Backcountry Inspiration

Sab Curtis near the summit of Mount Carlyle. Photo: Morgan Bialkowski

Carlyle Lodge artist retreat

by Margaret Tessman

In September 2025, a group of visual artists embarked on a multi-day “artventure” to Carlyle Lodge near Sandon. Mainly hailing from the West Kootenay, the group included both professional and emerging artists, working with different media and styles. Each artist was invited to capture plein air paintings, reference photos, natural journals or sketches during the trip that would then be developed into bigger studio work.

The retreat artists included: Abby Wilson (Nelson), acrylic; Amanda Reber (Calgary), acrylic; Branda Avis (Nelson), oil; Kat Wright (Nelson), acrylic; Margriet Berkhout (Clearwater), acrylic; Morgan Bialkowski (Rossland), acrylic; Sab Curtis (Nelson/Silverton), acrylic; and Steve Quottrocchi (Nelson), watercolour and acrylic.

Retreat organizer Abby Wilson is a self-taught artist who moved to the Kootenays about 10 years ago for the outdoor opportunities and closeness to nature. In 2024 she participated in the Art in the Parks retreat organized by the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre. She was so inspired by the experience that she wondered if she could create her own retreat. Wilson had been to Carlyle Lodge, a hike-in lodge between Kaslo and New Denver, with family and friends. About seven kilometres on an old mining trail, “it has glaciers, wildflowers, mountains and ‘larch madness,’ when the trees turn gold. It’s a magical time.”

Wilson didn’t have a selection process for retreat participants, who were mostly landscape artists but artists curious about history as well. The Carlyle Lodge area offers natural beauty but also has a history of resource extraction, with abandoned mines, collapsed cabins and traplines. Kokanee Glacier is also on display. Four days secluded in the mountains gave retreat participants the ability to connect and unwind. “We agreed we would like catering so our evenings were not spent in the kitchen preparing meals,” says Wilson. A group exhibition is planned for February and March 2026 at the VISAC Gallery in Trail. The dates coincide with the B.C. Winter Games in Trail and Rossland.

Wilson only became a full-time artist three years ago, segueing from a career as a business analyst with an IT support background. “I’m lucky I have that business background, because there’s always more to learn about running a business as an artist.” Wilson would like to make the retreat into an annual event, but with a four-year-old, a baby on the way, a business to operate and a new book to flog, she has a pretty full schedule.

Abby Wilson and her self-published book ‘West Kootenay Hiking’. Photo: Abby Wilson

West Kootenay Hiking

Wilson calls West Kootenay Hiking her “blog to book” publication. An avid hiker, Wilson created the West Kootenay Hikes website to document her experiences. A few things conspired to motivate her to consolidate her posts into a more useful tool. “I noticed extra traffic on the website looking for information,” she says. “Access roads and trail conditions change over time, and the government website was out of date. It was time for a new book.”

Wilson spent two years working on the guidebook. She mapped 77 trails in real time using tracking on a GPS app to note elevation, junctions, landmarks and trail conditions. “I would document observations on the app and do a write-up right away when the information was fresh,” she says.

The hikes in Wilson’s book encompass a wide range of hiking abilities, hiking seasons, access vehicles and special features. Wilson wanted to make the book as durable as possible, so she chose a sewn binding, round corners and a thick, textured cover. The book has over 300 full-colour pages and was printed in Canada on forest-friendly paper. Expensive printing upgrades come with a price, but Wilson was able to raise an astonishing $40,000 through a pre-order campaign on her website, $10,000 of which came in the first 24 hours.