"Making" has been part of my life as far back as I can remember.  From the childhood cobbling of my own shoes because of a fascination with some boots that Patsy Cline wore on an album cover through my costume making and knitting days as a young mother, resourceful creativity has felt as necessary as breathing. I incorporated this obsession with creating into a career as a hairstylist all the while nurturing thoughts of some other world that seemed to be forever waiting in the wings for more of my attention.  With grown children, I decided in my early forties to explore it full time. Since then, with self-direction and curiosity, art has been my day job.  It remains an obsession!

I like to work large-scale and would describe my figures as being in a "state" rather than a "location". The work has changed over the years but there are recurring aspects that have been present since the beginning.  The use of metal leaf both in halos and background texture satisfies my love of the historical religious works that haunt my heart. Costume interests me, both for what it exposes and what it covers up. I continue to explore this through the work combining eras, or indulging in fantasy.  Attention to hairstyles and headgear are important to me as well. Certainly, I recognize that the tools are in my hands, however, I do feel as though the figures in the work show up with their own agenda. I am committed to honouring that.

I work three-dimensionally as well and have created sculpture and textile works that have a feel of ceremony. Robes, shawls and banners embellished with embroidery became meditative works for me... a chance to plug into an art form from "ago".  Making plaster and paper mache vessels gives me an opportunity to immerse myself in a shape that has held things of value since the beginning of time.

Through these years of exploring, I began to pay close attention to how I experience the creative process.  The different stages of bringing an idea to fruition and the feelings that accompany those stages. The stages became predictable and I have learned to trust that process.  Out of this observation came a performance that I titled "Subplot".  It is a mythical theatre piece with the characters depicting each aspect of the creative process.  This work combined my varied efforts of writing, producing, performing, 3D installation and costume making. I feel this piece has more to come and I hope to continue to workshop it to see how it plays out.

From the outside, perhaps each approach seems to be a departure from the others, but to me they are all in keeping with my intention to uncover and support the timeless stories found within the human condition.

Born 1954 in Oshawa, Ontario now lives/works in Muskoka, Ontario. 

“Things that needed to be made”, have always intrigued Beverley. The art of making is a way of life for her, from knitting, embroidery, textiles, paper-mache, and even cobbling. She continued to develop her skills in a variety of mediums including sculpture, poetry, performance art and film.  Her work is primarily figurative multi-media on canvas, which can include a medley of paint, collage paper, charcoal and metal leaf, presenting a story left for the viewer to complete.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024

Colliding & Colluding, Coles Art Market, Huntsville, ON

2017

Living in the Wild, Algonquin Art Centre, Algonquin Park, ON

2016

Death Perceptions Installation, Wellington County Museum, Elora, ON

2016

If these Shoes Could Talk (Installation), Orillia Streets Alive, Orillia, ON

2015

Peep Show: Alone in a Crowded World, Huntsville, ON

Nathaniel Hughson Gallery, Hamilton, ON

2014

Back to Basics, Lift Ground Print Studio, Huntsville, ON

2013

Towne Square Gallery, Oakville, ON

Strata Gallery, Elora, ON

Nathaniel Hughson Gallery, Hamilton, ON 

2012

Witness, Propeller Gallery, Toronto, ON

2011

Comfort: a Mixed-Media Exhibition, Propeller Gallery, Toronto, ON

2010    

Face It Head On: The Self Portrait Redefined – Workman Arts Building

Habit Forming, Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts, Toronto, ON

Propeller Gallery, Toronto, ON  

2008

Moments Where The Stories Live, solo exhibit, The Shutterbug Gallery, Huntsville, ON 

The Nexus Gallery, Toronto, ON, group exhibit 

Blue Canoe Gallery, South River, ON

2006

Candor, Six Shooter Gallery, Toronto, ON 

Afore Thereafter, Huntsville Framing Place and Gallery, Huntsville, ON 

2005

Envers Chapin Gallery, Toronto, ON 

2004

States Of Being, Shifting Earth Gallery 

2003

Euclid Studio, Toronto, ON 

2000

Hawksley Burns For Isadora, Book Launch-Exhibit, Lid Lounge, Toronto ON

1999

Vessels, Chapel Gallery, Bracebridge, ON 

In Transition, Bird Hill Gallery, Bracebridge, ON 

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2021

The Mending Circle Project, HfA Studio, Huntsville, ON

2018

57th Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, Toronto, ON

Response (and Responding), Minarovich Gallery, Elora, ON

2017

Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Toronto, ON

2015

Salt Spring National Art Prize Finalists’ Exhibit, Saltspring Island, BC

Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair, Toronto, ON

2012

Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour, Huntsville, ON

2011    

The Artist Project, Toronto, ON

2010    

Nuit Blanche Exhibit, Toronto, ON

The One I Love The Most, Propeller Gallery, Toronto, ON 

Night Lights, Chapel Gallery, Bracebridge, ON 

2009

Lust, The Beverly Owens Project, Toronto, ON 

ALLURING MY SENSES, Arta Gallery, Toronto, ON

No Cure For Curiosity, Toronto, ON

Huntsville Festival Of The Arts, Huntsville, ON

2002

Muskoka Autumn Tour, Muskoka, ON

2001

Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour, Muskoka, ON 

1997    

MAC Members Show, Muskoka, ON