Symbiotic Relationships: The Art of Living Together is the title of a new exhibit at The Station House Gallery in Williams Lake.
Before moving to 150 Mile House about eight years ago, artist Georgia Lesley had been obsessed with painting wolves for decades.
Her desire to paint wolves did not disappear with the move, but painting crows and ravens began taking centre stage.
"I was pulled into their personalities, to their voices and their communities," Lesley said about ravens during the opening of her exhibit on Thursday, Oct. 3.
She then began to wonder if the birds shared a relationship with wolves in nature and discovered they did, as did thousands of other creatures.
"I was inspired to find a way to bring the wolves in with the ravens and to find if they related to each other and if they had some sort of communication and relationship. It was like creating a story and a purpose."
One day her wonderment led her to do some research.
She wanted to know whether or not the two creatures had a relationship in nature or was it just a romantic notion of her own.
"I went to Doctor Google and right off the bat there was this big list when I asked about relationships between ravens and wolves. It was fascinating."
Wondering if there were other diverse creatures on the planet who have symbiotic relationships, she did some more research and discovered "tons" did in the both the animal and the plant world.
"My next thought was this would make an awesome theme for a show," she said.
While creating the paintings, Lesley said she honestly felt like she was on fire.
"My heart was pumping wildly whenever I thought about it, talked about it."
The more she researched to find out more about her subjects for paintings, she found herself thinking about creation, the planet, the natural environment, she said.
"Our world, that we often take for granted, is just like a classroom with much to teach us. What I wanted to do, with the best way I know how, which is through art, was to show how utterly magical and amazingly all the creatures on the Earth, I suspect, are connected and we are only starting to understand."
Her show only represents a "handful" of relationships, but she hopes to illustrate a book for children in the future using some of the paintings.
Lesley encouraged parents, teachers and caregivers to bring children to see the exhibit.
"I hope it inspires children to be excited to learn, love and respect relationships in the wild and everything affects everything else."
The possibilities for inspiration are endless, she added.
"Einstein said 'we still don't know 1,000th of one per cent of what nature has revealed to us.'"
The exhibit runs until Saturday, Oct. 26.
