Say the word B次元官网网址渁rtB次元官网网址� and the images that spring instantly to mind are of traditional paint and canvas, perhaps a sketchpad or two.

Throw knitters, feather painters, musicians and nature enthusiasts into the mix and the celebration of art at Coast Collective in Colwood becomes much more eclectic.

Barb Logie has been a member of the gallery nearly five years, displaying her hand-knit and crocheted scarves and shawls. She loves its freedom and variety.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 150 artists doing exactly what they please,B次元官网网址� she says.

Sitting in the sun, with a gentle breeze wafting her wares and wool twining her fingers as she works, Logie certainly does seem content.

Bobbie Momsen has been fortunate to be doing B次元官网网址榚xactly as she pleasesB次元官网网址� for 16 years. She found her passion while travelling through Costa Rica in the mid-B次元官网网址�90s when she came across the tradition of feather painting.

B次元官网网址淚 fell in love with it, and thought, B次元官网网址榯hatB次元官网网址檚 what I want to do,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� she says.

Using careful brushstrokes and following the grain of her feather canvas, Momsen creates vivid portraits of every bird imaginable, from the delicate hummingbird to the prehistoric-like blue heron on an equally varied selection of feathers.

Having completed more than 3,000 pieces since she began in the late B次元官网网址�90s, sheB次元官网网址檚 become quite well known as a feather collector, she says, and hasnB次元官网网址檛 had trouble maintaining a supply of her particular canvases.

B次元官网网址淧eople bring me bags of feathers. IB次元官网网址檝e had cockatoo feathers mailed from Australia and one flamingo feather from Florida. I could build flocks of birds with the feathers IB次元官网网址檝e got at home.B次元官网网址�

MomsenB次元官网网址檚 work fitted in perfectly with last SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 bird-themed Clothesline Art Show staged at the Collective. The feathered celebration featured everything from watercolour herons and hanging artisan birdhouses to knitted chicken slippers and quilted table runners adorned with avian images.

Bill Dancer with the Victoria Natural History Society was also manning a table, showing off birdB次元官网网址檚 nests, eggs, feathers and even a preserved wingspan.

Art, much like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Whether itB次元官网网址檚 with braided alpaca wool, or careful brushstrokes on a ravenB次元官网网址檚 wing feather, or the art of teaching children to value the natural world, art goes far beyond a simple paintbrush and canvas and can be found wherever thereB次元官网网址檚 a passion for creating.

acowan@goldstreamgazette.com