My Story
Jeanne Bates began her interest in sculpting in Grade 8 with a dog chipped from a salt block. She moved on to clay, then to stone and now sculpts mainly in bronze. She has created a number of bronze medallions. Her work is a part of the permanent wall of medallions display orchestrated by Geert Maas and installed in Kelowna City Hall in 2008.
She exhibits in Canada with MASC, the Medalic Arts Society of Canada, and with FIDEM, the International Art Medal Federation. Several of her bronzes were shown at the XXXI International Art Medal Congress in 2010 in Tampere, Finland.
Her bronze sculpture, Unity, was selected by the Okanagan Arts Council to be the trophy presented to outstanding Okanagan artists at the 2010 Arts Awards.
Her sculpture of an Okanagan bighorn sheep, Forward, was selected by the Kelowna Kasugai Sister City Associationto be presented to the Mayor of Kasugai during the group’s visit to Japan in 2010.
She has had two one-person shows in the music school. In 2015 she became the curator of the School’s visual arts displays, presenting visual art accompaniment to students studying music. The program is titled: “Moveable Art”.
Artist Statement :
There is a oneness that unites us all, right before our eyes, all the time. Sometimes what I’m doing touches that essence, much to my surprise and delight. It makes me smile, or take a deep breath, and go beyond seeing. I enjoy that intensity, kind of like a kid in a candy store. I hope you will too.
Jeanne Bates.
WATER MUSIC
Jeanne is shown (at left) with her husband and dog and her marble sculpture of a waterfall pouring down a mountain. Beside the falls is a cave with a person inside, meditating on the sounds of the water.
The sculpture became a permanent part of the gardens behind the Kelowna Community Music School in September, 2014.