On Fairfield Road just east of Moss Street lies an eye-catching driftwood art display featuring all kinds of interesting characters.
Around three months ago, Tanya Bub was forced to find a new location for one of her life-sized driftwood pieces, which is named Arthur Hart.
The piece was originally displayed at Oak Bay’s Gage Gallery Arts Collective, but the display was temporarily closed down due to COVID-19. Bub, therefore, decided to place Hart directly in her front yard.
“He’s kind of just pointing, and he was pointing at nothing so I thought I had to give him something to point at,” said Bub.
Bub quickly added a trio of driftwood ducks to join Arthur in the front yard, followed by several other pieces including a seven-foot-tall mythological figure which took Bub two weeks to build.
“My son dubbed it The Great Northern Pegasus,” said Bub, who started creating driftwood art last summer as a way to connect with her son at the beach.
Bub, a computer programmer by trade, says her driftwood art hobby has helped her re-discover her passion for the arts.
“I feel like I felt when I was in art school, you know I’ve kind of given myself permission to create things it’s just been a rebirth,” said Bub who graduated from the prestigious Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver.
In her backyard porch, Bub sits with hundreds of driftwood pieces sourced from nearby beaches. Each piece is unique in size, color and shape.
“I’m trying to find the next piece of the puzzle that extends the picture,” said Bub while working on the head of a lion.
During the pandemic with more time on her hands and fewer interactions with people, her front-yard gallery has been a way to connect with her community.
“I really felt like I was engaging with people. You know, I’d put the thing out and even if I wasn’t watching, the people are watching and seeing and able to enjoy the work.”
Bub’s art is for sale and she does commission work, but Bub says she’ll always try to find time to add different pieces to her front-yard gallery.
“It’s been so fun, just so fun.”
Tanya Bub’s collection can be found on her Instagram page: @victoriadrifter
Kevin Charach
