Deryk Houston

Finding Peace through art.

I spent several years working for peace as I watched countries who were eager to solve the worlds problems by bombing the village to save it.
It was terribly difficult work as I observed the pain and suffering of the people. If it was for my art, I don't think I would have survived. The National Film Board of Canada produced the documentary, From Baghdad to Peace Country, on my work. http://www.nfb.ca/film/from_baghdad_to_peace_country/
It became obvious to me that I needed to spend more time in my own back yard if I was going to maintain any sense of hope. I set to work on a one acre patch of a two hundred acre farm near my home in Victoria BC Canada. The site used to be the junk pile for the farm.
Someone suggested that I might include a labyrinth somewhere in the design and after researching the subject, I wanted to make it the main feature of what I would consider to be a large earthen work project. One can't get lost in a labyrinth as long as one follows the path. The farm was a therapeutic community for people who had addictions and homelessness issues.
It was a beautiful model for helping those in need.
I brought in a massive digger and reshaped the site. Stones were brought in as well to shape the paths and the labyrinth. Then we planted four hundred edible sage plants to fill the surrounding beds inside the labyrinth. One hundred and fifty lavender plants were placed in the outer rings and points.
We created an area to the side called apple tree lane. Everything on the site was edible.
I worked on this project for over five years with my wife and some volunteers from time to time. It was a labour of love and filled me with the peace I was searching for so many years. It was like a form of meditation. Every sunrise and sunset filled me with joy. The ownership of the land was transferred back to the first nations people and we ended up living on the land in a little white farm house. We feel blessed to see the farm grow and produce more than ever before. People who didn't have employment were hired to fix up the farm buildings where possible. Old ones beyond repair were pulled down and the barnwood will be recycled into tables, owl houses, birdhouses and a host of other beautiful items.
While working all these years I have watched the seasons come and go and got into a rhythm with the growth of crops. I've watched rabbits, owls, deer, eagles dance in the fields. One day I saw an eagle grab a new baby fawn and try to carry it away but the fawn was saved by it's mother. This all within ten feet of us.
What I am not working in is based on those experiences. I have three pieces shown in this new collection. They are a departure from my more colourful works. I want to express some of the feelings I saw in nature. I think of the caveman when he or she laid her hand onto the rock wall and sprayed red paint over the hand....leaving the shape of their humanity on the wall.
This is why I am essentially doing the same thing with the plants, seeds, stems, weeds, buds, leaves that I find in different season on the farm.
They are meant to be subtle. Just shadows. No need for colour at this time. I like the purity of the white and the black.
Please take time to look at the images. I hope you enjoy them.
The image shows the Peace Garden and the labyrinth. My wife Elizabeth can be seen walking the labyrinth. The title of this painting is called "In the Moment". (It is in a private collection and not for sale.)
We installed sculptures in the Peace Garden. My son Samuel and I created them. (My wife also designed a sculpture for the garden.)