These Gray Days

We are so happy to have the collective brightness of 'These Gray Days' back at SFM! Their work is simultaneously whimsical and poignant, cleverly using humor to bring their audience's attention to the beautiful subtleties in daily life that can easily be overlooked. In the past few years Jasna and Noel have been participants in a number of prestigious artist's residencies including one at the Banff Centre and most recently the Medalta International Artist's in Residence Program in Medicine Hat's Historic Clay District. Earlier this year also marked another success - a commission for the new Anthropologie store in Vancouver. Come and see their lovely work for yourself!

 

These Gray Days is the collective name of artists Jasna Sokolovic and Noel O’Connell. The name These Gray Days represents the source of their inspiration—a constant reminder of the ongoing battle against monotony and complacency. They strive to be an unexpected brightness in these tedious gray days, wherever it may be needed. Whether it is objects for everyday use or large-scale outdoor installations, they approach each new project with a tender defiance to the expected and a goal of inspiring sudden joy in those who are trapped in the doldrums.

Sandpiper Studio

We are looking forward to Sandpiper Studio's debut appearance at SFM this year. Pushing the traditional boundaries of the aesthetics of handblown glass the artist applies images to the surface of her unique and often opaque forms that have nostalgic and narrative qualities coupled with a modern minimalism. We love them! Truly functional art. 

Julie Gibb was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1974. She graduated from the H.B. Beal Art Program in 1995 and later from the School of Crafts and Design at Sheridan College in 2002. Julie is the recipient of several awards and honours including the Aaron Milrad Award for best decorative arts at the 2003 Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition and a residency at the studio of the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY. Her work has been included in several publications such as 500 Glass Objects and 25 Years of New Glass Review. Julie recently completed a three year artist in residency program at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre. She has since moved to the Columbia Valley in British Columbia, where she operates Sandpiper Studio with her partner, Gordon Webster. Located in Windermere B.C., Sandpiper Studio is a small scale production/design studio specializing in hand blown functional glass and strives to create exceptionally crafted objects with modern aesthetics and sensibilities.

SFM 12 is coming up!

So far its been a busting-at-the-seams-busy year for the SFM members with international residencies, new lines being launched, babies being had and growing up! As October winds down we are all busy with our delegated tasks of organizing our upcoming show, which we are so excited about! We have a stellar line up of Canadian talent (see side bar for list of SFM12 artists and links to websites) that we can't wait to host at this years event!

Year after year we hear the same responses from artists and visitors alike - that SFM is the best show around for its quality of work, cozy atmosphere which includes drinks, food and great (non-Christmas) music and room to move. While many other events at Heritage Hall host a lot more vendors we host only 25 artists each year. Be assured that this is all designed with intention. For our artists we want them to have the opportunity to showcase their work in a relevant, sophisticated venue that allows their work to breathe and be seen. For our patrons we want to provide an environment that is relaxed, authentic and offers the highest quality independently designed and crafted artworks.

The icing on top of this is that admission is free! So, on the weekend of Dec 10 + 11 come and visit us and bring all your friends! Until then keep checking back here for more detailed information about our artists + join our facebook page for visual updates. We'll leave you for now with some images from last years SFM 11 Show.

Show is ON!!!!

We had a great turnout yesterday at our opening day of SFM 11. In just over an hour we will open our doors for our 2nd and last day of what is probably turning out to be our best show ever! Please drop in to experience a well curated and considered collection of art, craft and design. End your or someone else's decade in style while supporting your local arts and culture!

Laura McKibbon | cul de sac design

One of the founding members of the Shiny Fuzzy Muddy collective, Laura has been working in ceramics since 2003. Born and raised in Vancouver, B.C., Laura McKibbon is largely a self-taught artist, with a background in science, printmaking and photography.  Her distinctive line of hand-built ceramics reflects a love of modern design, a dedication to craftsmanship and ultimately function. Idyll summers spent at the lake instilled a lifelong interest and reverence for nature, a theme that is largely present in her work. Her inspiration comes from the world around us - highlighting the unique personal experiences we have - in the hopes that this moment will resonate with others, and they will bring their own story into the work.

In addition to her production line Laura creates one of a kind work as well as limited series.  She continues to exhibit regularly and her work has been featured in several publications and international exhibitions, most recently in Gestalten's Fragiles: Porcelain, Ceramics and Glass presented at Al-Sabah Art & Design, Shaab, Kuwait.  She has also participated in several international artist residencies, and has just returned from Denmark, where she was an invited resident during the European Ceramic Context.

Laura's variety of creative activity continues to inspire her SFM peers and colleagues. We are always impressed with how successfully she is able to combine international travel with her art experiences. Maybe SFM will go on the road with her one day!

Laura in her studio flooding a screen in preparation to print on her ceramics.

Applying the 'foot' on a ceramic platter.

Applying the print to a ceramic dish.

Kari Woo

Solid Sterling Silver Reversible Pendants

First drawn to jewellery through her mother's treasure box of jewels and all the stories that came with each piece, Woo actually came to her craft literally by accident. During a recovery from a snowboarding mishap in 1993 which left her with an injured knee for months, she took a night class in jewellery making as a matter of interest and a way of passing time...seventeen years later she is still passing her time designing and making jewellery!

Kari's focus in recent years has been the development of her 'Draw the Line' Collection of sterling silver wire earrings and corresponding pendants and her 'Solid Ground' Collection of reversible pendants and versatile, bold rings. Having met with success and now distributing across Canada, Woo is finding time to experiment with and implement new ideas and design one-of-a-kind pieces again.

Sterling silver wire Cuff + Bangle

She is a full-time studio jeweller who also doubles as a mixed media assemblage artist living and working in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. Kari is co-founder/owner of INFLUX Jewellery Gallery in Calgary, Alberta, an instructor with the ACAD Extended Studies Program and a founding member of crafter collectives in Calgary and Vancouver (Shiny Fuzzy Muddy!!!)  that advocate for the handmade and buying local. In her spare time she likes to think about the role of Craft in contemporary culture.

Her mixed media work has been exhibited in the United States, Europe, across Canada in South Korea. Woo graduated with her BFA Honors from the Alberta College of Art & Design in Calgary, 2003 specializing in Jewellery + Metals.

Double Trouble Design

Double Trouble Design is a studio created by two sisters inspired to create a collection of unique and stylish handcrafted products for the home.

The collaboration began with handcrafted gifts. With these homemade products garnering attention in the homes of family and friends, Kelly was encouraged and inspired to take things a step further. Through a mutual appreciation of each others talents and an interest in creating new products, a partnership naturally formed between Kelly and her sister, Karen. Double Trouble Design was born.

Kelly has been drawing since her early days on a Magnadoodle. At six years old, she wrote an advanced copy of her autobiography which included a career as a fashion designer. It’s no surprise that she has gone on to pursue a Diploma in both Graphic and Visual Design and Fashion Design. Loving music, art, photography and culture, she thrives on learning and exploring new ideas across many mediums, and applying this to a variety of projects. She has traded in her Magnadoodle for Photoshop and continues her explorations in product design.

Karen is a makeup artist with a Diploma in Makeup Artistry and is equally infatuated with fashion, design, and beautiful things for the home.

Double Trouble Design carries paper craft calendars, clocks, stationery and more. The studio based in Vancouver, Canada aims to make everyday items fun, beautiful, and functional.

For the first time this sister-duo is showing at the SFM show and we are anticipating a keen a positive response to their collaborative work and uniquely combined sensibilities! Come and check them out for yourself!

Frances Felt

Pemberton textile designer Frances Dickinson’s true love is textile design. After years of traveling the globe and becoming enthralled with the cultural heritage of textiles, she studied at three different Canadian art schools over five years before getting her BFA in textile design from the Alberta College of Art and Design. In 2002, she returned home and opened her business designing fabrics to incorporate into her clothing and accessories. Her clothes are fun and whimsical, inspired by colour, nature, process and material. Each garment is unique with collage-like detailing hand-picked by the designer. Most of her clothes are adjustable to make fitting all body types easy.

This season she has teamed up with friend and colleague, Ulla Clark of LU Prints to create a woman’s line called LU in Love. Inspired by Ulla’s great sense of graphic design, a collection was created. Skirts, Tops and Pants all covered in Owls, Deer, leaves and Wheat!

Frances Dickinson’s work has been featured in Toronto Life and Ion Magazine, as well as the Georgia Straight and the Vancouver Province.  Frances Felt participates in The Circle Craft Christmas Show (Vancouver), The One of a Kind Shows (Toronto and Chicago) and The Shiny Fuzzy Muddy Shows (Vancouver).

Frances Felt (right) with creative collaborator Ulla Clark of LU Prints.

SFM fans and members have long been awaiting Frances Felt's comeback after a sabbatical she took to start her beautiful family! Welcome back Frances!!! If you are not familiar with her work you will be impressed by her ingenuity in design and fun-loving attitude that wearing her garments creates. Always colorful and bold, they are also versatile for many occassions ... contemporary with the perfect mix of classic.