guide, artist, business owner, practitioner…
a little about me:
Pat Bavin was born and raised in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia where mountains and nature are his playground. Over the last 45 years he has owned 10 businesses in the fields of Sports, Arts and Healing. He has been the elder partner of Bavin Glassworks over 31 years as well as a painter since 2000. Pat graduated from college as a Technician in Community & Regional Planning, with a thesis in Alpine Park Planning, as well as background in Bio-regional and Outdoor Recreation Planning.
In 1991, Bavin started training to become a Feng Shui practioner which gave him new eyes to see the interaction between Natures elements and our senses and emotions. Shinrin Yoku ( Forest Therapy ) is recent to his passions which is a natural fit with his existing practices. He has traveled to Peru, Japan, Central America and Baffin Island to engage in ancient practices with spiritual curiosity since 1987. Pat is now working with the language and research of scientists in the Natural and Medical world by sharing his Art and Healing practices known as “2 eyes seeing” which improves perception. Pat spends much of his time in the mountains with skiing, snowshoeing, and painting in winter then shifts to Forest Therapy, hiking, and sketching in summer. In 2019 provided design and development support to the creation of the Coho Healing Garden at the Columbia House Care Centre in Invermere, B.C.. This Fall, Bavin worked with the Windermere Elementary school to design the school’s Forest Play and Classroom site, which shall be an ongoing creation.
art biography:
In 1981, Pat Bavin attended the highly acclaimed Pilchuck glass school near Seattle, Washington and returned for studies in 1984 and 1994. Although focusing on glass blowing, he also kept developing his sketching, doing workshops with German Erwin Eisch and Treva Burton. Pat followed the connection of Theosophy to Canada’s iconic masters Lawren Harris and Emily Carr to attain an approach of expressionism and impressionism as practiced by the French painters. In 2002 and 2003, Bavin took four, five day workshops from colour theorist John Cooper, which really helped him develop his early years as an acrylic painter. In 2004, he studied Sumi brush painting under Lian Quan Zhen of Reno Nevada and later in the year, acrylic techniques with Susan Woolgar, and In 2005, Pat studied figure painting with Tessa Nunn at the Red Deer College. In 2007 and 2009, Bavin went through another shift in style and technique when he did a series of five day workshops in composition and collage with Gerry Brommer of Los Angeles. Pat’s style is his own with a unique, heavy line of container spaces that are formed with a mix of compositions and colour schemes that he developed under the influence of Cooper and Brommer, all of which gets a final inspection and influence from his 29 years as a Feng Shui practioner which addresses spaces, flow and line. Recently he is venturing into larger scale work and loves it. Today, Bavin mixes his creative time with painting and often uses his new passion of Forest Therapy to offer Nature’s own artistic qualities to clients that are looking to express their senses using sketching or writing. His work is available at Bavin Studios (also known as Bavin Glassworks) in Invermere and online at bavinglass.com.
PAT BAVIN’S EXPERIENCE with FOREST THERAPY
PARKS & RECREATION
1970’s
Diploma from Selkirk College. Community Planning Technician. Thesis in Alpine Park Planning.
Park Planning – Kokanee Creek Park.
Park Ranger – Kokanee Glacier Park.
Earl Grey Pass - Alpine Park Planning Study and Handbook.
Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Provincial Advisory Board (6 years).
Purcell Wilderness Conservancy – Implementation Strategy
Park Planning - Knox Mountain Park, Kelowna, B.C.
Park Planning and Construction – Bugaboo Provincial Park. Chalice Creek.
Invermere Downtown Revitalization Committee – Chair.
1970 – 1980’s.
Alpine Skiing – Course Design and Construction., Multiple National, International and World Cup courses. Specialty in Downhills.
Columbia Valley Hut Society. Director and rep for Site Planning with B.C. Forest Service.
1990’s
R.K. Heli Ski – Alpine Tenure Planner (4 years)
Workshops in Bioregional Planning and Environmental Sustainability U of C.
Panorama Mountain Village – Recreation Master Plan.
Regional District of East Kootenay Advisory Planning Board – Director.
Lake Windermere Foreshore Committee for Regional District of East Kootenay – Chairman.
Lake Windermere Eastside Sustainable Committee – Board member.
Provincial Ski-Snowmobile Conflict Resolution Committee – Board Member.
Provincial Commission on Resources and Environment – R.K. Heli Ski representative.
2000’s
Columbia Cultural Tourism Association(CCTA) – Chairman for 6 years. Implementation of the “Thorne Report”.
Multiple Backcountry Implementation Strategies representing the CCTA.
Destination B.C. – Regional board member responsible for 10 year Sustainable Tourism Strategy (current).
SPIRITUALITY AND ART
1981 to Current
Bavin Glassworks – Hand Blown glass. 1981 – 2018.
Painter – 2001 – current.
Feng Shui – the Principles and practices of Earth Science (Geomancy) 1991 – current. Private practitioner and Educator at Selkirk College, Invermere campus. Training in Florida, California and Vancouver Island.
Coho Healing Garden, Columbia House, Invermere,B.C. – I am providing the design criteria to the Garden Committee and Board for the new Coho Healing Garden at Columbia Garden, Invermere Hospital. (Current)
Shamanic workshops – 2008 Guarani native training. Johnson Landing, Argenta B.C. 2012 Laika native training with the Four Winds Society in Peru. 2013 to present, Shamanic training with Balanced Horizons in Sandpoint Idaho.
Shinrin Yoku – Forest Therapy. 2018 The Council of Water and Trees with Amos Clifford at the Hollyhock Retreat Centre. 2018 – studying, training with guides at the Okutama Town, Tokyo the Forest Therapy Base, Japan. June 27 – July 4, 2019, guide certification program under Amos Clifford(CEO North American Forest Therapy Guiding Association).