Unique Hand Felted Wool & Silk Scarves & Wraps- From Pender Island

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Sue Hayes | 0 comments

Monica Bennett writes: “I love colour. It is always what interests me first, what my eye sees first. Texture and pattern combined with colour inspire me and get the creative ideas flowing. My hand felted, wearable art pieces showcase colour, texture and pattern in a pleasing balance of form and function”.

“My wraps may look delicate but they are very wearable. Made mostly from Merino and Corriedale wools felted on to iridescent silk chiffon, they are soft on the skin, lightweight but warm, easily draped around the shoulders on a cool summer evening or wrapped around the neck, tucked under the chin and into a winter coat.”

“I was born and raised in West Vancouver. I received my Bachelor of Applied Arts in Hospitality and Tourism Management from Ryerson University in Toronto in 1988. In 1991, I took my first quilting class and from that moment on, fiber became my creative outlet”.

“Throughout the 1990s, I studied embroidery, hand and machine stitchery, fabric dyeing and surface design with a variety of international teachers. I started teaching quilting in Vancouver in 1995 and continued to teach even after my husband, Trevor, and I moved to Pender Island in 1999. When I started learning to hand felt in 2001, I knew I wouldn’’t be working in fabric arts anymore”.

“Once I saw how my hands could get into the creation of the art – literally – I was really excited”.

“Almost overnight, I stopped working with fabrics and started working with sheep’s wool, goat locks, silks and exotic fibers such as camel down,bison, qiviut, alpaca and llama. The ability to design and create the very fabric itself is an amazing feeling”.

“Everything I make is done by hand. I lay out the unspun fibers then felt them – gently rubbing them with warm, soapy water, then rolling them in bubble wrap over and over, constantly checking and adjusting as the work progresses. My hands tell me when a piece is felting, where it needs more attention and when it is finished.”

Monica’s beautiful, handcrafted work makes a magnificent gift and all represent outstanding value.

Posted in corriedale wool, felting, gifts, local crafts, merino wool, Monica Bennett, oak bay, shawles, shop local, side street studio

Inspired by the love of Nature

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Sue Hayes | 0 comments

Beach Pebbles Studio

Inspired by the love of Nature. Created by artist Sharon Beatch.

The studio was started when we purchased our Island cottage in 2010. It is located a stones’ throw away from Beachcomber Marina in Nanoose Bay on the beautiful West Coast of Vancouver Island.

Our family enjoys time strolling the secret beaches in the area and playing along the shore. It is fun to find the interesting pebbles, sea glass, shells and driftwood and it’s great exercise to walk then carry the treasures back to the cottage.

I have always loved doing crafts and creating things from almost nothing. Setting beach treasures out after we got them home and washed quickly turned into visions of art.

Some pebbles have been tumbled in a rock polisher to bring out their colors, others have been left natural to show off their powerful roughness designed by mother nature. I create simplistic and unique shadow box pictures which to me represent love, life, family, friendship and caring- all the values we hold dear in our hearts.

Some of the ideas were inspired from family and friend events like the birth our grandchild, weddings, boating, camping etc

I hope you enjoy them. You can see more of Sharon's beautiful work at www.sidestreetstudio.com

A World Made By Hand

Beach Pebble Studio Shadow Boxes

Posted in bc art, beach pebble studios, gifts, local crafts, oak bay, shadow boxes, sharon beatch, shop local, side street studio

A Seasoning of Salt Fired Pottery

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Sue Hayes | 0 comments

Cathi Jefferson on Salt-Firing writes:

“Each piece of my pottery is fired to high – temperature stoneware (cone 10 / 2400 degrees F or 1300 degrees Celcius in a 40 cubic foot gas car kiln.Prior to firing, each piece is dipped with a watery slip then most of the interiors are glazed by dipping with a variety of individually made glazes (usually a Shino glaze).

Some pieces have the watery slip or glaze sprayed on the inside and/or outer surfaces. The exterior surfaces have a variety of metal oxides and terra sigillatas (no glazes) that produces a colour range in the hues of nature. The crispness in colours and varying surface textures are produced by the salt-firing.

Late in the gas firing, I roll up “burritoes” made of salt and baking soda and wood shavings and put them in to the kiln by dropping them in to the kiln on a piece of angle iron. Once in the kiln, they volitize sending salt vapour moving with the gas flame among the pieces of pottery.

The resulting outside surfaces vary from side to side due to the direction of the flame with the salt vapour interacting with the pieces as the flame weaves through the kiln.

Each piece is different and sparkles with a vitality that only the salt-firing process can produce”.

You can see more of Cathi’s fabulous work at www.sidestreetstudio.com A World Made By Hand

Posted in cathi jefferson, local crafts, oak bay, pottery, salt fired pottery, shop local, wedding gifts

A Passion for Ocean Themes

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Sue Hayes | 0 comments

One of the great pleasures of owning a studio is that just occasionally you meet an artist who produces some really creative and beautiful work. Darcy Epp is a perfect example. Her Raku is stunning and very well worth viewing.

Darcy began her pottery career in 1993 by taking some night classes with a studio potter. She immediately realized that working with the magic of clay on the potter’s wheel and individual hand sculpting was something that would be immensely fulfilling.

She has taken many workshops in both functional and decorative pieces at North Island College and Metchosin International School of the Arts, as well as specialized workshops and seminars from Gordon Hutchens (Denman Island), Siegele and Haley (Arkansas), Alan Burgess (Courtenay) as well as many others.

Not limiting herself to one medium, she has learned and crosses over between traditional thrown pottery to slab work, Raku and porcelin, often incorporating the theory of one discipline to another. A passion for ocean themes, her attention to the intricate details of orcas, starfish, and rockfish has earned her pottery prominence in some of the most exclusive resort destinations venues.

Raku is an ancient type of Japanese firing dating back to the 16th century. Beautiful iridescent blues, violets, copper and crackle glazes are produced on either wheel thrown or sculptural pottery. The pottery is fired to 1800° and then “reduced” in a chamber which catches fire immediately. The fire uses up all the oxygen in both glaze and chamber, thus producing one of a kind results.

Darcy lives in Black Creek on lovely Vancouver Island. B.C. and you can find more of her beautiful work at Side Street Studio, Victoria, B.C.

A World Made By Hand

Posted in bald eagle, Canadian Gifts, darcy epp, local crafts, maple leaf, oak bay, pottery, raku, salmon, shop local, side street studio, starfish, wedding gifts, wildlife

Charles Van Sandwyk’s Beautiful Books and Cards

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Sue Hayes | 0 comments

Charles Van Sandwyk’s Beautiful Books and Cards

Charles Noel van Sandwyk was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1966.

charles van sandwyk

In 1977 he emigrated with his family to Vancouver, Canada. By the early 1980s he was selling his drawings and watercolours in a style reminiscent of the old prints and paintings which hung in the family home.

Van Sandwyk studied graphic design at the Capilano College art programme in North Vancouver. Upon completion in 1986, the wanderlust of younger years sent him travelling to the South Pacific.

He discovered the Fiji Islands, and fell in love with a remote island and its inhabitants. He began to divide his time equally between Vancouver and Fiji, leasing land from the neighbouring family and building for himself a simple home of grass thatch, in the traditional island style.

Van Sandwyk settled into a pleasurable routine of winter seasons in Fiji filled with painting and writing, the results of which were brought back to Canada each summer and prepared for exhibition and publication each autumn. His watercolours, etchings and books are now collected across North America and in Europe.

The National Library of Canada has maintained archives on his work since 1986. Charles Van Sandwyk continues to divide his time between Vancouver and his beloved Fiji.

A World Made By Hand

Posted in animal stories, art, books, Canadian Gifts, cards, charles van sandwyk, Charles Van Sandwyk Books, childrens stories, crows, gifts, local crafts, oak bay, owls, shop local, side street studio, stories, wisdom

Canadian West Coast Raku Pottery

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Sue Hayes | 0 comments

Ed Oldfield make fabulous We Coast Raku pottery

Ed was born in Orillia, Ontario in 1955. While still young, he moved with his family to Duncan, British Columbia. He graduated from high school there in 1973 and went on to the University of Victoria where he studied Visual Art and graduated with a B.F.A. in 1977.

He continued his studies in the Faculty of Education receiving his teaching certificate in 1978. In 1992 he earned an M.Ed. degree in educational administration also from the University of Victoria.

Currently Ed resides in Powell River where he taught grade 7 students until very recently. After 28 years of teaching visual arts and pottery at the high school level, Ed now channels his artistic energy into creating uniquely west-coast artwork. With a particular focus on Raku pottery.

His work is heavily influenced by the Pacific West Coast, its natural beauty, rugged coastline, aboriginal history, and is tuned to this ecologically sensitive environment.

A World Made By Hand

Posted in ed oldfield, gifts, oak bay, Raku, shop local, side street studio, West Coast Pottery

Fine Wooden Burl Bowls for Salads and Fruit

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Sue Hayes | 0 comments

John Topham writes;

“There is a lot of experience that goes into the crafting of my wooden bowls for fruit and salads . During my 34 years in the explosives industry with CIL/Orica, I have travelled extensively throughout Canada, Africa, the U.S., the Caribbean and South America. Since my retirement in 2002, I have been consulting for Austin Powder Co. of Cleveland. My other interests are photography and guitar”.

“My passion for wood turning evolved from my formal training in Fine Arts. I have been turning for a dozen years and am a founding member of the Summerland Wood turners Group. We meet monthly at a member’s shop; a social time devoted to turning, discussing safe work practices, products, tools, design and finishing”.

“I am a Member of Summerland Community Art Gallery”.

Side Street Studio in Victoria, B.C. has two types of my Salad & Fruit bowls.

“The Silver Maple bowls originated from Nanaimo Street in Penticton. They are from a tree that was planted more than 80 years ago, salvaged and given a new life as a beautiful bowls”.

“The Western Birch bowls originated from a tree from the ‘Carlson property’ on Washington Street in Summerland. This tree was planted more than 80 years ago, salvaged and given a new lease of life as a beautiful bowls”.

“All of my bowls are finished with pharmaceutical grade mineral oil. These historic bowls are food safe and ready for use with fruit, salad and vegetables. An occasional application of oil will ensure generations of service”.