18 » OpenRoad Driver
L O V E LY L A DY S M I T H
This picturesque, historic town of 8,400 boasts a main street lined
with turn-of-the-century buildings. They house an eclectic mix of
gift shops, novelty stores and restaurants, including the gluten-free
Wild Poppy Bistro and bakeries where diners enjoy the island’s
best cinnamon buns. But we were more interested in the town’s art
scene, showcased at the Ladysmith Waterfront Gallery. Here you
can glimpse the works of locals like bird carver Jack Fisher, whose
sculptures of feathered creatures are so lifelike you want to reach out
and touch their feathers before you can believe they are carved from
wood. Mary Fox, a ceramic artist specializing in vessels, also displays
her work in the gallery.
C O W I C H A N B AY B E A U T Y
Arthur Vickers is one of Cowichan Bay’s most high-profile artists,
a First Nations man whose art is highly coveted in the international
art world, where it frequently fetches prices in the five- and sixfigure range. But you wouldn’t know it to meet this humble man
with a warm smile, at his Shipyard Gallery on Cowichan Bay Road.
There are no regular office hours for the gallery, so gaining access
is a matter of appointment or chance. Once you’re inside, though,
Vickers quietly guides you through the meaning behind his works
of art, which range from low-relief sculpting in 24k gold leaf to
hand-carved bentwood boxes, painting and printmaking. “The
creation of art is one thing, but I can complete the cycle by relaying
the story behind the creation to someone who is genuinely curious,”
he says earnestly. “My art is simply a recording of what I’ve heard,
seen and feel, and the price it sells for is completely irrelevant to me.
I just want to go into my studio and strive to be better each time, to
learn from my last piece of art and push to improve my next piece.”
Emerge onto the pier overlooking Cowichan Bay’s houseboats and
luxury yachts and it’s easy to see what inspires him. The exquisite
natural beauty of the coast is right there, visible in the sparkling
ocean, the heavily forested mountains and the translucent jellyfish
that dance in the shallow water off the pier.
COBBLE HILL CUISINE
The winding country back roads that lead you from Cowichan
Bay to Cobble Hill are part of the adventure, weaving between
forests and vast open meadows and offering dramatic glimpses of
the ocean. Our destination is Cherry Point Estate Wines, where
Xavier Bonilla walks us through his 2 2 acres of vineyards, offering
samples of grapes just a month from harvest. “Dry air is the key to
our success,” he explains. “Our vineyards get heated by the hot earth
during the day but the cool breeze from the ocean keeps the grapes
dry. Our proximity to a large body of water is crucial.” Bonilla, who
learned his viticulture skills in Spain and Argentina, purchased the
vineyard in 2009 and offers tastings of his many varietals, including
blackberry dessert wine, pinot noir and gewürztraminer. The wines
are rich and exquisitely flavourful. But they’re best enjoyed with a
good meal, created, like the wine itself, from the land directly around
us. Behind the tasting room and wine shop sits one of BC’s best
restaurants, Amusé Bistro on the Vineyard, where Chef Bradford
Boisvert is at the helm of the kitchen.
The unassuming chef relocated Amusé to Cherry Point in 2014.
He is such a strong champion of fresh, local fare that he empties
his fridge every few days, starting anew with fruit, vegetables and
proteins from his immediate surroundings. “As a chef there’s no
better place to be than the Cowichan Valley, which is growing in
leaps and bounds,” he confides. He sources wild mushrooms through
local forager and Benedictine monk Brother Michael, and he gets
tomatoes from Gamboa Farms and lamb from a farm so close by