Carol Gordon. Photo by James McElroy.
Her warm, inspirational presence is much missed
by Anne Jardine
Whenever the Columbia Basin arts community is faced with the death of an enthusiastic and influential participant, the loss is keenly felt across the region. In the following tribute, Anne Jardine reflects on the life and career of her friend Carol Gordon and of Carol’s immense contribution to the Kootenays and, indeed, to Canada.
Invermere artist Carol Gordon was born in Minnesota. Holocaust survivors, her grandparents settled there seeking dreams of peace and prosperity. Carol’s father’s American dream was to go to Hollywood and become a moviemaker. In the 1950s, he packed up his family and moved to Los Angeles. Both of Carol’s parents became successful producers—her father in cinema and her mother in television. Their family life became dominated by a need to impress others in the industry. Grander houses, fancier clothes, cars, country clubs—Carol saw all these things as shallow and pretentious. She believed that substance was more important than superficial appearances. She longed for the warmth and wholesomeness of her early childhood in Minnesota.
“Delve deeper” was Carol’s prime directive.
She needed to reach beyond obvious, trendy, superficial ways of thinking
In the 1960s, when civil rights, free speech and anti-war movements were poking the cultural conscience of the United States, Carol defied her Hollywood parents and applied to the University of California at Berkeley. There she deepened her quest for deeper values: truth, freedom, equality and peace. Troubled by the increasingly violent political climate of the United States—with the assassinations of the Kennedys, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, plus the Kent State massacre—Carol set off in 1971 to a more peaceful place: Canada.
Journalism was a way for her to pursue her interest in public affairs and truth-telling. Carol went to journalism school in Alberta, and she worked as a reporter and photographer for the Calgary Herald in the 1970s.
“Delve deeper” was Carol’s prime directive. She needed to reach beyond obvious, trendy, superficial ways of thinking. She was seeking the essence—the truth that lay hidden like a jewel amongst the clutter and cliché.
Columbia Wetlands by Carol Gordon.
In what began as a means of developing her journalistic skills, Carol studied photography in the early 1970s at what is currently named Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. There she met photographer James (Jim) McElroy. Their friendship opened the gates of creative growth for both. They fell in love and made their life together over the next 53 years.
Carol and Jim lived at various times in all three western provinces. Carol continued her interest in photography and art. She was also drawn into community development. She became a strong advocate for arts, culture, women’s equality, access and inclusion. She helped organize rural cultural organizations in Saskatchewan. She worked to set up transition houses and women’s resource centres in Cranbrook and Golden.
By refusing to conform to the trends of the times, she took the risk of not being taken seriously. No matter. She was herself: confident in her own clear essence
As a feminist activist in the 1980s, Carol was appointed to serve on Canada’s National Action Committee on the Status of Women, a group responsible for national policy development, eventually leading to legislation on equal pay and maternity leave.
Bread & Roses by Carol Gordon. Photographed by James McElroy.
Mythical Pony 2 by Carol Gordon. Photographed by James McElroy.
In 1980, Carol expanded her art interests into painting. She entered a program at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design. At a time when most serious painters were studying oil and acrylic, she went against the grain to work in her preferred medium: watercolour. She painted small pieces, when the trend was to produce large, dramatic works. She expressed herself in loose, flowing, abstract imagery, when other artists were working in bold, graphic styles. By refusing to conform to the trends of the times, she took the risk of not being taken seriously. No matter. She was herself: confident in her own clear essence.
Process was more important than product. Carol’s painting flowed from an intuitive inner freedom. She trusted her process to guide her in choosing colours, strokes and lines that evoked rhythms and emotions. She painted prolifically all the rest of her life.
Carol taught watercolour and journalling courses and exhibited her works for decades in venues all around the East Kootenay, Banff and Canmore. Her four huge solo shows—in 2020 at Kimberley’s Centre 64 and Invermere’s Pynelogs Art Gallery & Cultural Centre, and then again in 2025 at the same two locations—filled all the walls with the vibrant energy of her spirit.
Lake Louise by Carol Gordon. Photographed by Carol Gordon.
She resisted naming her pieces. She wanted the viewer to share in the process of creating meaning. Pressured by galleries, and by the web-based retail side of marketing her work, she reluctantly began naming groups of her paintings with broad suggestive titles such as Summer Moods or The Wildfire Series.
In recent years, Carol collaborated with a company from Quebec that transferred her imagery onto fabric to create wearable art. She enjoyed the practical and playful fashion designs that gave a different life to her images. When the company insisted on names for the images, she chose abstract names that offered suggestions rather than definitions.
When Carol passed away in October 2025, a celebration of life was held at Pynelogs. Carol’s warm, inspirational presence is much missed in East Kootenay communities. She encouraged and influenced many aspiring artists, writers and activists to delve deeper.
