Alberta Craft Magazine 40th Anniversary Issue 2020 - 2021

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 0 Y E A R S O F C U LT U R E I N T H E M A K I N G ALB E RTA C R AFT CO U N C I L P U B LI CATI O N

40 T H AN N IVE RSARY I S S U E – 2020 -21

ALBERTA CRAFT MAGAZINE

Become an Alberta Craft Council Member!

You belong here! Join our community of Fine Craft in Alberta. We are Craft artists, makers, designers, supporters, customers, collectors, educators, writers, curators, administrators and more. Show your support for the Alberta Craft Council’s work as a member-based, nonprofit Provincial Arts Service Organization dedicated to developing the careers of Alberta Craft artists and the sector.

We have a few different membership levels, here’s quick breakdown! Craft Lovers is perfect for customers and supporters who love Fine Craft, you will receive a 10% discount in our Shops, a subscription to Alberta Craft magazine, and advance notice on special events.

The next level is our General membership, you receive all the perks of a Craft Lover plus our in depth bi-weekly e-news with sector updates and opportunities, listing on our member directory, free professional development programming, and exhibition opportunities.

The Professional membership level (or Emeritus for senior professionals) receive all the perks listed above and is for artists who are interested in professional development, applying to become an artist in our shops, adding a profile to the national Citizens of Craft online directory, and other promotional and professional opportunities. Business and Organizational members support the development of Fine Craft in Alberta, these members receive Alberta Craft magazine bundles, referrals for artists and networking opportunities, reduced advertising rates, listings in our member directory and bi-weekly e-news, and are eligible to create a profile on the national Citizens of Craft online directory. We also offer free student memberships, learn more about memberships on our website at: www.albertacraft.ab.ca/member-benefits.

It is our intent to have the Alberta Craft Magazine published twice a year and stay at an expanded 40 pages (up from 24) to include more images from our exhibitions and create more space to cover Craft happenings around Alberta. The next issue is already underway. For up-to-date information on current exhibitions, events, online artists talks and interviews please follow us on social media channels and sign up for our free customer newsletters, or become a member today.

The Alberta Craft Magazine makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein but assumes no liability in cases of error of changing conditions. Any business relation or other activity undertaken as a result of the information contained in the Alberta Craft Magazine, or arising there from, are the responsibility of the parties involved and not of the Alberta Craft Council.

ALBERTA CRAFT COUNCIL EDMONTON LOCATION 10186 – 106 Street. Edmonton, AB, Canada T5J 1H4 Tuesday – Saturday 10am - 5pm Shop 780-488-5900 | Main Office 780-488-6611 E-mail acc@albertacraft.ab.ca CALGARY LOCATION - cSPACE 1721 – 29 Avenue SW, Suite #280 Calgary, AB, Canada T2T 6T7 Wednesday – Friday 11am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 5pm 587-391-0129 STAFF EDMONTON Executive Director - Jenna Stanton Gallery Shop Coordinator - Rael Lockwood Exhibitions & Memberships - Jill Allan Fund Development & Special Projects - Saskia Aarts Digital Content & Marketing - Ana Ruiz-Aguirre Financial Officer - Wendy Arrowsmith Gallery Shop Assistant - Jen Harris CALGARY Gallery Shop Coordinator - Corinne Cowell Outreach, Events & Volunteers - Jill Nuckles Gallery Shop Assistant - Melanie Archer BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair Tara Owen (Calgary) Vice Chair Dawn Detarando (Red Deer) Treasureer Meghan Wagg (Edmonton) Directors Mary-Beth Laviolette (Canmore), Dawn Saunders-Dahl (Canmore), Kari Woo (Canmore), Jennifer Salahub (Calgary), Natali Rodrigues (Calgary), Kayla Gale (Calgary, AUArts Student Liaison) MAGAZINE Design and Layout: Laura O’Connor Contributors: Jenna Stanton, Corinne Cowell, Saskia Aarts, Jill Allan, Jeff Yee, Allison Tunis, Jessica Telford, Victoria Sanchez

Check out our expanded Members Directory!

We’re upgrading our members directory. With over 450 members across the province visit the Alberta Craft Council’s online Members Directory, a wormhole of artists profiles, websites, and social media channels to keep you scrolling and engaging with Alberta’s creative Craft artists. We believe that contemporary and heritage Craft provides a true reflection of Alberta’s culture, join us in celebrating and nurturing the exceptional craftspeople active in our province today.

Snap shot artists from the directory: Dawn Detarando & Brian McArthur of Voyager Art and Tile in Red Deer.

Website: voyagertile.ca Instagram.com/voyagertile Facebook.com/VoyagerArtTile

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ALBERTA CRAFT MAGAZINE 40 TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE – 2020-21

The Alberta Craft Council is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to developing Alberta Craft and the Alberta Craft Industry.

www.albertacraft.ab.ca FUNDING AGENCIES & SUPPORTERS

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

This Issue

Our 40th anniversary was not quite the year we had in mind, 40 years and a pandemic. It is a challenge to frame both of those things in the context of what was supposed to be a celebratory year and anniversary edition of Alberta Craft magazine.

In Craft, we are built on foundations of sharing skills, creativity, and community. We learn, grow, and build upon the work and contributions of those who came before us, and paying it forward is ingrained. This year, at forty, we are very aware of and grateful for that strong foundation. The dedication of our colleagues, artists, volunteers and supporters, both past and present, have built this nurturing and resilient organization and community.

The meaningful work we do to promote, support, celebrate and advocate for the sector and the community we work with and for, has kept us going, and lifted us up through the unprecedented challenges of the covid pandemic. These times have also brought us together in new ways with digital Monday MeetUps, online artists talks and exhibitions, a new online shop, new artists and supporters, partnerships, funders and fundraisers, and unwavering support from our community.

On the cover: Nesting River #4 by Erin Schwab, Fort McMurray, 2019. Nesting Bitumen rock in hand carved walnut dish and white oak spoon. Read about A.C.E. Alberta Craft Excellence on page 10 - 17.

Nationally, the Canadian Crafts Federation and the Provincial and Territorial Craft Councils have worked closer and more frequently than ever before, leveraging our collective voices to advocate and ensure that federal support programs are more inclusive to artists and the cultural sector. The connections and support extended to helping each other as arts administrators through the intense upheaval that covid brought. This increased connection also has us working together on exciting national digital strategies, research, programing, and partnerships for Craft artists and the sector at large. This collective effort has forged new bonds, strengthened our resolve, and will allow us to do more together than we ever could apart.

Read more on the years challenges and triumphs in our 2020-21 annual report available on the ACC website (under About the Organization).

ANNIVERSARY TIMELINE PAGE 6 -9

COVETED CRAFT PAGE 20 & 21

We are the only province who still produces a provincial Craft magazine, and this edition of Alberta Craft Magazine stalled and started many times over the past year as our capacity shifted and restrictions paused our exhibition programming. Through it all we remained determined and committed to continuing with this important publication to connect, celebrate, and record our contemporary Craft history in the province.

When I first started at the ACC in 2003, I remember going through the Magazine archives, flagging important and impressive ACC activity for an upcoming anniversary. As we worked on the timeline for this current issue, it was a full circle moment to see my old post-it notes sticking up from every issue. All these years later, I remain impressed by the amazing craft, artists, accomplishments, and the steady work, innovation and ambition that went into building this organization and community over the decades. Having been with this organization over 18 years as staff/artist/board member, I feel so fortunate to have learned and worked with such a passionate, creative, and community minded team of staff, board, artists, and supporters; our Craft Council extended family.

Our resolve has been tested, and we may be a little tired right now, but we are as ambitious as ever. We are all looking forward to connecting in person again soon, and seeing what we can accomplish together, and for each other, over the next decade. A For the Love of Craft,

CRAFTED NWT PAGE 22 - 24

LES MANNING TRIBUTE PAGE 34 & 35

THREADING BLACK PAGE 26 & 27

CRAFT COLLABORATIONS PAGE 36 & 37

Jenna Stanton Executive Director

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In Solidarity MAEGEN BLACK, Director of the Canadian Crafts Federation Without the energy, drive and enthusiasm of the staff and board of the Alberta Craft Council, I would not have had the opportunity, nor the joy, of working with a bevy of incredible people. Both Charles Lewton-Brain and Simon Wroot acted as Presidents of the CCF/FCMA, leading the organization with professionalism, creativity, and kindness. Former ACC Executive Director, Tom McFall, spent years working on national and international projects, tackling essential advocacy that continues reverberate to this day. Current CCF/FCMA President, Tara Owen, has long influenced both the ACC and the CCF/FCMA, contributing to strategic planning and bringing boundless enthusiasm to the boardroom table. The current ACC Executive Director, Jenna Stanton continues to make the experience of arts administration feel like a genuine adventure, which started from our initial meeting in 2009, setting up the Canadian exhibition and boutique in South Korea when Canada was the feature country at the Cheongju International Craft Biennial. Having the chance to “nerd out” with all these individuals during our many activities and travels together has made for quality memories to last a lifetime – and has deeply, positively impacted the landscape of Canadian craft as a whole.

Across Alberta’s spectrum of craft, I have seen extreme beauty, meaning, humour, and skill overflow from gallery installations, booth displays, boutique shelves and studio walls. Every piece tells a story: of a moment in time, of an artists’ presence, of a place and a memory worth revisiting. (Shout out to the Bee Kingdom Collective, Dawn Candy, Lisa McGrath, and Kari Woo, whose works live happily in my personal collection!) From the Alberta Craft Council Galleries and shops, to the Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond, Wilcox & Sax in Banff, to studio tours with Crys Harse, Suzanne Kristoffpherson, Julia Reimer and Tyler Rock, and through the winding studios and lecture halls of the Alberta University of the Arts, to the incredible work of First Nations artists and communities like those fostered at Portage College and the work of Sharon Rose Kootenay, Eric Lee, and Amy Malbeuf. These artists and these spaces are the lifeblood of Alberta craft, and I am honoured to have had the chance to dance in this incredible circle of artists, curators, collectors, academics and administrators who contribute to our national craft ecology.

In craft, we connect around objects. We adore them, challenge them, aspire to improve them, share them, shape them, collect them, display them and revere them. But the spirit that embodies them is transferred from the humans who create them, through to the viewers who engage with them.

It is the human connection, transformed through material, that sings to our souls and keeps the beating heart of craft alive in every one of us. For 40 years of giving life to craft, I express my deepest congratulations to every member of the Council throughout this organization’s history. Your making makes great things possible.

This page (top to bottom): Maegen Black Canadian Crafts Federation Citizens of Craft Cheongju International Craft Biennale South Korea 2009 ACC member’s Do-Hee Sung and Mindy Andrews with Maegen Black on the Candian Cultural Tour Cheongju International Craft Biennale South Korea 2009 Curator Dr. Sandra Alfoldi, Maegen Black, Jenna Stanton, Kari Woo Representatives from Canada’s Provincial and Territorial Craft Councils at the 2018 Canadian Crafts Federation National conference Placemaking: The Unique Connection Between Craft, Community and Tourism in Lunenburg, NS. Opposite page (left to right): Tara Owen wins the inaugural Rozsa Award for Excellence in Board Leadership, 2019.

Tom McFall’s retirement celebration at the new ACC Calgary cSpace location, 2017.

Canadian Crafts Federation National Conference in 2018. Retired Executive Directors Anne Manuel from the Craft Council Newfoundland and Tom McFall of the Alberta Craft Council win the Robert Jekyll Award for Leadership in Craft, one of the highest markers of exceptional commitment to the development of the craft community in Canada.

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ALBERTA CRAFT MAGAZINE 40 TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE – 2020-21

What Makes the ACC Exceptional TARA OWEN, ACC Board Chair

The Alberta Craft Council is exceptional. I don’t say that lightly. ACC members’ artwork is world class, the people who work and volunteer for our organization are thoughtful leaders and imaginative innovators, and our place in the context of Canadian culture is deeply important and impactful.

We work day to day with an array of people who are all at different stages of their artistic journeys. We engage with people who are interested in buying, collecting, and learning about craft. We create opportunities for curation and exhibition of meaningful craft work. And all the while, we also advocate for the essential value of the handmade object, as well as for the makers and creators who are the engines of the cultural sector, on a daily basis.

In my time with the ACC I’ve been lucky enough to share in some amazing moments, when one of our craft family have received important awards - like when Charles Lewton-Brain received his Governor General’s award at Rideau Hall, and when Tom McFall received his Excellence in Arts Management award from the Rozsa Foundation. But I have also been lucky enough to chat with the beaming parents of a young emerging artist during her first Spotlight show in a beautifully sunlit gallery in an old stone building in Calgary.

Probably what I love the absolute most about the ACC is the incredible sense of community, and the exceptional people in it. At times it seems as if the people that work in craft make things happen through sheer force of will. It takes the endless grind of grant applications, and reams of brown packing paper, yes, but it also takes single-minded passion, and a boat load of truly caring about fine craft, to keep the ship moving forward.”

Greetings from Lunenburg!

Tom McFall was our illustrious leader, serving as Executive Director from 1998 to his retirement in 2017. As Karen Cantine shares about the period when Tom came on as our next ED, “After growing slowly the Craft Council was ready to expand its vision when Tom McFall came on board as executive director. And the 2000’s were a time of growth indeed: in addition to exciting exhibitions here in Alberta, Alberta Craft was featured in internationally travelling exhibits from Washington DC to Cheongju, South Korea; Calgary finally opened the gallery and shop in cSPACE King Edward Arts Hub.” Tom shares “I am pleased to be a small part of the Alberta Craft Council’s 40th anniversary. I’m hugely gratified to have been part of about 30 of those 40 years.

“My first project was to work with other volunteers on a new visual identity for ACC at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. My last major project was the opening, after years of proposals, fundraising, planning, design, supervision, (and delays and cost increases) of the Alberta Craft Gallery - Calgary. And my most recent craft activity, still on behalf of ACC, was to bring the Canadian Crafts Federation’s annual conference to my new hometown of Lunenburg. Who knows what might be next?

But the ultimate highlight of my ACC experience has been the people – the smart and dedicated board members, the equally smart and dedicated staff and volunteers, and the hundreds of creative and fascinating ACC members. I hope the next 40 years can be as adventurous, productive and gratifying, for everyone involved.

Congratulations on the first 40!

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40 YEARS OF CULTURE IN THE MAKING 1970s Canadian crafts are shown to the world at Expo 67 to rave reviews, inspiring a new generation of Canadian Studio Craft and a flurry of Exhibitions, publications, and new organizations.

Major colleges launch or expand craft programs, Canada Council and Design Canada fund craft projects, Governor Generals start buying fine craft, and the Bronfman Family initiates its famous awards for craft. The Canadian Craft Council plays a central role in this new craft culture.

In North America in the 70s the idea that fine craft has matured from gentile hobby activity, rooted in the Arts and Crafts movement, into a new professional arts practice, sparks new organizations to form to work on the professionalization of craft and craftspeople. Provincial Craft Councils form across the country.

Prominent Alberta craftspeople meet regularly to imagine, define and incorporate this new Council. The Canadian Crafts Council advises the up-start Albertans.

1980

Hotel room meeting Canadian Craft Council Executive Director Peter Weinrich advises Alberta Crafts Council founding members on strategy. Shown above are Doug Motter, John Porter, Pierre Guy, Peter Weinrich, Jane Thomas, Les Manning, and Derek Whyte.

The Alberta Crafts Council is incorporated on January 8th 1980.

Founding members sign incorporation papers and shortly thereafter assemble a $6500 budget.

1981 First Meeting Space Within a few months after incorporation the Alberta Crafts Council receives its first grant from Alberta Culture.

The new enthusiasm for arts groups led to the not-for-profit Arts Administration Resource Centre (AARC) in 1982. AARC was an umbrella organization that provided administrative help to small dance/theatre/ arts groups. I recall early ACC meetings were held AARC’s space, located in the principal’s office of surplus school [Saint Agnes School].

- Karen Cantine

The Making of the Magazine My role was to put the magazine together, I did much of the photography, designed the first Alberta Craft Logo, and did all the layout and paste up. I would physically cut and paste photographs and hand typed copy into some semblance of a magazine. - Brenda Malkinson

The mid and late 80s are a boom period for the ACC. Within 2 years the new Alberta Crafts Council is already re-making and expanding itself, responding to member input by shifting from an organization of organizations to an organization of individual craftspeople and craft supporters. In cooperation with Beaver House Gallery in Edmonton the ACC organizes a wide range of craft exhibitions.

1985-86 Blockbuster exhibition Handspirits tours work by 55 members to public galleries across the province (Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Calgary) and Vancouver.

1987 Alberta Crafts Council moves its office space into the McLeod Building.

1988 ACC at the Olympics The Calgary Winter Olympics in 1988 become a focus for ACC activity. A marketing campaign involves 4 temporary retail outlets that sell members’ work.

An Olympic licensing agreement allows some members to produce Olympic products. Members participate in a range of exhibitions and other arts projects throughout the Olympics. Pictured: Annette Greenberg’s Bobsled plate

1987 The organization’s name is changed to Alberta Craft Council and a new logo is created.

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ALBERTA CRAFT MAGAZINE 40 TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE – 2020-21

10th anniversary highlights Champagne Breakfast anniversary exhibition appears in 7 Alberta locations.

The Canadian Craft Council AGM is held in Calgary Provincial declaration of Craft Week in Alberta, Sept 23 – 29th 1990.

1990 Executive Director Bobbi Hoffman succumbs to cancer in 1990. Susan Abells, co-founder of The Works, is hired to set new directions for the Alberta Craft Council. Quickly, the ACC is back in high gear, setting up a new public gallery and retail facility at Manulife Place in downtown Edmonton.

1991

Keith Evans Board President – We might be inclined to brag a bit about Alberta Craft Council presents.. gallery and shop. We can do all our best work individually, and the results are often impressive. But it is even more impressive when the best work of many individuals is gathered together, consistently, in one location. It is in fact the best kind of advocacy possible for the public value of the arts and crafts, and for the value and importance of continued public support of artists and crafts people in Alberta.’

1992 Canadian Craft Museum in Vancouver opens, ACC sends 15 artists work to ‘A Treasury of Canadian Craft’ that went on to travel internationally in the USA and Asia.

ACC sends the work of 10 artists to the Chicago International New Art Forms Exhibition

1995

ACC moves to Jasper Ave and 124 St. This is the first location that combines all services in one building.

ACC had a funky spot on 124 Street, just at the Jasper Avenue curve. A fun and interesting location, but the tight parking in back meant too many cars backing into the building! The search was on for a more user-friendly location.

- Patti Hartnagel

Symbol of Quality

1993

New Location opened in downtown Edmonton at Manulife Place by Alberta Minister of Culture and Multiculturalism Doug Main who recognised ‘Alberta Craft Council Presents’ as a model of co-operative development of the arts through partnerships between business and arts organizations.

Regular exhibitions of Alberta craft are developed for the new location attracting large audiences to the new gallery. The gallery also hosted touring shows featuring Finnish glass, contemporary Korean crafts and traditional Japanese Kimonos.

CULTURE IN THE MAKING

Coined by Jeff Collins, Alberta Craft Magazine editor.

With extensive assistance from Western Economic Diversification, major studies of both the culture and economics of crafts are completed, generating national and international recognition.

Executive Director Susan Abells is one of many arts leaders who protest provincial government cuts to funding.

At -30’ Susan speaks to reporters and supporters at the provincial legislature.

For her advocacy work Susan is elected president of the Professional Arts Coalition of Edmonton and wins a Mayors Award for Arts Management.

These studies set the stage for new projects (1996) craft business training program, a Symbol of Quality branding campaign, and an ambitious wholesale marketing service.

1997 First ‘Twas the Night” Fundraiser Still going 23+ years later.

The new Alberta Craft Symbol of Quality has five distinct elements within it. These elements represent five major craft production areas, namely; wood, fibre, glass, metal, and clay. Linked together, they form a stylized “C” for “craft” -Trademark symbol designed by Bob Robertson 40 TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE – 2020-21 ALBERTA CRAFT MAGAZINE

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All About Alberta display in Washington D.C.

2000

The ACC celebrates its 20th anniversary with a series of special events called “20 in 2000”. The biggest event is a renovation and relocation to our current location, a 1934 vintage warehouse in Edmonton’s city centre. The move results in dramatic increases in both exhibition visitors and sales of members’ work. The Edmonton Journal describes the new location and image as “terrific” and the first exhibition as “masterful”!

2001 Executive Director Tom McFall and board members Simon Wroot and Charles Lewton-Brain assume leading roles in the re-formation of the national umbrella organization for Provincial and Territorial Craft Councils, the Canadian Crafts Federation.

2004 With financial assistance from the “I love my ACC” campaign, the Clifford E. Lee Foundation and the Community Initiatives Program, the ACC renovates its lower floor, adding a 2000 sq/ft Feature Gallery becoming the cities second largest public Art Gallery.

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Canadian Boutique in Cheongju, South Korea

2005

2007

The ACC celebrates its 25th anniversary with two exhibitions at Alberta Scene art festival in Ottawa marking Alberta’s centennial. Alberta Seen presented 12 members creating fibre landscapes and All About Alberta featured 31 members at the National Arts Center in Ottawa.

Alberta Seen travels to 24 locations across the province.

Craft Year 2007, featured 712 events nationally, with 3 International Craft conferences including the ACC hosted Craft Organization Directors Association of North America conference at ACAD in Calgary

ACC member Charles Lewton-Brain becomes the CCF President

Inaugural Coming Up Next exhibition, featuring emerging craft artists from across Canada.

2009

2006 Alberta is the feature province at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., June 30-July 11 and ACC’s All About Alberta at the Canadian Embassy June 15 – September 16 featuring 43 works by 30 craft artists.

More than 900,000 festival goers are introduced to over 200 Alberta artists.

Delegates from the Korean Craft Biennial see the exhibition and invite the ACC to display it at the 2007 Cheongju International Craft Biennial.

Rozsa Award Executive Director Tom McFall receives the Rozsa Award for Excellence in Arts Management

ALBERTA CRAFT MAGAZINE 40 TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE – 2020-21

Canada is the feature country of the Cheongju International Craft Biennale, the largest fine craft based event in the world. The 40 day event, included; Unity & Diversity an exhibition of 206 pieces by 212 Canadian craft artists, a Canadian Boutique (with artists from AB, SK ONT, NFLD), a series of educational and cultural activities relating to Canadian craft activity including lectures, demonstrations, workshops and performances by Canadian craftspeople and academics, and a cultural tour with 50 Canadians artists and Craft Council representatives.

CLAY 2010 Catalogue

cSPACE-King Edward location

2010

2015

2018

Clay 2010 represented a cross-section of ceramic arts activity in Alberta.

Juried by Mary-Beth Laviolette, Les Manning and Virginia Stephen. The exhibition is purchased by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts

National Craft Year 2015 took place with 884 events across the country.

Canadian Crafts Federation National Conference in Halifax + Lunenburg. ACC Executive Director Jenna Stanton is keynote speaker on Craft and Creative Placemaking.

Prairie Excellence a collaborative Exhibition of AB/SK/MB Craft Councils travels across the 3 provinces.

2011 Natural Flow, featuring contemporary Alberta hot glass, is purchased by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts

2012

Pulp Paper Pages exhibition started in Edmonton and was featured at the Hanji (paper art) festival in Wonju South Korea in 2013. 7 Alberta artists and 2 staff attended the festival and cultural tours.

ACC’s anniversary exhibition 15 on 35 featured 15 members reflecting on how the ACC has enriched and impacted their careers.

ACC hosted an international exchange with Wonju. An exhibition of Wonju Hanji and a cultural tour across Alberta took place with 11 Hanji Cultural Council members from South Korea.

Past ACC Executive Director Tom McFall wins the prestigious Robert Jekyll Award for Leadership in Craft, one of the highest markers of exceptional commitment to the development of the craft community in Canada. Tom also helped plan the Lunenburg portion of the national conference.

2019

2016 Canadian Crafts Federations National Conference “Cultivating Craft: Pathways to Practice” was hosted by the ACC in collaboration with the Alberta College of Art + Design and featured a preconference tour to Medicine Hat and Medalta Potteries.

Long serving board chair Tara Owen wins the inaugural Rozsa Award for Excellence in Board leadership.

2020

2017 The ACC opens its second location in Calgary’s cSPACE-King Edward and launches the Let it Snow annual fundraiser.

Tara Owen is elected Board Vice President of the Canadian Crafts Federation, and elected to president in 2021.

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A.C.E.

ALBERTA CRAFT

EXCELLENCE

Alberta Craft Feature Gallery - Edmonton: October 17 - December 24, 2020 Alberta Craft Gallery - Calgary: September 11 - November 6, 2021

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:

Jackie Anderson Karen Cantine Sarabeth Carnat Albertine Crow Shoe Bonnie Datta Jim Etzkorn Pamma FitzGerald Bonny Houston Kenton Jeske Marty Kaufman Mackenzie Kelly- Frère Susan Kristoferson

Charles Lewton-Brain Brenda Malkinson Brian McArthur Liv Pedersen Talar & Jean-Claude Préfontaine Shona Rae Erin Schwab John Smith-Jones Simon Wroot

Brian McArthur, Red Deer Picking Teams, 2019 Porcelain, hand built. $2,300

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A.C.E.: Alberta Craft Excellence features a diverse selection of exceptional fine craft artists in our province today. Marking the Alberta Craft Council’s 40th anniversary, the exhibition serves both to celebrate and to commemorate excellence in Alberta contemporary and traditional fine craft recognizing quality, authenticity, innovation and craftsmanship.

The invited jury - two professional makers (Natali Rodrigues and Sharon Rose Kootenay) and craft historian (Jennifer Salahub) had the arduous task of selecting from many high-quality submissions, those most representative of craft excellence in 2020.

The three jurors are long-time educators and strong advocates for fine craft and Alberta`s craft culture. It can be argued that each lives a life defined by craft. As one would expect, each brings their own insights and understandings regarding contemporary and traditional craft to the table.

Being tasked with judging the wealth of new and exciting work for A.C.E. proved to be both a positive and daunting experience for they were well aware of the larger consequences. The premise behind this exhibition is somewhat unusual, while topical, featuring a diverse range of fine craft by Alberta makers, it is also underpinned by history. This exhibition was envisioned as a tribute to the founding of the Alberta Craft Council, and as a result, history will recognize that these makers and these works were selected as definitive examples of craft excellence in Alberta in 2020.

Juror’s Report from Jennifer Salahub As the craft historian, I see my Juror’s Report as an opportunity to contextualize our experiences and at the same time to reminisce about earlier eras of adjudication – when jurors were brought face-

to-face with the works – rather than relying, as we did, primarily on digital images and conference calls. It should come as no surprise that concerns regarding jurying fine craft in Alberta are longstanding – in the 1960s Marion Nicoll anguished over creating a set of criteria for jurying Albertacraft – for as she wrote in her Jury Report, “the works of these people naturally become the reference and comparative focal points for other individuals.”

Les Manning, one of the strongest proponents of craft in Alberta, and a founder of the ACC, brought an international exhibition of craft Ceramic Art of the World 1973 – to Calgary. This was the first time that the International Academy of Ceramics (affiliated with UNESCO) had held its juried exhibition outside of Europe. The jury, led by Alberta ceramic artist Luke Lindoe, was faced with an enormous task of adjudicating more than 1500 contemporary works – figurative, abstract, functional, and conceptual – from around the world.

Thankfully our numbers were tiny in comparison; nonetheless, our concerns mirror his. In his Report, Lindoe lamented, “But what about the 1200 entries that are being returned rejected? Among them we could probably find a show as good as the one we are offering. Will those artists who felt that they were presenting something genuinely good now feel that they were somehow wrong? I hope not.”

Our experiences adjudicating A.C.E echoed those of Nicoll and Lindoe – our concerns similar and conclusions similar. While we might have hoped for even more entries than we received the calibre of the work was high meaning that our discussions were well-considered. The selected works are noteworthy in and of themselves – craftsmanship, creativity, and aesthetics but to my mind these works are also indicators of the breadth and depth of the commitment to craft that exists in Alberta today. This devotion is reflected in the artists’ statements, the exhibition records, and even the scope of their training – workshops, classes, residencies – local, national, international. There is no doubt that the juried works that make up A.C.E. speak to the values promoted by the Alberta Craft Council for the past four decades.

Bonny Houston, Calgary Reflection, 2019 Hot glass, formed and slumped. $900 Photo Jeff Yee

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This page (clockwise): Mackenzie Kelly-Frère, Calgary. Lexical Fragments 1 & 2, detail, Cotton, Linen, and Sumi. Hand woven Jacquard damask. NFS Shona Rae, Calgary. Rosie the Cross-Dressing Zombie Steer (aka “Free Da Cow Low”), 2020.

Cow bone, sterling silver, oil paint, carved and constructed. $4,200 Erin Schwab, Fort McMurray. Erosion #1, 2019.

Cherry wood dish and nesting walnut spoon finished with linseed oil. $180 Albertine Crow Shoe, Brocket. Parfleche on Tripod Silver, $2,500, Photo Jeff Yee Opposite page (clockwise): Karen Cantine, Edmonton. Pitcher, 2020.

Sterling silver with granite, raised and constructed. $2,500, Photo Jeff Yee Liv Pedersen, Calgary. Louis, 2019-20, Weft of wool and synthetic yarn, cotton warp. Tapestry weaving on Dutch plank loom. $350 each, Photo Jeff Yee Jim Etzkorn, Medicine Hat. Vase 1, 2018.

Stoneware, wood fired, natural ash glaze. $220, Photo Jeff Yee Marty Kaufman, Calgary Eroded Form, 2017 .

Blown, carved, sandblasted glass. NFS

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John Smith-Jones, Calgary Vessel 207, Raised copper vessel with patina and 24k gold leaf. $450 Vessel 214, Raised copper vessel with patina and fuzed silver and 24k gold leaf. $1200 Vessel 216, Raised copper vessel with fuzed silver and patina. $550

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Talar & Jean-Claude Prefontaine, Calgary Ascend, 2020 Wood, marquetry. $850

Jackie Anderson, Calgary Memphis Blues Lorgnette, 2018 Sterling, German onyx, acrylic acetate, plastic. $1.500 , Photo Jeff Yee

Susan Kristoferson, Turner Valley High Country Majesty, triptych, 2019 Collage of hand painted and decorative papers on wooden panel. $10,000

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This page (clockwise): Simon Wroot, Calgary Textures - Street In Bukchon, Seoul, Korea. NFS Charles Lewton-Brain, Calgary Plexus, neckpiece, 2019, Welded stainless steel, electroformed copper, heavy electroformed 24k gold. $3600 Sarabeth Carnat, Calgary Mud Lake, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, 2019 Copper, silver, acrylic frame, metal painting. $1,200 Kenton Jeske, Edmonton Pillow Stool, 2021 Walnut with ‘Denim’ Upholstery Fabric $700 Opposite page (clockwise): Pamma FitzGerald, Calgary The attic door had purposefully been left open..., 2019 Clay, collage, chalk pastels, charcoal. $495 Brenda Malkinson, Edmonton Stand Tall I, 2020 Stained glass, hand-painted glass enamels, kiln-fired, hand-rolled antique glass. $650, Photo Jeff Yee Bonnita Datta, Rocky View Jelly Bean Throw, 2018 100% wool. $250

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Crafting During Difficult Times: Coping with Creative Challenges During a Pandemic During the early days of Covid the ACC focused on creating new digital content for our artists and audiences.

Members Monday MeetUps included professional development and free public lectures including The Science behind the Homemade Mask with University of Alberta Human Ecology’s Dr. Anne Bissonnette, and Craft as Therapy with art therapist Allison Tunis.

As restrictions continued Monday MeetUps became an important connection to our programing with Artists talks and virtual Exhibition viewings becoming part of the ACC’s regular digital content. You can watch previous Monday MeetUps videos on the Alberta Craft Councils website and Youtube channel. albertacraft.ab.ca/events.

This past spring, Allison Tunis led a webinar for the Alberta Craft Council - Craft as Therapy, a discussion about craft as a therapeutic tool for mental health. The webinar was presented by as part of the ACC’s ongoing Monday MeetUps series of online events.

Craft can be a way for many people to relax, unwind, create, and imagine. However, what happens when the world around us becomes so stressful that it interferes with our creative process? The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating impacts on our daily lives and sense of safety, making it difficult to manage stress and maintain positive mental health. This, in turn, can impact our abilities to engage, manage, access, and connect with art. This article will explore some of the challenges creators might face during times of high stress, and offer some suggestions for how to respond.

If you are finding in this unprecedented time that creating is more difficult than usual, know that you are not alone and that many are journeying alongside you.

One of the most common things I have heard from other artists and have experienced myself since the pandemic began is a loss of motivation to create. With the world being in chaos, my head is often full of anxieties and I find it difficult to slow

down, to think, and to plan. In these types of situations, I like to think about what I get out of my art practice, such as a sense of accomplishment or processing deep feelings, and whether that is compatible with what my overall “needs” are in the moment. It might be hard for us to feel motivated to do something if it is outside of our mental or emotional engagement capacity. For example – if we think about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs pyramid, with our physiological needs for things like food, shelter, sleep, etc. at the bottom and “being the best you can be” at the top, if our art practice is trying to fulfill higher level needs when we are lacking more basic needs, it is going to be more difficult to succeed. This could be mitigated by attempting alternative types of processes in order to more align with our needs – which may be more focused on feeling safe, relaxing, distraction, or feeling positive in times like this where there is a lot of fear and negativity in our everyday lives.

During this pandemic, we are now also facing unforeseen circumstances where we are often juggling multiple obligations at one time – we may be parenting, educating, taking care of parents or pets, working from home, AND trying to create, all at the same time. Self-compassion is key to this and pretty much all challenges.

We are not super-humans, and may not be able to maintain the same practice that we had before the pandemic. Change and adaptation may be necessary, even temporarily. Adapting to circumstances may include practices such as involving art and craft in our caregiving or education practices, ensuring that we take frequent breaks and have backup plans to allow for self-care, and lowering our expectations of productivity and creation.

Isolation and loneliness is something that has increased significantly for many people this year, and many craft artists may not be meeting up in the same ways as before.

In-person events and classes may be put on hold or have to be reimagined. However, there are endless possibilities for connecting with others both virtually and in controlled in-person circumstances – such as getting together to craft outdoors while practicing social distancing, visiting a virtual gallery

tour, planning regular craft meet-ups online, or exploring social media to both share our own and support others’ art. Thinking outside the box will help us all to adapt to our new reality, and still connect with other artists and community members.

Accessibility of arts and crafts is a growing concern for many. During this time of lockdown, we may be unable to access some of the things they need to be able to craft, such as materials, tools and equipment, technology, or instruction. Connection and collaboration is necessary to respond to these issues; creating groups or relationships that support each other could be an answer – snail mail or drop-off materials swaps, sharing access to a press or a printer, or finding a buddy who is able to shop for us if we are unable could allow for better accessibility for people who are struggling.

Finances can very much be a barrier to people at even the best of times, and the pandemic has increased financial instability for many. Consider donating extra supplies to create a swap group, shelters, or to youth groups.

There has been so much upheaval in our lives recently, that creating should ideally be a safe place to retreat and find comfort.

Difficult times impact our feelings of safety and our mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical capacity, and it means that we often have to be gentle with ourselves and adapt to our realities, instead of attempting to continue doing things as we would normally have done. Looking at our challenges, our feelings, our needs, and our realities honestly and reflecting on opportunities to adapt or connect in new ways will hopefully help us to continue to create, share, and support our communities.

About the author: Artist and art therapist Allison Tunis has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Alberta, and a graduate diploma in Art Therapy from the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute. She works mainly in cross-stitch embroidery, but also explores mixed media involving acrylic painting, gel transfers and beyond.

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Coveted Craft Coveted Craft is our in-shop feature where we showcase a selection of objects that we hope will inspire you to bring craft into your daily life. Since 2020 we have brought in over 30 new artists into our Shops for your Fine Craft pleasure, with over 150 artists featured in our downtown Edmonton Gallery Shop and 75 artists in our Calgary Gallery Shop at cSPACE King Edward.

The Alberta Craft Council continues to present Fine Craft to visitors in a wide array of styles, techniques, and unique expressions of creativity. For our 40th anniversary, we have created a dozen unique posters showcasing some of the beautiful craft available to you.

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We hope that you’ll take the visually sumptuous centrefold enclosed in these pages and hang it prominently in your home, studio, office or nearby coffeeshop!

Let’s proclaim our community’s deep love of Alberta Fine Craft!

Want to share more? Reach out to us for more posters and share your pride and support for Alberta’s craft community by displaying them across Alberta! acc@albertacraft.ab.ca Bring Alberta Craft home. Visit us online or in person.

10186-106 Street, Edmonton | 1721-29 Avenue SW, Calgary albertacraft.ab.ca

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1 Silk Knot, pulled glass sculpture Taygan Crapo, Calgary 2 Vessel, turned birch with hand carved details Mason Eyben, Kitscoty 3 Lake Louise Impression Series, kiln formed glass Michelle Atkinson, Calgary 4 Steel Cage series. fusion welded stainless steel, electroformed copper, thick electroformed 24k gold, pink sapphires Charles Lewton-Brain, Calgary 5 Hand-forged sterling silver brooch Karen Cantine, Edmonton 6 African mahogany and Peruvian walnut side table Luc Josh, Edmonton 7 Strata Vessel, coloured porcelain David Barnes, Okotoks

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8 Bowl, wood fired pottery Sam Uhlick, Ardrossan 9 Woven Muga silk and mohair scarf Bonnie Datta, Rocky View County 10 Patina finished copper vessel with gold John Smith-Jones, Calgary 11 Screen printed linen cushion Natalie Gerber, Calgary 12 Gossamer Vase, blown glass Julia Reimer, Black Dimond 9

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Crafted NWT

John Sabourin, Yellowknife, NWT Wolf Stalking, BC Chlorite sculpture.

19 x 39 x 8 cm

Alberta Craft Discovery Gallery - Edmonton June 10 - July 31, 2021 (exhibition dates affected by mandated closures of galleries)

Over the past two years the Alberta Craft Council has worked in collaboration with Johanna Tiemessen, Manager of Arts and Fine Crafts from NWT Arts to bring a collection of craft from NWT artists to Alberta audiences with the feature exhibition Crafted NWT. NWT arts is a marketing initiative that promotes its artists as part of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment with the Government of the Northwest Territories.

Today, NWT craftspeople honour the historical connection of craft with story. Without an explanation, someone looking at an object is unlikely to know it’s story. The craftsperson is the story keeper who shares traditional and modern-day stories through their work. This enables us to carry the story further. The artwork travels with its story. And, in a territory with a transient population, NWT craft allows us to share our NWT stories across the globe.

The NWT is currently developing a Craft Council and we welcome the new organization and northern artists to the network of Provincial and Territorial Craft Councils, and look forward to ongoing collaborations.

Much NWT craft is grounded in tradition and heritage and tells the stories of a rich and powerful culture. Some NWT crafts simply tell the stories of beauty or effort. This focus on the story, the maker and the materials, is what differentiates craft from art for many.

The Conjunction of NWT Craft and Story JANET DEAN, Craft Council NWT In the NWT, craft and story are permanently intertwined. The stories of history are commemorated, retold, rewoven and sometimes even unwoven today. Stories give the endless stream of time – a beginning, middle and end – thus filling our world with purpose.

But stories need a place to live, otherwise they are lost, forgotten.

Before there were books, there were legends, before there were legends there was life. Craft was embedded in our traditional ways of life – the story of family and relationship sewn into garments and the joys of childhood carved into toys and dolls.

The safety and security of home in how lamps were formed.

Craft was our material, our manipulations AND our intentions.

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The Craft Council of NWT (craftcouncilnwt.ca) was formed in 2020 as a vehicle to explore these differences and build a community of craft storytellers around the NWT. Members range from professional crafts people to “crafty families” who use their family craft time to pass on traditions and share family stories.

Their connection is the joy and appreciation of making things by hand; of imbuing the materials with thoughts, feelings and of course, stories.

The NWT Arts Program is a marketing and promotional program run by the Government of the Northwest Territories. The Program helps all artists of the NWT share their work and tell their stories.

The NWT Arts website (nwtarts.com) connects our remote communities with art appreciators and buyers around the world. This support, in particular, helps traditional crafters realize economic benefit from their work and their stories, enabling them to sustain a cultural lifestyle.

April Glaicar, Hay River, NWT Tucho Textures, reversible necklace and earrings Hand-cut formed and carved silver, hand-dyed whitefish vertebrae barrel beads glass spacer beads, sterling silver chain

Cheryl Thomas Yellowknife, NWT Bounty wool, caribou antler, grouse feathers, leather strapping 12 x 31 x 22 cm

Marie Kotchea, Fort Liard, NWT Small Berry Birchbark Basket, sewn and cut in patterns.

Layers of Birchbark, dyed porcupine quills and white spruce root, 12.7 x 12.7x 15.2 cm

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Elizabeth Arey, Tuktoyaktuk, NWT Inuvialuit Man Doll, hand-sewn. Beaver fur, cotton, moose hide face, sealskin mitts, canvas mukluks. 38 x 25 x 7 cm

Craft Tells Material Stories

Art is optical, creating illusion. But craft is always an encounter with the properties of a specific material.

Artists like Jennifer Buckley, who uses fish scales in her art, show how material can be transformed while maintaining its integrity – much like our own personal journeys through life.

Craft Tells Beautiful Stories

It takes skill to create beauty. Although craftspeople work very hard, their skill is not meant to be noticed. Skill is just a means of arriving at beauty and a finished form well. Potter Wendy Stephenson invests many hours into her ceramics work to make it all seem effortless in the end result.

Craft Tells Family Stories

Craft passes through successive generations. When studying NWT craft, it is possible to trace unique family traits – the way an experienced beader, carver, or hide tanner’s own style has been adopted into the work of younger craftspeople.

Artist Lucy Simon tells us, “I create traditional craft because I love designing. I have been doing it since I was 9 years old. I make craft to give to my children and my grandchildren. What I give them is part of me. It is who they are too. It is in me to share.”

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Erica Lugt, Inuvik, NWT Arctic Sunrise earrings made using the Brickstitch technique. Delicas beads, Harp seal (Arctic), sterling silver findings, copper disc. 45 x 3 x 0.2 cm

Through another lens, modern craft is often inspired by tradition.

Many of our Indigenous crafts people are using traditional techniques that have been passed on to them through the generations, and applying them to modern designs. Jewellery Artist, Erica Lugt, is inspired by the Inuvialuit Drum Dancing Parkas her family wears for ceremony. She weaves these black and white triangle patterns into her beaded earrings, which are then adorned with strips of seal, another cultural symbol that is highly respected and honoured through her designs.

Craft Tells Stories About Daily Life

Craft, more than art, meshes with our daily lives. We look at art, but we use and wear craft. Craft is close to our skin, it feeds and nourishes us, it helps us work. Craft becomes an extension of our bodies. Crafts people like Dorathy Wright create parkas that enable us to thrive in our cold climate but that also remind us of the land, the people and the history that enables us to do so. Over years of use, they get worn in, like old souls that walk beside us in our daily lives.

The story of NWT craft is still in the telling. We have an endless number of storytellers and this is a never-ending story.

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Threading Black Alberta Craft Discovery Gallery - Edmonton June 10 - July 3, 2021 (exhibition dates affected by mandated closures of galleries) Alberta Craft Gallery - Calgary July 17 - August 28, 2021

Threading Black: eva birhanu and Simone Elizabeth Saunders on Connecting Race, Roots and Identity SHIEMARA HOGARTH, Curator eva birhanu and Simone Elizabeth Saunders share in this joint textile exhibit portrayals of the common threads that underpin an understanding of Black female Canadian identity. They invite observation of these connections and reflection on what they reveal about themselves in Canadian craft production.

With look, don’t touch eva birhanu takes a mould of a 20-inch length of tightly braided synthetic hair and casts it in bronze. It appears defiant, standing gilded and devoid of the peculiar head on which it usually occupies space. Similarly, i know you want ‘em, a pack of gold-paint coated $7 hair extensions gives new value to the standard but often ‘othered’ 1 hair store braids. The 5ft hair weaving takes hair that once adorned its makers’ head and creates a woven tapestry in which a presence and an absence of the body are simultaneously felt. In wear my hair, a facsimile of hair – cooked noodles – woven in a metallic gold replaces the real or synthetic hair and asks us where and how we assign worth and value.

Simone Elizabeth Saunders’ She Watches, She Waits strikes an omniscient presence with the likeness of Nina Simone, whose roots are imprinted both visually and through the act of hand-tufting. She Emerges, a hand-tufted self-portrait, through the sheer scale and texture of the work, lend weight to her assertion of herself wherein the act of making is an irrevocable marking of her existence.

Audre Lorde once said that “if I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.” 2 eva birhanu and Simone Elizabeth Saunders define for themselves in this body of work permanent manifestations through sculptural and textile practices that reckon with the necessary conversations surrounding race, gender, roots and identity.

Bibliography

eva birhanu, look, don’t touch, 2019 cast bronze

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1 Devika Chawla, Teresa Gonzales, and Kristin McLaren discuss the concept of ‘othering’ as one whereby a difference is categorized in a lesser manner to separate the us/normal from the them/abnormal.

2 BlackPast. “(1982) Audre Lorde, ‘Learning from the 60s,’” August 12, 2012.

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this page top to bottom: Simone Saunders, She emerges (selfie), 2020 Hand-tufted tapestry, 63” x 53” eva birhanu, wear my hair, 2019 jacquard woven self-portrait, 23” x 39”

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This page (top to bottom): Calgary install shot We Are Rising – #NoDAPL – Wet’Suwet’en Territory, 2020 Please Stand By - #NoDAPL – Standing Rock Reservation, 2020 Beaded Tipi Bags, glass beads, thread, deerhide, cotton, metal cones and buttons Handsewn beadwork on deerhide, button and hide tie closure, sections laced together with leather cord and cotton tape, 15’ x 19” x 2” each Opposite page: Net Zero / Leave No Trace, 2018 Boy’s Beaded Moccasins, glass beads, thread, deerhide, metal sequins 4” x 3.5” x 9”, Heel Fringe 4 “ Photos: Jeff Yee

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Manitohkewin // Sacred Power Made Visible Alberta Craft Gallery - Edmonton July 4- August 22, 2020 Alberta Craft Gallery - Calgary June 10-26, 2021 (exhibition dates affected by mandated closures of galleries)

Eternally present, geometric form occurs throughout our cosmos and the natural world. Precise in measurement - the art, science and mathematics of geometry form a cohesive conversation of shape, size, relationships and space. Throughout history and into the current age, the concepts of geometry are applied across artistic disciplines, influencing artists with creative vision and varied technique.

Sharon Rose Kootenay, a Metis artist working within traditional materials, is one of Alberta’s principal interpreters of geometric beadwork design. Influenced by her Indigenous family connections, and living and material history, Kootenay’s studio practice reflects both personal and community perspectives, rendered with an expert use of colour, symmetry and form.

Manitohkewin // Sacred Power Made Visible The original purpose of beadwork was to petition and protect the sacred. As the world’s values change, can traditional artistic practice still communicate with the sentient Cosmos?

Conceived as a visual narrative and social commentary, Kootenay’s Manitohkewin series explores the artist’s relationship between cultural practices, spiritual beliefs and global concerns. Designed to explore a complex concept, Manitohkewin endeavours to link esoteric artistic practices (symbolic and sacred meaning encoded in historic beadwork design) with the technological processes and relentless progress that signifies our modern age.

Through thematic structure, corresponding design motifs and pattern recognition, Manitohkewin demonstrates an elegant discourse between the traditional beliefs of the Northern Plains

and contemporary issues, including our current sources of energy, industrial advancement, and our stewardship of the land and water, and the world beyond.

Evocative and redemptive, Kootenay’s work reveals a universe connected by faith and hope, and a longing for a less-complicated age. As both an elegy, and a call to action, Manitohkewin affirms Indigenous worldviews, and expresses a heart-felt desire for a world in balance, environmental renewal, and solidarity within our human family.

Incorporating both historical replica and contemporary objects, Manitohkewin is inspired by the material culture of the Northern Plains. Presented through an array of forms, the exhibition includes: beaded clothing and moccasins; tipi bags and dispatch cases; pipe bags; bandolier bags; horse gear, and a blanket strip; among others.

Through a testament of visual art, Manitohkewin brings an increased awareness of contemporary Indigenous fine craft, as well as a glimpse into the identity of the Indigenous Northern Plains.

A life-long maker of traditional art forms, Alberta-based artist Sharon Rose Kootenay finds her inspiration in the forests and prairie landscapes she calls home.

Through honoring tradition and expressing a deep connection to the land, Sharon’s vibrant pieces tell a story of cultural identity and place. Utilizing hide, beads, thread and needle, she creates fine craft that illustrates regional history, significant family events, and personal perspectives.

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Rural Roots

A place of connectivity and conservation Alberta Craft Discovery Gallery - Edmonton September 19 - October 31, 2020

The framework of Rural Roots is an expression of both the creative connectivity and individual autonomy of a group of five women makers. Connie Pike, Katrina Chaytor, Jessica Danbrook, Katriona Drijber, and Brenda Danbrook are emerging, and established artists formally introduced through programs at the University of Alberta, Red Deer College and the Alberta University of the Arts, in Alberta.

The artists in this exhibition engage in traditional craft practices, share a powerful connection to clay, and acknowledge and celebrate the collegiality and mentorship between them.

One element of Rural Roots examines the intricacies of the relationship between women working together through developing a collaborative series of ceramic works. These collaborations are concrete expressions of the potential for empowerment through shared knowledge of craft practices. The artists’ tactile engagements in labour-intensive methods with clay materials, skill, time and labour are expressed through imagery and pattern, inspiration for which they draw from the natural landscape or technological world.

Creating a show around the theme of collegial mentorship is at once an inspiration and challenge. However, with each member’s commitment to support and guide a form of a ceramic collaboration with at least one member from the group of five, the artists navigated working together in numerous ways over the course of a one-year period. In the spring of 2019, two members attended the workshop of Katrina Chaytor’s, Pots, Purpose and Place, Lunenburg School of Arts, NS. Other members, such as Katriona Drijber and 30

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Jessica and Brenda Danbrook met and shared in creating ceramic collaborations in small groups in member’s studios, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Mother and daughter, Jessica and Brenda had several organic collaborations due to their familial relationship. Snail mail, email and social media platforms were used by all the artists as they strove to connect as “Isolation” was imposed. For example, Connie Pike’s goal to “INSPIRE” the group of women led her to send a handwritten note and linoleum cutting of a leaf image to each woman.

One of Katrina Chaytor and Brenda Danbrook’s collaborative pieces merges Chaytor’s digital icon, used to navigate virtual modes of communication and mentorship, with Danbrook’s motif of an Alberta prairie plant. Chaytor says it references “the importance of nature as a unifying force of our physical, mental and spiritual sustenance.”

It is the artists’ hope that their collaboration will signify their shared experiences which negotiate nature and technology. The digital motif used incorporates circuits from a motherboard combined with five speech bubbles to represent the five artists, alluding to a “digital wheat shape.” This is merged with the prairie wheat with the implied intention of connectivity and conversation we negotiate every day.

The work in this exhibition reflects a strong craft community while expressing kinship and collective growth through both collaborative and solitary pursuits.

This page (top to bottom): Jessica Danbrook in collaboration with Connie Pike, Crow on a Vase Plate, 2020 23x23x3cm Connie Pike in collaboration with Brenda Danbrook and Jessica Danbrook, Platter, 2020 31x31x10cm Opposite page: Katriona Drijber in collaboration with Katrina Chaytor, Moose Plate, 2020 low fire earthenware, china paint fired to cone 018 18x27x2.5cm

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Cloth in Context Alberta Craft Discovery Gallery - Edmonton November 7 - December 24, 2020

CURATOR: Natalie Gerber PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:

Charis Birchall Bill Morton Irene Rasetti Jolie Bird Natalie Gerber

Cloth in Context – Unravelling Curatorial

Intentions

JENNIFER SALAHUB, Professor Emeritus, AUArts Unlike fine artists, rarely can ‘fine’ craftspeople command the appropriate recognition or monetary reward justified by the creation of a unique piece of work. In consideration of the full value of materials and skilled workmanship involved, even an “appropriate” price can seem questionable to the vast majority, including those who can afford to pay it. In this respect it seems appropriate to encourage a positive appreciation of the practice in accordance with contemporary perception of time as a commodity in modern society.1 It has been two decades since Leigh Mole wrote “Chronomanual Craft: Time Investment as a Value in Contemporary Western Craft” and the term chronomanual entered the craft conversation; nevertheless, the popular undervaluing of time investment continues to plague the craft community. Arguably this is even more apparent in the case of hand crafted yardage (meterage) where end use often trumps craftsmanship in the mind of the consumer.2 While the works in the exhibition are indeed oneoffs, this translates into metres of hand-crafted woven, dyed, or repeat-printed cloth. Significantly, most are destined to be cut, reworked, and ultimately displayed in another form. In an interview with Natalie Gerber, the curator of Cloth in Context she confessed that given her practice focuses on creating printed yardage for the home she would often find herself being regarded as a supplier rather than a creative maker. And yet, for those ‘in the know,’ fine craft demands of its maker that they are the artist, the designer, the craftsman and the technician.

Where then, does such hand-crafted work live within a culture that celebrates convenience coming from ‘fast’ design and ‘fast’ making. A culture where traditional craft knowledge and skills have been marginalized by mass production and mass consumption?

Gerber conceived of this exhibition of contemporary surface and textile design by Calgary artists soon after she moved into a new studio, a former classroom located in the old King Edward School [cSpace]. This was a well-considered decision signalling her commitment to her practice. I should explain that her practice began during her art-school-days as a home-based workshop relying on craft shows, word of mouth, and finally an on-line gallery for sales. Her new space is dominated by a very large 32

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Top to Bottom (left to right): Edmonton installation shot Natalie Gerber, Charis Birchall, and Bill Morton in their studios

surface upon which she prints yardage. As one enters the room there are shelves with bolts of printed fabrics, samples, and some finished accessories. The opposite wall houses the sink and shelves containing her tools – this is a working studio. The location, an art-hub, invites not only walk-in traffic but encourages those searching out her work to visit the atelier. To her amazement this space brought with it a perceptible change in attitude regarding her work. For the first time visitors came face-to-face with the complexities of the process and began to appreciate the skill-sets required to create repetitive design.

They were suddenly thrilled to discuss the conceptual nature of her work and, to cut a long story short, became discerning collectors rather than demanding shoppers. With this insight the rationale behind the exhibition came into focus - Cloth in Context would create an opportunity to open the dialogue around process and making to a broader audience.

As curator and a maker, Gerber wanted to show not only spectacular examples of contemporary surface and textile design but to highlight the often discounted aspect – the value added to fine craft by the slower aspects of fine craft making. Although working with different techniques, what these makers have in common is that the materials and processes that they have chosen to use exact their own rhythm – indifferent to the speed, technology, and efficiency that defines so much of our modern age.

To this end, she decided that the artists, Charis Birchall, Jolie Bird, Bill Morton, Irene Rasetti and herself would keep journals recording their processes – including time investment. Through these notations one becomes privy to not only the maker’s commitment to their medium but their high regard for rituality and the repetitive gesture that defines craft. It is hoped that these journals will inspire a greater

appreciation of authenticity and the legacy of fine craft as distinct from the ‘fast’ consumer-driven production that promises instant, if fleeting, gratification. For in these works of fine craft we see that “Each mark made and each word spoken are born of a gesture or utterance through which a fabric of history unfolds, simultaneously both very old and very young, marking a passage of lived time and remembered rhythms.”3 Upon proposing this exhibition Gerber deliberated for some time over the title, finally settling on the word cloth, perhaps the most mundane of labels for what curators have spent decades re-framing as unique conceptual works of textile-art, art-fabric, or fibre-art. There is no doubt that the textiles that make up Cloth in Context fulfill the art criteria; nonetheless, by their very nature, they are destined to move beyond the frame and away from the pedestal, for these works have a role to play in the art of everyday life.

Bibliography 1 Leigh, Mole. “Chronomanual Craft: Time Investment as Value in Contemporary Western Craft.” Journal of Design History. 15/1(2002): 33-45 2 The word consumer is highly charged – while few would describe a visit to a gallery or craft show as “shopping” excursion those on the lookout for functional craft do just that – a form of lifestyle shopping.

3 Mitchell, Victoria. Between Sense and Place. Winchester, GB: Winchester School of Art Gallery, 1997, 5

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Les Manning

Les Manning in his studio at Medalta, Medicine Hat, AB

in memoriam

As a testament to his selflessness as an artist and internationally renown ceramics advocate and facilitator, I wanted to collect a few first personal stories from some of the literally thousands of people that Manning coached, coaxed, mentored, taught, worked alongside, befriended, and with whom he generally shared his life.

I spoke first with Ann Mortimer, Manning’s contemporary – the two often-cited as the “king and queen” of Canadian ceramics. Mortimer had many shared initiatives and extensive international travel with Manning over the decades in efforts to move the ceramics movement forward. What stood out was their reciprocal respect for one another’s craft. Mortimer told me that when she heard about Manning’s opening in the spring of 2011 in Medicine Hat, Alberta, she didn’t hesitate to jump on a plane from Ontario to be there.

According to Mortimer, Manning’s exhibition Common/Opposites was a complete departure from the thrown abstract multi-clay mountain vessels that had emerged as his signature work from his time at Banff. The colourful hand-built low-fire work stemmed from Manning’s deep sense of dismay at the world’s devastation of its forests and ecosystems. The next year, Les made a surprise appearance at the opening night reception of Ann’s 80th birthday retrospective at Jonathan Bancroft-Snell Gallery in London. He flew in from Calgary for the night, escorted by friends and collectors, to be there for her big moment.

In 2007, Mortimer and Manning were asked to select the ten ceramic artists who would create the work for the Canadian exhibition hall of the Fuping International Ceramic Museum Project in China.

Manitoba-based ceramic artist and educator, Grace Nickel recalls Manning’s steadfast leadership and dedication. Manning created figurative works capturing the socio-economic condition of the local factory workers who surrounded the contingency. A complete departure for him. On the day the before the Canadian gallery was to open, the work already installed, the Chinese decided to create 34

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a double-door entrance with a battering ram. According to Nickel, Manning stood like a sentinel safe-guarding the work, adapting to the surreal nature of events in a heartbeat, with the art and the artists’ interests guiding his every move.

Manning made a difference in people’s lives directly and indirectly. His leadership in the field within the International Academy of Ceramics led to Canada’s first hosting of their annual congress at the Banff Centre for the Arts where Les was Director of the Ceramic Studio for over two and a half decades. It was at that IAC congress that the seeds were planted for the growth and flourishing of both the Alberta Potters Association and the Alberta Craft Council, Manning being a founder of both bodies. Concurrent with the congress was a pivotal exhibition of international ceramics in Calgary. Celebrated Canadian ceramicist, Greg Payce was in high school at the time.

His art teacher showed his class slides of the exhibition and its catalogue. He can still see the catalogue images in his minds eye nearly half a century later. The possibilities they presented to Payce were pivotal in cementing his future in ceramics. In the early 1980’s Payce worked two winter terms as an artist in residency at Banff under Manning’s mentorship. Payce recalls Manning organizing field trips to New York City for his residents, opening the doors to studios and possibilities that were otherwise inaccessible to a whole generation of his peers. When Payce had his major 2015 retrospective, Palimpsest at the Esplanade Gallery in Medicine Hat, Alberta, he mounted Continuum at Medalta’s gallery space, an exhibition of early works from his formative years. Payce dedicated Continuum to Les Manning.

Trudy Golley has been teaching ceramics at Red Deer College since 2000. She is one of Canada’s bright lights on the international ceramic circuit, but she might not be doing what she’s doing, or creating what she’s creating were it not for one small gesture of kindness on the part of Les Manning. Golley had not even met

Manning in 1986 when his handwritten letter arrived in the post.

Manning had written to let Golley know that he had purchased one of her pieces (a blue and yellow mask). He was very impressed with her work. He had hung it up by his back door so he could see it as he left each day. He went on to say that she should drop-in at the Banff Centre sometime. At the time, Golley was struggling with self-doubt, and was considering registering for courses in the Sciences that would lead to a career in medicine. After reading Manning’s note, she flipped the pages of the calendar to Fine Arts, and the rest is history.

Golley met Manning in 1988 as an artist in residence at Banff. Much later, Golley told Manning what his letter had done for her. She continues to use Manning’s selfless act as a model in her own life, teaching and mentorship, and “pays it forward” when she can.

Elaine Henry is an American ceramic artist, writer, critic, editor, curator and convenor. She met Manning in 2002 at a 25-artist international symposium in Foshan China. They happened to be assigned adjacent work-stations. The two developed a lasting, close friendship. Later, when Henry became President Elect of NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) she created an advisory board and invited Manning to play an integral role in developing NCECA’s first artist residency programs. Later, Manning asked Henry to write the catalogue essay for the exhibition of the new body of work that he created at Medalta during his time as a Senior Artist in Residency. This was a first for Henry, and proved to be the “nudge” she needed to delve more deeply into her writing. At 75, Henry has just graduated with a Master of Arts in English from the University of Wyoming. Her thesis is a major contribution to the field: “Comparative Analyses of Contemporary Fine Art Criticism and Contemporary Ceramics Criticism.”

of Marshall’s fondest memories of Manning was the day in the fall of 2016, years after not having worked with clay, Manning sat down at the wheel and started throwing “waxing philosophical about pots as if it were 30 years ago.” Marshall calls Manning one of the best wheel men ever.

Les Manning leaves a gaping hole in the ceramic landscape on so many levels – mostly, he was just a gentle cow-boy with a huge heart and a whole lot of talent.

Les Manning one of the founders of the Alberta Craft Council was featured in many articles and exhibitions in the organizations’ 40 year history.

Pictured here: Cold Stone by Les Manning from the travelling exhibition Home; Medalta’s artisits in residence alumni who made Medicine Hat home and their cultural impact on the city.

Alberta Craft magazine, May - August 2018 Ice Dam by Les Manning featured in the national traveling group exhibition Elemental Connections; an Exploration in Sustainable Craft. Alberta Craft magazine, Summer 2008

For many, Harlan House is synonymous with high-fired porcelain, both functional and sculptural, in Canada and abroad. House was one year Manning’s junior at the Alberta College of Art in 1966.

He remembers Manning as “a hard-working potter, and a quiet thoughtful soul as a young man.” He describes him as a cow-boy in dress and in spirit. He had his own ideas, and when everyone else was firing high temperature gas kilns, Manning was tinkering with oxidation and the chemistry of his own glazes. But most of all, House remembers his generosity in lending a helping hand – to everyone and anyone who needed it.

Jim Marshall is a living legend in Alberta. He is a visual artist and possibly most well-known for his over three-hundred sculpted brick murals. Marshall, himself a member of the octogenarian club, was pivotal in the resurrection and founding of Medalta Potteries along with Jack Forbes. When Manning was casting about for his next major move after he left Banff, it was Marshall who invited him to Medicine Hat to set up what is now the Shaw International Centre for Contemporary Ceramics that is part of Medalta Historic Clay District in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Manning worked tirelessly to launch the residency programs, and stayed on as a Senior Artist in Residence with his own studio in the new Centre for over a decade.

It is there that he created the work for Common/Opposites. Marshall recalls that even in his declining years, Manning would walk to Medalta every day, like a homing pigeon. Clay was his centre. One

Originally published in in November/December 2020 issue of New Ceramics magazine.

About the author: Heidi McKenzie is a ceramic artist and arts journalist living in Toronto, Canada. Her work embraces issues of identity and belonging. heidimckenzie.ca

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Collaborations are a great way to support and promote one another; it allows us to share experiences, knowledge, and techniques about our craft. It also pushes us to explore new ideas as a team. I definitely loved this project and process and look forward to more to come in the future!

- Leah Petrucci

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Craft Collaborations 40th Anniversary Fundraiser September 10-October 14, 2020 As part of Alberta Craft Council’s 40th anniversary, we celebrated the endless talent and vision of our members and community partners with a very special exhibition and online event to coincide with the provincial Month of the Artist.

As the world abruptly shifted and bowed under the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in early Spring, we launched a series of digital Monday MeetUps as a way to hear from and engage with Albertan craft artists. The response we received was almost universal; orders cancelled and the drive to create ebbing in the face of an uncertain economic future.

In support of our community, the Alberta Craft Council came up with a way to inspire, showcase and ultimately pay our artists with a very special project. The Craft Collaborations fundraiser brought artists from across disciplines together as either an existing duo, or adventuresome individual paired with an equally adventurous partner to create one of a kind artworks. This unique fundraiser ensured that each artist pairing had the opportunity to receive 50% of the retail cost of their project and all of Alberta could celebrate the enormous creative talent that this province is rich in.

McCormick, Darren Petersen & Leah Petrucci, Shona Rae & Cindy Lee, Dana Roman & Mary Lynne McCutcheon, Dalia Saafan & Andrea Itzeck, Todd Safronovich & Simon Wroot, Dale Shippit & Keith Walker, Barbara Tipton & Bruce Pearson, Nicole Tremblay & Deanna McGillivray & Wildlife Distillery, Jessica Van De Brand & Qiuchen Ji, Kari Woo & Natalie Gerber, Sara Young & Ramona Stinson, Todd Safronovich & Strathcona Spirits Distillery.

In a time of unprecedented economic strain Alberta’s creative community has once again exemplified how incredibly supportive and generous you truly are.

Thank you from all of us at the Alberta Craft Council.

I think this work is pretty stellar and it will be credited in changing the direction of my studio practice -Kari Woo

In lieu of our popular Twas the Night (Edmonton) and Let it Snow (Calgary) in person fundraisers, we shifted our focus to an online fundraiser which also included popular curated Private Shopping Nights packages. The 40th anniversary Craft Collaborations fundraiser ran from September 10 – October 14th with bidders from as far away as Ohio and a total of $12,538 raised. Of this amount over $4000 was paid directly back to many of the artists, with many other of the participating artists opting to donate their sales portion of the auction revenue back to the Alberta Craft Council, to a total of artist direct donations of over $6000.

The funds raised by the auction will go to the Alberta Craft Council for the continuation of our advocacy and promotion of fine craft in this province and ultimately give back to our members through exhibition and engagement opportunities.

We cannot thank you, our supporters, the 47 amazing auction artists and community partners enough for visiting, sharing, bidding, donating. Over the course of the fundraiser we hosted two virtual events filled with lively craft conversations, and although this isn’t the same as our traditional in person fundraisers, we were so delighted to engage with you.

Craft Collaborations was such a success with our artists and supporters that we are making it an annual event. Artists are all ready busy collaborating on pieces for this years fundraiser happening in November/December 2021.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS: Mindy Andrews & Lisa McGrath, Michelle Atkinson & Janine Samuelson, Erin Berry & Chris Savage, Gillian Boon & Suzette Knudsen, Anna Burger-Martindale & William Miles, Annette ten Cate, Sarabeth Carnat & Jill Nuckles, Dawn Detarando & Brian McArthur, Jennea Frischke & Jackie Anderson, Karen Kryzan & John SmithJones, James Lavoie & Brenda Malkinson, KJ MacAlister & Saskia Aarts, Kim McCollum & Angela Kelly, Siri McCormick & Edward

This page: Hanging By A Thread Study 2, Kari Woo & Natalie Gerber Reversible earring, textured and fabricated sterling silver components, epoxy, cording natural dyed linen thread, cotton cord Opposite page (clockwise): Erin Berry & Chris Savage The Messengers Message Fell on Deaf Ears, Porcelain, underglaze pencil, glaze Angela Kelly and Kim McCollum, Handwoven wool and cotton.

Woven on a traditional 4 shaft loom Darren Petersen & Leah Petrucci - Refuge, Blown and cast glass

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Handweavers, Spinners and Dyers of Alberta: Endings and New Beginnings When combing through the Alberta Craft Council’s archives, there are a certain names and organizations that tend to pop up repeatedly.

They are clear community builders in the Alberta cultural scene.

Joan Vanterpool of the Alberta Handweavers, Spinners and Dyers certainly fits into that category. Serving as representative of the Hand Weavers, Spinners and Dyers of Alberta (HWSDA), she was one of the founders of the Alberta Craft Council (ACC) and sat on the ACC’s board from 1981-83. That is just one early instance of the many ways the ACC and HWSDA’s histories have intersected over the past forty five years.

In the Fall of 2019, the HWSDA made the difficult decision to dissolve their organization, their board members Lynne Cowe Falls and Judy Matthews reached out to ACC Executive Director Jenna Stanton about partnering together to ensure HWDSA’s legacy lives on. While both parties are sorrowful about the ending of a great organization, many wonderful conversations have ensued over the last year and a half about how to best to carry on the groups mandate and legacy. Together the three worked with the Edmonton Community Foundation to set up the HWSDA Fibre Arts Endowment which will continue to support fibre artists in Alberta for generations to come.

The endowment will support a new Fibre Arts Award celebrating the legacy of the Hand Weavers, Spinners and Dyers of Alberta. The $2000 award will be part of the biennale Alberta Craft Awards and will honour fibre artists sharing skills and creativity with the broader community. This award is open to emerging to established individuals, collectives, and/or guilds who have developed a project over the previous two years that shares fibre skills as part of a community building project. This award will shine the light on the many creative community building projects and the worthy individuals, groups, and guilds from across the province who continue to share and grow the passion for the fibre arts.

This is the second ACC endowment project with the Edmonton Community Foundation, the Linda Stanier & Family Memorial Award for Excellence in Ceramics is also an endowed award through the foundation. Both endowments are open to contributions and continue to grow through ongoing donations and the wise investments and stewardship provided by the foundation.

The History of the Hand Weavers, Spinners and Dyers of Alberta Written by the HWSDA executive For 45 years, the volunteer run organization, Hand Weavers, Spinners and Dyers of Alberta worked to fulfill their mission to foster and promote the development of fine craft in the Province of Alberta for both amateur and professional craftspeople. Membership, including individuals and guilds, spanned all of Alberta and into Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Seventy-four original members grew to three hundred at the guild’s peak.

Keen weavers and spinners from around Alberta envisioned, and structured, an organization dedicated to skills-based learning, 38

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the pursuit of excellence and developing a province-wide fibre community. Financial support came from members’ dues and operating grants from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Countless volunteers have given their time and skills to ensure the smooth running and fiscal stability of the Guild.

HWSDA held a conference and AGM annually. Most years the conference was hosted by local guilds, giving the HWSDA membership the opportunity to travel around the province.

Conferences became three-day events with technical and design workshops, renowned speakers, inspiring juried shows, helpful vendors and delicious banquets. Members, inspired by learning more about their craft, reveled in a chance to be connected, to touch base with fibre friends and to stock up on supplies. Weekend retreats were also held on fibre topics giving members a chance to connect, to learn and to teach, between conferences.

Quarterly newsletters were an important way to share and to connect with members. Local guilds kept us all informed about their activities, members wrote interesting articles, the executive reported to the membership. Later the organization’s website also served as a hub for connecting and keeping up with the fibre events happening across the province. There was an extensive lending library for books and magazines, and for archival materials, which now is housed (and available to the public) at Olds College.

To fulfill its mission to develop and foster fine craft in Alberta, scholarships and grants were awarded to individual HWSDA members-- who shared their learning with their guilds and through the newsletter--and to local guilds who hosted workshops for their members.

In 1986 a collaboration between Olds College and HWSDA led to the Fibre Week Master Spinner Program-- the first class graduated in 1990. The ongoing course has been taught off campus as well, in such places as Ontario, British Columbia, Washington, Arizona, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. Graduates became teachers and travelled, to teach, through Canada and the USA. In 1992, HWSDA also worked with Olds College to design a Master Weaver course. Later, because of declining enrolment for Fibre Week, the course was reclaimed by HWSDA and redesigned (and mentored and marked) by our volunteer expert weavers, as the Weaving Certificate Program. In 2007 the program returned to Olds College, to become the ongoing Master Weaver Program. HWSDA continued its support with financial contributions and with curriculum development until 2016. This program too has been offered in other Provinces, and in the USA. The Weaving Certificate Program, and the ongoing Master Spinner and Master Weaver programs, are lasting legacies of the life of HWSDA. With recent economic and social changes, the membership dropped significantly, resulting in a difficult decision on September 22, 2019 to dissolve the organization. We are thrilled to partner with the Alberta Craft Council to forward our remaining funds to create the HWSDA Fibre Arts Endowment, that will support fibre artists in the province for many years to come.

Upcoming Exhibitions & Events More in-depth coverage of upcoming exhibitions will be featured in the next issue of Alberta Craft Magazine. For the most up-to-date information on exhibitions and events follow us on Facebook or sign up for What’s In our free customer E-Newsletter.

ALBERTA CRAFT GALLERY EDMONTON 10186-106 Street NW, Edmonton AB Feature Gallery

KITSCH: CRAFT SO BAD IT’S GOOD | August 14- October 30, 2021 Creators from across the province kitsch it up with humorous works that and will make you laugh and cringe all at once - crossing lines and breaking rules.

Participating artists: Jo Anna Lange (Image: Bozo Lamp), Abby Light, Ananda Skywalker, Breanna Barrington, Hellen Beamish, Annette ten Cate, Carly Hines, Ciara Jayne, Corinne Cowell, Dale Learner, Donna Brunner, Ellie Shuster, Emily Nash, Erik Lee, Erika Dueck, Jennea Frischke, Jennifer Ilanes, Kaleb Romano, Karla Mather Cocks, Susan Kristopherson, Laura O’Connor, Lauren Chipeur, Margaret Hall, Matt Gould, Matthew O’Reilly, Meghan Wagg, Mireille Perron, Pourceline Frit, Puck Janes, Rochelle Hammond, Ruth-Anne French, Sandra Lamouche, Sarah Norquay, Sara Young, Sarabeth Carnat, Shona Rae, Siri McCormick, Susannah Windrum, William Miles Discovery Gallery

MARGINALIA | July 10- August 21, 2021 An exhibition of ceramics and drawings by lifelong friends Erin Berry (Toronto, ON) and Chris Savage (Calgary, AB) depicting narratives built through a hybridizing of the old and the new. Incorporating popular cultural aesthetics with classical designs that reflect upon the persistence and convergence of mythology and conspiracy theories in a playful manner.

DEMOCRACY OF JEWELLERY Curated by Kari Woo | August 28- October 2, 2021 Jewellery is one of humankinds earliest known expressions of creative endeavour beyond mere survival. How does the ready availability of DIY jewellery kits, and other such products that create widespread accessibility to jewellery making, affect the artists who participate in and advocate for the and made economy as skilled and trained makers?

Participating artists: Jamie Kroeger (Image: Waterhauler) Sarah Alford, Devon Clark, Louise Perrone, Lyndsay Rice, Kari Woo COMING UP NEXT | October 9 - November 20, 2021 National biannual emerging craft exhibition.

Participating artists: Marcy Friesen (Image: Half Breed), Graham Boyd, Lael Chmelyk, Leia Guo, Esther Imm, Daniel Labutes, Jared Last, Sophia Lengle, Meng Qiu, Chen Si, Dalayce Smith, Gillian Tolliver, Adriane Vant Erve, Luke Winterhalt KAREN CANTINE: A METALSMITH AT 80 | November 27 - January 22, 2022 An exhibition of new and past works from renowned Edmonton artist and teacher Karen Cantine that highlight the creative themes that have guided her work exploring simple, elegant forms in jewellery, holloware, and sculpture.

ALBERTA CRAFT GALLERY CALGARY 1721 - 29 Avenue SW, Suite 280 Calgary AB A.C.E. ALBERTA CRAFT EXCELLENCE | September 11- November 6, 2021 Marking the Alberta Craft Council’s 40th anniversary, the exhibition serves both to celebrate and to commemorate excellence in Alberta contemporary and traditional fine craft recognizing quality, authenticity, innovation and craftsmanship Participating Artists: Pamma FitzGerald (Image: The attic door...) Jim Etzkorn, Brian McArthur, Mackenzie Kelly-Frère, Susan Kristoferson, Liv Pedersen, Bonita Datta, Bonny Houston, Marty Kaufman, Brenda Malkinson, Jackie Anderson, Karen Cantine, Sarabeth Carnat, Albertine Crow Shoe, Charles Lewton-Brain, Shona Rae, John Smith-Jones, Simon Wroot, Kenton Jeske, Talar & Jean-Claude Préfontaine, Erin Schwab.

ALBERTA CRAFT AWARDS | November 6, 2021 The Alberta Craft Awards are designed to acknowledge individuals and groups who make significant contributions to Alberta’s fine craft culture. The five awards not only stimulate awareness and instill distinction for fine craft in Alberta, they also invigorate and give prominence to deserving artists and their work.

All exhibitions are free to the public, everyone welcome. Dates subject to change in accordance with AHS COVID restrictions 40 TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE – 2020-21 ALBERTA CRAFT MAGAZINE

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www.albertacraft.ab.ca Return Address: Alberta Craft Council 10186-106 Street Edmonton, AB T5J 1H4