Municipality of Whistler

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In this episode of The Whistler Podcast, Councillor Cathy Jewett speaks with multi-disciplinary artist Christina Nick. 

Christina Nick talks about her work, in particular her recent welded sculpture of a swan and her famous salmon pieces, as well as her Seppo sculpture at the head of Lost Lake Park. She also talks about her global travel and launching the art and performance show Artrageous!

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Hello everyone. He is Cole Stefiuk. I am Jack Crompton. This is The Whistler Podcast. We live, we work, we play on the traditional unceded territories of the lo nation and the Squamish nation. And we are grateful. Hey Cole, uh, we are at the end of the Jewett episodes today. Yes. How does that make you feel?

Cole Stefiuk:

I mean, I don't know. I love, I love the series. I don't think it's the end forever. Maybe just the end for now, you know?

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Yeah, no, I think I completely agree with, she needs to come back and, and do a couple more. I there's a long list of people who artists and, you know, culturally connected people to our town that I'd love to hear her chat to. So, yeah, you're right. But it is the end of the Jewett episodes for now. Yeah.

Cole Stefiuk:

And it's been an incredible role. It's a lot, the artists that we have in this time said it every Jewett episode, it they're, the artists in this town are incredible. And, uh, I'm glad they're getting some shine here.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Yeah. Yeah. So, so far Cathy has talked to Isabel McClaren, Levi Nelson, Xwalacktan, and Dave Petko. Any of them really stick out to you?

Cole Stefiuk:

I mean, the Levi Nelson and Xwalacktan episode, it was, uh, very, very touching that one so far was like, you know, you really feel the emotion artists are so like emotion in a good way. They use their emotion and they turn it into some powerful pieces. And I think that those two, especially Levi, like that was those stories were incredible to listen to.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Yeah. And then Izzy, like, oh,

Cole Stefiuk:

I just, I could just listen to Isabel talk for like hours her story. And you could tell she was not ready to stop.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Yeah.

Cole Stefiuk:

She's got 60 years of stories and we, we only had her for 25 minutes. Like, she's got, we gotta hear more from Isabel for sure.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

I agree. And I love to hear, uh, from Pepe as well. So, uh, today we are going to hear from Christina Nick, an amazing sculptor. You can see a lot of her work actually at Art Junction where she, um, uh, sells her work. Uh, and there's always something new because her stuff sells. And so I, my friend Harvey runs Art Junction. It's a great spot. So if you're down in function junction, and you wanna see some really wonderful art, uh, go by our junction and you'll get to see a lot of Christina's work. Um, and Harvey's happy to show it to you.

Cole Stefiuk:

Hmm. Yeah.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Um, and just a reminder that, uh, Dave Petko is showing at the Maury until March 6th and it is really a us for anyone who loves all things whistle. So go see Pepe until March 6th at the Maury young art centre. So Cole ask Jack anything.

Cole Stefiuk:

Okay. So let's talk music for a sec.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Okay.

Cole Stefiuk:

Okay. So I don't know if you know, there's like this big music festival in Las Vegas, it's all these like bands from the early two thousands. And it's called when we were young. So I wanna know what would be the band that would like, that would headline a, a festival called when Jack Crompton was young.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Oh man, there'd be so many. But I think, oh, wow. I think, I think the Pixies, like, yeah, for me, the Pixies are just so they're, they're, the Pixies are incredible. I, I went to a lot of, um, uh, shows when I was a kid, especially big festival shows. Yeah. And they were like, in the late eighties, early nineties festival shows were a really big deal. So another roadside attraction that's when Lilith Fair was really going strong, um, Great Canadian Party. So every gen, July first, there was a huge big party where everyone would play. I, the one show at Thunderbird stadium and, um, and they would go from like noon until two in the morning. And yeah. And they'd all be Canadian bands. And, um, one of the shows I went, do you remember Snow?

Cole Stefiuk:

I do. I think I know like one, they like have one really big song. Right.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

It's called Informer. Okay.

Cole Stefiuk:

Yes.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Yeah. Yeah. Not good. I mean,

Cole Stefiuk:

Listen,

Mayor Jack Crompton:

No for people who like Snow have at her, but I didn't, I'm not a big fan. So that's part of the festival. Right. You actually listen to someone who yeah, probably you're not a, a, a big fan of, but it was like, so he's on it. I don't know, 3:00 PM. And he's just swearing a blue streak with like yeah. Just like kids and stuff like that. Yeah. And the, the headlining act at the end was, uh, the bare naked ladies. And so they came on and I tell you, I've never seen sort of a bunch of guys make fun of an earlier act more in my life. Like, yo, yo, yo, Mr. Furley, and just throwings so much shade at snow that it was that's hilarious. That's I was at a show where lead singer of midnight oil kicked a fan in the head. What on seabird island? Yeah, that was, that was crazy. Crazy. Crazy. Yeah. And, uh, yeah, Lilith fair was good. I apparently founder of Lilith fair, Sarah McLaughlin is going, is going to be playing a show. She

Cole Stefiuk:

Is headlining Constellation Fest, 20, 22, very excited at, at mountain time. We've been talking about a lot. They've been doing a lot of great sea, uh, concerts, Constellation. And honestly, it's gotten me into the festival mood, which is kind of what brought up this question. Did you go to any of the festivals here in the Sea to Sky? Cause we've had a few huge ones. Oh

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Tragically Hip. Oh yeah, yeah. There's yeah. There's been some great festivals here. Pemberton Fest. We were in the taxi business in 2008 when the, um, Pemberton festival happened and our taxis, all of them got stuck on the highway for hours and hours and hours. Yeah. And I think it's cool. The, the organizers learned a huge amount from that 2008 festival. And then when it came back, all of those road problems were addressed and those were some great events. Yes.

Cole Stefiuk:

EST.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Yeah. Sarah McLaughlin on, right. We

Cole Stefiuk:

Both,

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Sarah, we know you listened to The Whistler Podcast. Yeah. So, uh, you welcome. Come on. Happy to have Sarah as

Cole Stefiuk:

We're recording. Happy birthday, Sarah. McLaughlin's her birthday today.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Come on. It seriously is

Cole Stefiuk:

Not. It is. It really is.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

That is the, so the, the CAO of the municipality, it's her birthday today. It's Councillor Dwayne Jackson's birthday. And it's Sarah McLaughlin's birthday today. January 28th. You are a lucky date.

Cole Stefiuk:

Yeah. Right. Yeah. Great chat. Great start. Yeah, we should have musicians on, we should have some more local musicians on here on the show. We should have grab a couple and see what they have to say about the sure. Cause like,

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Well, Sarah, if you're listening, you can bring other musicians with you. Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

Cole Stefiuk:

Yeah.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Okay. Okay. Uh, so on to ask Cole, anything you, um, last week we talked about naming, uh, ski runs and after ourselves. Yeah. And uh, off air, you were telling me that your big name is too steep for Stefiuk. Yeah. And my question is what is too steep for Stefiuk? Like, it feels to me like that is that that'd be a pretty steep run. And why go with too steep for step? Like, I would think nothing's too steep for Stefiuk.

Cole Stefiuk:

Well, thank you. Um, I went with it cuz it's an alliteration. I, uh,

Mayor Jack Crompton:

I see

Cole Stefiuk:

Just a play on words. Really? Yeah. I also another idea I had was uh, like Cole's lost poles because it rhymes, but I don't even ski, so I don't have poles anyway.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

I still think it's good.

Cole Stefiuk:

It's a good name.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

That, yeah, I think it's go, go that.

Cole Stefiuk:

Yeah.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

All right. So moving on to Pique last week, uh, I'll read you three. You choose one. The first one is whistle preps update to green building policy. Number two surf park proposed for Britannia beach passes. First hurdle. Third is Whistler Pemberton home prices continued to climb in 2021. I saw your face change when I read the second. So I'm betting on the surf park.

Cole Stefiuk:

You know, actually, uh, no, I'm not gonna pick the surf park cause you're not. No. Cause I feel like the surf ball surf park, is it really Whistler? I mean it's Britannia beach. It's pretty far away. I saw the, the, the plans for the surf park. It's see. It's you're not even surfing on the ocean, right? Like it's a separate it. Yeah. Yeah. It's a separate completely. It's like a wave pool essentially with surfboards.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Yes. It's a, it's called a wave garden. Right. So it's, it's pretty, it's a different tech it's surfing, like it's legitimate surfing. Um, but yeah, it's not on the ocean.

Cole Stefiuk:

Yeah, no I'm gonna go with, with the, with the housing questions for, for, I actually wanna talk about both those real quick one. What is a green like?

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Well, it's green building, which just helps us ensure that we have more carbon sensitive homes that the, the buildings are, are, are taking care of the environment and the community. And so it really sort of shapes the kind of buildings you can build.

Cole Stefiuk:

Okay. Interesting. Well, I'm actually know about the third one though. Cuz I was doom scrolling the other day, um, on my phone and usually doom scrolling is reading the news, but this form of doom scrolling was looking at housing prices cuz me and my girlfriend are looking into buying a house and we're pretty certain. Prob I don't, I just, I'm having a hard time seeing it happen. That's what I, because like that you're right. The prices are going up. So I don't really know how we continue this conversation or if there's any chance that we can bring'em down a little bit. I don't know how we do that. I'd like to buy it one before I grew up, you know what I mean?

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Yeah. Meaning Squamish,

Cole Stefiuk:

Meaning the seat of sky. I mean like I, I grew up in Squamish. Yes. But even Squamish is the same. It's the same as Whistler and Pemberton. Like prices are just nuts.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Yeah. And Van and lower mainland as well. Yeah. And so, and they continue to escalate. I mean that's why we have the Whistler Housing Authority. So cool. Get on the list.

Cole Stefiuk:

I, I I'm on the list actually. We talked about this before I'm on. Yeah, I'm on the list.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Okay, good. Um, yeah. I, I think if, if you look at the history of, of housing in our province, in our country, housing prices come down on when there's economic collapses. Um, and there's been some efforts towards some demand side measures like um, vacancy taxes and, and certain taxes that would, would sort of restrict the upside value of, of, of buildings. They haven't worked, been laid out in Vancouver and unfortunately housing prices continue to escalate. So, um, the province may institute more policies like that. You never know the, the federal government is considering one right now, but I think at a local level, our job is to make sure that there's additional supply additional, uh, sub-market supply through, through the Whistler Housing Authority. And I mean that I'm pushing so hard on that for me, the idea that we would build more houses that people can afford to live in, in our community and raise families and grow here is a really, really big deal. Yeah. So, um, and it's a legacy that's been here for 30 years. It's so cool. Like I just think, um, there's a, there's a lot more to do to, to kind of add to that supply.

Cole Stefiuk:

But there's so many people who are in situation like AME and like it's not a bad thing. Cause obviously like we've talked about, we had a whole episode, you know, focusing on the w HHA, it's a, it's a long wait list and that's just because there's so many people who want to live here and obviously right. I mean, look at it. Yeah. I just, yeah, I think, I think my, my beef isn't with local government it's I want more, more perks for first time home buyers from the, the bigger guys, you know, like come down here and help me, help me out with alright. But no, that's, that's another thing I was thinking of, but yeah, the doom scrolling of seeing what some houses go for, like I grew up in a mobile home park in Squamish and they're going for half a million dollars for a mobile home, which would, I'm pretty sure my parents bought it for 30 grand.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Yeah. Yeah.

Cole Stefiuk:

It's crazy. It's crazy

Speaker 3:

Good. Yeah.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Yeah. I, I think this is a problem for local government to struggle with. I mean, it's you say your problem's not with local government it's with, but I, I think that we need to be very engaged in this issue cuz it impacts our communities so deeply. And so, um, one big thing to note about the WHA is a hundred units are going to be sold into the, uh, w HHA list in the next six months. So that means that a hundred people who have been waiting are going to get into homes. And a lot of people who are fairly high on the list will move up the list fairly quickly. And one thing to note, I think we don't talk about enough is that, uh, if your number 400 on the WHA list, you get offered houses because a lot of times people in front of you decline the opportunity to purchase. And so just cuz you're deep on the list, doesn't mean that you're going to get an offer and those hundred units coming off, uh, sort of taking names off that list will, uh, significantly open the opportunity for other people to, to get offered homes.

Cole Stefiuk:

I will, I'm gonna keep refreshing my emails then just every, every five minutes. Well,

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Not that fast for sure.

Cole Stefiuk:

All right.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

All right. Well, you know what? I thought you artfully declined the surf park, uh, decision while still talking about it and moving on to housing. That's impressive. You kind of got all three headlines into

Cole Stefiuk:

One professional over here. It's uh,

Speaker 3:

Exactly. Yeah.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Right. Uh, well remember that you can see Christina Nick's work at art junction, say hi to Harvey when you are there. Uh, and one more, uh, request, Hey Sarah McLaughlin, we happy to have you on the whistler podcast. Enjoy Christina Nick.

Cathy Jewett:

Uh, hello everyone. I'd like to first, uh, acknowledge that we are on the shared unceded territories of the Squamish Nation known in their language as the Sk̲wx̲wú7mesh and the Lil'wat Nation known in their language as L̓il̓wat7úl. And we are grateful to be able to communicate today on this, uh, um, on their territory. So, um, I'm Cathy Jewett, I'm a councillor at the RMOW and one of my portfolios is arts culture and heritage. And so today I'm delighted to be able to interview Christina Nick. Uh, Christina, Nick is an artist that's been a year in Sea to Sky for decades, but she is global. She goes everywhere with her art and she is also a traveler. So welcome Christina.

Christina Nick:

Thank you very much. Thanks, Cathy.

Cathy Jewett:

All right. Well, um, I know that, uh, right now you're actually working down Brackendale, um, on a piece I just saw that it looked like some of the finishing touches are going on it. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Christina Nick:

Yeah, it's a, it's a really interesting project. It's um, from a, a client of mine, uh, who lives in Arkansas and he really likes big sculptures. So he has chosen me to make a sculpture based on a painting by agen, which is a Dutch master who painted a painting called the angry Swan in 1650. The client would like the Swan to be about four times life size. Um, and it's a very angry Swan. It's protecting nest and I'm supposed to eventually paint it so that it looks like a three-dimensional representation of is painting.

Cathy Jewett:

Yeah. Now I looked it up, um, this painting cause we chatted last week. And so the painting was an allegory, uh, as well.

Christina Nick:

Yes. I, I think it was an allegory for the, the threats, the Dutch people felt in the 1600s, uh, and how they tried to protect their country from invasion, I guess.

Cathy Jewett:

And interesting that your client, um, uh, has chosen this, uh, to be well, I would imagine to be a pretty significant a piece in his life and in his, uh, personal space.

Christina Nick:

Yeah. He, uh, he really likes, like I said, big things and this Swan, he's gone back to that museum in Amsterdam many, many times, and he specifically goes to see this painting. So for some reason it's touched him a lot and he thought it would be, uh, a good thing to have an angry swan in his garden.

Cathy Jewett:

All right. Well, um, hopefully that will protect his nest. So, um, you know, what's really interesting about this of course, is that this is a sculpture and you are welding this sculpture, but you are also a painter and you work in, in many mediums. Can you tell me about the different mediums that you work in?

Christina Nick:

Yeah. Um, I actually started welding, uh, at university, um, because I had this idea that I wanted to make a really big sculpture and I figured it was, uh, a way to make something really large, which is actually true. So I was right. Um, it's also a process that is, that can be quite difficult and, um, challenging. And so after I had finished the first piece, I really didn't want to make welded still sculptures again, but as it turns out, I've, uh, pretty much for the past 30 years focused on that I do, uh, equally, uh, mixed media painting. So in the past I've done large or small paintings using collage elements. Um, and then as for sculpture, I also have carved wood and stone and have used, um, fiberglass resin for some pieces and mixed media. So I, I kind of all I'm all over the place, but, uh, I, I feel that an artist shouldn't really be, uh, restricted to, uh, what materials they use. So,

Cathy Jewett:

Right. And, you know, you told me the story, uh, how you learned, how to weld and how it was, first of all, um, you were trying to get an instructor to show you, but that kind of went awry. And then, um, and then the town drunk, uh, came and showed you how to weld. Um, so that, that was, uh, I, I know I'm kind of spoiling the story, but can you tell us a little bit more about that?

Christina Nick:

Yeah, it's, uh, I guess it's a story that defines, I think people's lives and that is, it's a story about opening doors. And, um, and so, like you said, I, I, I had been, uh, in a, in a sculpture course at university and it was a new course and they decided to start with the Oxys Deline, welding, which, you know, they were explained to us that it was very dangerous because it involved gases and flamable gases. And, um, the professor who wanted to start the torch, um, actually had a hard time starting it. And the gas went up her sleeve, which meant that when she did start it, her arm caught fire, which then of course scared everyone. She was okay, but it ended up, um, stopping the sculpture program for that year. Um, but I was left with the, uh, flaming desire to still create a sculpture. Um, and I tried or weeks to self teach myself how to oxy settling weld. Um, and I couldn't do it so one night late, I was in this warehouse, um, pretty defeated. I had kind of given up at that point. And then there was a knock on the door and the town drunk was there. And I knew him because I worked at the university pub and he was there all the time and name was Glen and he said, oh, Christina, what are you doing? And I said, well, I'm giving up. And, uh, he said, well, I'm a registered welder. I can help you. So he ended up helping me and taught me in about three hours, the basics of, uh, of welding. And from that day on, I've been making sculptures.

Cathy Jewett:

Yeah. Awesome. And there's also, um, another bit of serendipity, uh, when you went to France, um, and met Pierre and Josette, um, Pierre also, uh, gave you an avenue into this sculpture again.

Christina Nick:

Yeah, it's funny because when I first met them, we immediately had, uh, a connection because they're artists and I I'm an artist. And, uh, and Pierre asked me what sculptures I'd done before. And at that point, all I'd ever really done was the welded steel sculpture I'd made at university. And he said, oh, well, I don't know how to weld, but can you teach me? I have a welder which happened to be in the corner of his studio. And, uh, obviously I said, yeah, I can, I can show you. And then we started to work together on some big sculptures and one thing led to another, and now I just I'm doing that.

Cathy Jewett:

Yeah. And you are, you, you looked after Pierre and Josette, um, at the end of their lives. Um, and so you are now, well, I don't know if you're based completely out of France, but, but you have, uh, you have a, a deep connection to France.

Christina Nick:

I do. Uh, they became, uh, pretty much my adoptive parents. Uh, I went back every year, living in whistler and going, I back to France every year, maybe a month or two months at a time. And then it became a little more, a few more months, six and six. And then at the end of their life, uh, they both had Alzheimer's and needed much more help. So I ended up being a, a permanent, uh, resident of France probably for three years until their death, which about a year and a half ago. Um, and so I was there. I was there till the very end. It, uh, it's kind of my, like my second home. Uh, I really do love France. I have a studio there. I have lots of friends, uh, great kind of culture community, but I do feel, um, like whistle is my home. And, um, I very fortunate to have a studio at Brackendale art gallery where I work in their workshop and it just so happens that it's available for me every time I come through. And so I'm working there right now and I plan on staying in, uh, Whistler for the next foreseeable future. I feel like BC is my home and France will be now kind of my second home that I will go, uh, visit every once in a while.

Cathy Jewett:

Awesome. Well, I saw you, I would see you actually in the most unusual places, we'd run into each other up on the top of Decker or I don't know, out walking. What have you, um, it's great to have you back. Um, and I know you also have a, a real connection to the outdoors here and am I right or wrong? Did you work with Butterfield Robinson? Um,

Christina Nick:

Yeah, I'm still on their roster as a guide. Um, they stopped their trips for the most part for the past two years since COVID, um, they actually just recently sent me an email know, asking if I was interested in doing trips and where I'm not going to be based in Europe anymore. So I've told them maybe in Canada or around the world somewhere. Um, but I do feel like I'm kind of exiting that stage of my life. I've worked for them since 2002. Um, and that was a great supplement to my income and a wonderful way to see the world that I, I really would never have experienced unless I worked as a bike guide for, but film Robinson. So I'm grateful for that.

Cathy Jewett:

Yeah. Well, you are journals are phenomenal. I I've been lucky enough to leaf through them, um, on a, an occasion or two. Um, so those are a lot of ideas and experiences that you've captured in those journals.

Christina Nick:

Yeah. I, I actually have one constantly on the go. I probably have, uh, 30 now, now 30 or 35 sketchbooks that are in storage. They, uh, for me represent a library of ideas and images that I can go back to. Uh, it's also, um, a wonderful way to look at my life in images and read about things that I've done. And I'm actually hoping that in the few, uh, thousand 22, I'll be actually trying to, self-publish a book based on my sketchbooks.

Cathy Jewett:

Oh, that would be amazing. I know, um, across the street at the ODA, um, there's a book that is based on Emily Carr's trips with their sister. And I don't know if you've seen those, but, um, there, there kind of humorous, uh, takes on her, her trip to, uh, trip off the coast with her sister. So now you also had another, uh, job, which was being a ranger, uh, for BC parks. And so that must have been an amazing experience. I'm super jealous. Um, that would've been my dream job. I love, uh, the parks and I used to go and hang out with my friends in the, um, the ranger station at Garibaldi lake. So were you up around there?

Christina Nick:

Yeah, I started in 1992 as the, uh, Garibaldi lake interpreter naturalist. Um, and I did that for three years, uh, and loved it. And then the program got canceled because of budget cuts. Uh, and then I was encouraged to apply to be a ranger, which I did, and then became a park ranger for lake lovely water provincial park. And I did that for two years and then moved on to, uh, become a ranger for the winter and the summer at Diamond head, um, provincial, well, its Garibaldi provincial park, but the diamond head part, uh, when all of those experiences were, uh, basically incredible wonderful life experiences. And I feel very, very fortunate to have been able to do that as a job. Uh, it completely inspired me, uh, obviously for the nature part, uh, the environment, um, and all of the different experiences I had up there with animals, with humans, with weather, it was, uh, a real, incredible thing to have been able to do that all the way until 2002.

Cathy Jewett:

All right. Well, they don't call it lake lovely water for nothing, huh?

Christina Nick:

Oh my gosh. It was gorgeous. The mountain, the water. Oh, beautiful.

Cathy Jewett:

Yeah. Glacier, um, stunning, stunning area. You know, when I think back to, uh, Christina Nick, the artist, well, of course my first piece, I guess I, I got from you about 30 years ago, which is, um, uh, which is a fish print. So, uh, you actually put ink on a fish, but you also, uh, with pastels created the river bottom. And that time, that era, I remember something called outrageous. Now, Jack, the mayor likes to say outrageous all the time. So he would love to hear about outrageous and yet remind us, I actually asked Isabel McLaren if she remembered art outrage and she, she did.

Christina Nick:

Yeah, she must. She was one of the first artists to show at outrageous. Uh, we started in 1991, uh, and I started that with Allison Winslow. Uh, and we decided that we needed a venue for local artists that didn't really exist at that point. And, um, the very first show was a actually at the whistler ski club cabin in Creekside. And, uh, we, what we basically wanted was to get local artists out, to show their work, uh, and have live music and as many other kind of, uh, cultural, um, things possible in one place. So the first was an art exhibit and, uh, band, it was Route 99 that played at that point. Uh, then the next year we did it at actually think it might have been kids camp. And one of the hardest things was trying to find venue. Uh, and then we, we, uh, hosted it one year. I think it was 94 at the, the whistler gondola cabin, the, the old, uh, a gondola site in Creekside. And that was incredible. Cause I think they were tearing it down that year. And so they allowed us to, to use it, uh, which was wonderful. We had, uh, music, we had performance, uh, dance and visual art. And the goal was, was kind of to mix everything up and, and try and have something that, um, it became an event that was more than just an art opening. Um, one of the best ones for me was using the old mountain world space, which is, um, down underneath the conference center in Whistler and in the village. And that one, uh, we had, we had, uh, ballet troop, we had performances, we had, um, poetry slams, uh, you know, of course the artwork music. It was, uh, for me that was the wonderful one, because it, it included everything you can imagine. And, uh, we did that for, I think it was for nine years and then the Arts Council took it over and they did, uh, an art rage event every year. At that point I wasn't really involved. Um, and now I don't, I actually don't think it exists anymore, but I spoke to Allison Winslow who wants to do a 30 year reunion of outrageous, which would be fun, but we did talk about it. Cause I think this year is a 30 year reunion or it might have been last year and, uh, no, it's this year, cuz it was 1991 and I said to her, do you really wanna have a, Artrageous with, you know, masks on and social distancing? So we're kind of, we put it on the back burner and maybe we'll do it in a couple of years. Yeah. We'll see.

Cathy Jewett:

Well, so can you tell me who the artists were? Um, of course, uh, Route 99 I believe has morphed into the Hounds of Buskerville brothers.

Christina Nick:

Yeah. Um, the first, the original artists. Well, if I can remember it was myself Mauldy who lives in Pemberton now his name was, I think his real name is Mauldauski. That's his last name and

Cathy Jewett:

He was a liverboard in Squamish for quite a

Christina Nick:

Yeah. Um, who else? Vincent Massey. Yeah. So it's stuff. Um, God, you're putting me on the spot. I don't remember. Oh, Isabel MacClaren of course. Isabelle MacClaren, you know? Oh, Harvey, Harvey Tan. Who was like a computer artist at the time I Don he is now, uh, who else? Oh, Hugh Kearney Hugh Kearney for sure. Um, and uh, Patrick Meager, he might only have joined the next year, but anyhow, those are the ones kind of the, the first ones. Obviously I have a list, you know, I've written the history Artrageous out, so,

Cathy Jewett:

Well, I, I think I remember pat's sculpt.

Christina Nick:

Yeah. Yeah. He did this really weird, uh, with this ear ahead with these ears anyways, he does really interesting sculptures,

Cathy Jewett:

But you're still connected to Hugh Kearney as well. I know. Um, he, both of you, um, are big mushroom foragers.

Christina Nick:

Oh yeah. We both actually we've always been meaning to do a show based on mushrooms because we crazy about mushrooms and uh, we go, we go foraging together all the time. This, uh, this fall, which was an exceptional mushroom year. We both went out a few times and uh, we're, we're kind of constantly in contact. He's been out to France to have, we actually had a, a show together in a gallery there and his, the deal was that he was gonna get me a show in New York, but he never did

Cathy Jewett:

Come on buddy,

Christina Nick:

But he, uh, yeah, we've always kept in touch and we, uh, it's great because we can comment on each other's, you know, art production and, and you know, it's support, but it's also, you know, criticism or critique or, uh, new ideas. So it's, it's a really wonderful relationship that we have just between two artists that we're, that are constantly working on stuff.

Cathy Jewett:

Yeah. I, I think, um, you'd probably want to invite David Petko, who I'm going to be, uh, speaking to later, he is also mushroom forager, um, and artists. So, uh, he'd be, uh, a good person to join in on the mushrooming.

Christina Nick:

Yes. Yes. We'll do a show with him and Hugh and whoever wants else wants to make mushroom art.

Cathy Jewett:

Yes. Well, I mean, we still have, uh, we have, we've really expanded. I think the number of artists in whistle now, there's, uh, one of the things that Arts Whistler does is they have gallery shows upstairs at the more young art center, um, right now, um, forest for the trees, which has been curated by Laura Scott are, who is a local artist is on for example. Okay. We've spoken about the angry, the angry swan. I wanna talk to you also about some of the different phases you've gone through too. So, you know, the fish. Fish Is actually one of your enduring themes.

Christina Nick:

Definitely. Yeah. Uh, salmon specifically have been, uh, kind of swimming through my whole entire entire art career since the very beginning. Well, since the beginning of my move to BC in 1990, and that's when I first, you know, fell in love with the whole entire ecosystem here and, and how the salmon go up river and just, um, that whole side of the cycle of, of nature. I just really connected with that. And so the salmon, I'm still making salmon pretty much, uh, in 3d now, but I used to do, like you said, the, the prince of, of salmon and that was, uh, very satisfying work. Very, I loved those paintings, love making those paintings. I still have tons of prints and can still make a lot of paintings based on salmon. Um, but then over the years I had, uh, most of my artwork is based on travels. I've done. So I did, uh, a whole series on, um, Northern, because I went to Yukon and Alaska. And so I did a series based on, on that, which were paintings and collages using maps of, um, Northern BC and Alaska of, uh, elk and, um, the animals that I saw up there then, um, I traveled to Nepal and Thailand and I did a whole variety of artwork based on that trip. Uh, since then I've based solo shows on my trips to Morocco that I've done through Butterfield and Robinson and also Iceland, which, uh, I had enough, you know, ideas based on my trips to Iceland to last years because it's such an interesting country. And then of course, uh, a lot of artwork based on France and Europe and the things I saw there, uh, then I lived in Namibia for three years and based a whole entire body of work on Namibia, uh, both paintings, drawings, sketchbooks, and sculpts, and for the most part, uh, um, just draw tons of inspiration from, from traveling.

Cathy Jewett:

Right. And one of the other enduring images that I think of is your bison series from the Lascaux. I probably said it wrong. You you're the, you're the one that speaks French beautifully. Um, so you also have been really interested and these kind of pre civilization, uh, drawings like real line drawings. Um, but, but a little what more sophisticated than that, a bison and horses.

Christina Nick:

Yeah. So that was a whole, when I started doing, uh, trips in, in France and it went to the Alaska caves among you know, among many others, you know, it's visceral when you walk into a cave and you see these drawings that, um, speak to you over, you know, millennia it's awe inspiring. And it, but it's the same feeling I had when I saw the salmon, uh, going up river and dying and the, the, that feeling of a cycle and, uh, also a kind of a communication. So the, especially the prehistoric caves were, they're communicating with us after, you know, 30,000 years, which is so powerful and, and, um, touches us as much as it touched them, which makes us real that actually, they were just like us. They just didn't have, you know, iPhones

Cathy Jewett:

Much, many other things. Um, so Christina, uh, I know that the salmon, uh, sculptures that you've done, we can see those in Squamish is what is up here in whistler that people would

Christina Nick:

Well. So in Squamish, I I've done the three kind of groupings of salmon, one on the, the at, uh, Brackendale, um, at Eagle run and then downtown Squamish, uh, near where course I used to be. And then, um, also at the London drugs, little triangle park there, um, in Whistler, I was asked to do by the whistler, um, museum, a representative of, of Seppo who is, you know, a local legend in Whistler, um, and who cut the first ski runs on Whistler mountain. He was a logger. He came, uh, from Europe and, um, I was chosen as an artist, represent him. Uh, he, so therefore his sculpture is sitting at the, um, the head of Lost lake park just as you go get there. Unfortunately it's a little kind of hidden in this triangle of, of, uh, land. Um, the municipality had said they would light it up, which would be really great if they just did that.

Cathy Jewett:

We know some people,

Christina Nick:

OK, that'd be great. Uh, you know, I put it up eight years ago, you know, I've been waiting for the lighting for a while. Um, but I, yeah, I actually really like that sculpture, if you look at it, I mean, it's, it's actually a very thick piece of steel. That's been laser cut and it's, Seppo his face, which was so iconic and so easy to recognize him. Um, but if you really look at it, his shirt, the shirt, and kind of off of his shoulders are the ski runs of Whistler. So it, and then there, it's sitting on attached to two great big logs that have his name and, and the dates of his, you know, when he was born and when he died and, uh, just have a little, you know, saying, you know, the pioneer whistler pioneer. Um, so there's a little more to it than just his face. Um, and I actually loved that project. I thought it was, uh, a really, really, uh, interesting project. And I, and I loved that I could do something, um, for Seppo's memory because I knew him and he was, I went to his parties and he used to come to Em's kitchen to eat and eat his soup. And so, yeah, I was, I was really glad to have been chosen to do that sculpture.

Cathy Jewett:

Yeah. I was hoping you, you talk about that, uh, because I don't think a lot of people might know that you, uh, you created that and we are doing, uh, or the municipality is, um, doing some landscaping around there. I think there's going to be some improvements. Um, we'll be sure to put in a good word about getting some lighting on that. Um, Christina, it's been such a pleasure. I, I can't wait to see, uh, what is next? Um, you finished the angry swan. What, what do you think's gonna happen next? Just skiing or, um, maybe,

Christina Nick:

Yeah, I hope there's lots of skiing. I will definitely be making other sculptures specifically for, for Harvey Lims, uh, gallery and function art junction, um, because I really, I love showing there and I love being kind of part of the roster of the artists, but I know that he's kind of, you know, probably very patiently and impatiently waiting for more stuff. So I'll, I'll be, I'll be making, uh, art for the, for the gallery. So that at the very least he has a few things of mind to show.

Cathy Jewett:

Yes. Well, I know I've seen your salmon there. Uh, they, uh, the, the welded salmon that you make and they're beautiful. In fact, I'm lucky enough to have one. Uh, so Christina, thank you so much see you up on Decker or something like that. I hope this winter sounds good. As long as is, uh, is good to us. It's been a pleasure. Thank you so much. Thank

Christina Nick:

You, Kathy. Bye bye.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

A big thank you to, uh, counselor Cathy Jewett, Cathy, you have, uh, brought a lot of insight and I think, um, joy to the podcast over the last little while. It's, it's been really nice to be able to listen to your conversations with people who have invested so heavily in our community. So Cole we're grateful, eh,

Cole Stefiuk:

Oh, absolutely. And the conversations, like I said, hopefully we get a lot more, cuz there's a ton of amazing artists in this town and, uh, that includes musicians like we talked about earlier too.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Totally. Yeah. It, I, um, I was when, when I, we first, Cathy and I first started talking about this, we talked about maybe doing some, uh, history side stuff too, talking to some of the people who have been around the valley for a really long time. And you know, people have squatted here and were here when it was, you know, less an international resort. So maybe that's kind of an angle we can go next is a little bit more of a history kinda set of conversations maybe in the summer. Something

Cole Stefiuk:

I would love that, cuz I heard cuz I actually saw a video. Uh, I think the Squamish chief posted a story about a video that was posted like five years ago from the ministry of transportation of the highway from horseshoe bay to Squamish back in 1966. And um, it was just so cool to like relive this sort of history. Obviously I wasn't here for my parents. Weren't here for, and obviously they couldn't go past Squamish cuz there was no highway at that point to Whistler. So I would love to just hear more about the beginnings of Whistler. You see it now and the fact that it's only like 50, 60 years, you know, in the making it's incredible. I'd love to hear more of like the beginnings of this town and Isabel was great cuz she had the art side and the side of Whistler before it was a Whistler.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no I, I agree for sure. Um, we wanna hear from you, if you have thoughts on how we can make this podcast better, I'm on facebook.com/mayor Jack Crompton. I also like to share my phone number for some reason,(604) 388-9588. If you wanna text me. Wow. Um, that's easier for people, uh, and you can find Cole. Cole is easy to find.

Cole Stefiuk:

I will be found texting Jack Crompton all day.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Um, but we, we really want your, your input. We, we feel like, uh, today before we came on, we kind of reviewed the numbers of, of, of listeners. And um, one of the things we talked about is who are these people? And we wanna hear from you. We wanna hear your ideas about exactly how we can make the whistler podcast better.

Cole Stefiuk:

Yes, please.

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Thank you Cathy Jewett. Thank you Christina Nick. Remember share your questions, uh, with us on social media. This was the whistler podcast it's brought to you by the RMOW and Mountain FM. He's Cole I'm Jack. Thanks for listening

Cole Stefiuk:

And subscribe, subscribe,

Mayor Jack Crompton:

Subscribe. Oh my goodness. Subscribe. Yeah. If you're listening to this and you don't subscribe, you won't get the next one. And if you've listened this long, there's something about this podcast that you need to subscribe to. I mean,

Cole Stefiuk:

It's so funny because in that conversation we had, the team was like, you guys should make sure you push subscribing more and we forgot. We forgot again. So subscribe. Thank you for listening

Mayor Jack Crompton:

For listening. Subscribe, subscribe. Thank you, listening.