[Bcma-l] Media Release: Celebrating Fine Craft in Canada on July 1st

[bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca]

For immediate release: June 22, 2007

*CELEBRATING FINE CRAFT IN CANADA
ON JULY 1st - Our Home and Creative Land
Presented by Crafts Association of BC (CABC)
Sunday, July 1 from 10am to 6pm. Everyone welcome*

*Vancouver, BC* (June 19, 2007) - The Crafts Association of BC's July 
1st Canada Day Celebration will be a creative day featuring fine craft 
demonstrations. Enjoy the pleasures of making work by hand. Get inspired 
and be inspired by these master craftspeople as they demonstrate and 
share their skills. Watch Braden Hammond as he melts glass with his bare 
hands; Candace Thayer-Coe as she creates dazzling paper marbling; Anni 
Hunt of the Vancouver Guild of Fabric Arts and Kirsten Chursinoff 
present beautiful stitching and embroidery; turn blue by trying your 
hand at indigo dying with Ros Alymer of FibreEssence; contribute your 
stories by "weaving" them into woven balls which form part of the Craft 
Year 2007 Community Project.

*Braden Hammond* - Braden Hammond began his journey as a Glassblower in 
2003 at Santa Cruz Art and Glass Studio. From that moment, he was hooked 
on the beauty of glass art and the endless possibilities. He is 
passionate about manipulating molten glass with his bare hands and 
creating his one-of-a-kind glasswares. He strives to push his limits and 
the limits of glass every day. The live show will be featuring some of 
Braden's latest creations of bowl flares called 'Fire, Earth, Water'.

*Candace Thayer-Coe* - Candace is a paper artist using craft and 
artistic expression to create works of art. She studied and practiced 
Japanese and Western paper making in the Philippines. Her favourite 
papers are those that have a good surface for marbling - Japanese 
"Suminagashi" and Turkish "Ebru" or "Cloud Art". In her studio she 
produces one-of-a-kind marbled sheets on commercial and her own handmade 
paper.

*Rosalind Alymer* - Ros describes herself as a surface designer, which 
means she works with textiles in such a way as to alter their appearance 
through dyeing, discharge, screen printing, texturizing and/or 
embellishment. Her work is informed by the themes of the environment or 
women's issues. She also makes wearable art. A fine arts graduate from 
Queens' University, Ros has taught at Capilano College and is involved 
in many community projects. Try your hands at indigo dying and watch the 
different shades of blue you can get!

*Anni Hunt* - Anni creates wearable art creations, which are influenced 
by sleek, elegant Japanese lines and the Art Deco clothing styles of 
Erte. Using a very good "eye" for changes in colour and her background 
in medical imaging, she stitches fibre and threads to create a rich and 
colourful texture reflecting nature in her wall hangings. She received 
training from the Gail Harker Creative Studies Centre on Whidbey Island, 
WA and currently completing her City & Guilds Certificate in Art and 
Design and City & Guilds Machine Embroidery levels III. Anni is the 
current President of the Vancouver Guild of Fabric Arts.
*
Vancouver Guild of Fabric Arts* - The Guild, founded in 1970, encourage 
and foster fibre art learning initiatives; provide a structure for the 
purpose of advanced study of all aspects of textile arts; promote and 
raise awareness of fabric art among the general public; advance 
excellence in original, high quality art and design. All interested in 
fibre art are welcomed. Further information at VGFA.org.

*Kirsten Chursinoff *- Kirsten is a fibre artist from Vancouver, BC. She 
has been involved in needlework since the age of five when she 
embroidered her first iron-on transfer of a butterfly. She holds a 
diploma of Textile Art from Capilano College in North Vancouver and is a 
recent recipient of the Visual Arts Development Award. Currently, 
Kirsten is interested in design, research and writing about textiles. 
Her techniques include hand and machine embroidery with a variety of 
fabrics, threads and beads.

*Craft Year 2007 Community Woven Balls* - To mark a national celebration 
of contemporary craft culture across the country *Craft Year 2007/ 
/Année des métiers d'art/*, we invite the public to help us create a 
Community "Weaving" Project. Balls woven in random weave will be created 
using local materials as the base (eg. willow). The public is asked to 
"weave" pieces of their story into the ball. When completed these balls 
will be exhibited at the Roundhouse Community Centre and photos/ images 
will be gathered and presented online as part of the Craft Year 2007 
project.
There are fun hands-on projects for the family during the day along with 
professional demonstrations. Donations greatly appreciated. Pick up your 
free Canadian pins and flags here. Crafthouse Shop's windows will be 
dressed in Canadian style.
For more information contact CABC at (604) 687-6511 or email 
yvonnec@cabc.net <mailto:yvonnec@cabc.net>. Photos available. Click here 
for a PDF version of this media release 
<http://www.cabc.net/mem_sect/broadcastnews/PR,%20News%20RELEASE%20-%20Canada%20Day07.pdf>.

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The Crafts Association of BC gratefully acknowledges the support from 
the following: City of Vancouver, the British Columbia Arts Council and 
the Province of British Columbia through Gaming Revenue, CHMC Granville 
Island, CABC members and volunteers.