SEAWA presents Painting by the Ponds once again
By KELLEN TANIGUCHI on June 25, 2021.
ktaniguchi@medicinehatnews.com@@kellentaniguchi For the second straight summer, Hatters will be able to bring a canvas and a paintbrush to the pond at Medicine Hat College, as the South East Alberta Watershed Alliance is hosting the Painting by the Ponds event every Sunday starting this weekend. Martha Munz Gue, founding member of SEAWA, says not only do participants get to paint, but they also offer walks around the ponds to identify invasive species. She adds they also enjoy seeing flowers bloom and the wildlife roam around while they paint. “The artists who gather there get to know some of the vegetation that’s around the pond and occasionally we have a guided walk to look around and point out different features of the vegetation and some things are Indigenous, and some are invasive, and we learn to distinguish between the two,” she said. Those taking part will have to bring their own paint supplies, refreshments and a lawn chair or blanket if they’d like to have something to sit on, says Munz Gue. The Sunday activity is free to everyone and typically runs from 1-3 p.m. However, Munz Gue says people are more than welcome to come to the pond early or stay later or even attend on a different day. Regardless of COVID-19 restrictions, Munz Gue says there is plenty of space to spread out around the ponds and she says the event brings awareness to SEAWA within a new demographic. The ponds at MHC offer a variety of viewpoints for painters to draw on and Munz Gue says people are shocked how much the pond changes from season to season. “In the background, there’s one position actually where you can look at the pond, the foliage around the pond and you can see the teepee in the background,” she said. “If your back is to the cultural centre you can see the main college through the foliage or if you put your back to the main college you can feature the cultural centre beside the pond. So, you can position yourself anywhere around the pond depending on the view you want to paint.” 11-10
