February 6 - March 6, 2010

PLAYING WITH DIMENSIONS

Boxes, vessels, sculpture and images from Saskatchewan that take risks, show innovation and surpass your expectations.

Dimensions is the annual juried exhibition of the Saskatchewan Craft Council and the 2009 theme was Playing. Watch for a stoneware bowl that appears to float in space, fused glass that evokes a jazz duet, stoneware sculpture that undulates and an unbelievable wooden cabinet with drawers that resemble a zipper. These are just some of the outstanding 35 works in the show. Enjoy the best of Saskatchewan in clay, glass, leather, wood, textiles, metals – and ideas! A catalogue accompanies the exhibition.

MADE FOR EACH OTHER

Group exhibition

It’s all about relationships: the teacup and saucer, the table and chair…fine craft and art is filled with dynamic duos. This show explores functional and fanciful interpretations of the theme “made for each other.

Matched sets and unruly companions; this juried group exhibition features art and fine craft that explores what it means “to be made for each other”. Is it a shared goal like a common function? Is the relationship harmonious like a matched set of chairs or pottery? Or is it built on complementary opposites like night and day, heavy and light? Come and discover the dynamics of relationships according to Newfoundland and Labrador fine craft. The exhibition will feature a variety of media in forms that are made for each other to please the eye.

March 20 - April 24, 2010

TEACUPS & MINK

Bonnie Leyton & Leanne Averbach

Two sisters use art and poetry to tell the stories of their Russian immigrant family and their journey to life and success in Canada.

Newfoundland based artist Bonnie Leyton and her sister, poet and performer Leanne Averbach combine their talents to tell the colourful story of their parents’ journey from Russia to Canada in the 1920s and their subsequent success. Filled with struggles, triumphs and humour the Averbach’s story has universal appeal. Paintings, prints, figurative sculpture, multimedia works, a limited edition art book and poetry in print, performance and DVD convey the different perspectives of the two sisters who are separated by nine years. Averbach’s work has received awards in film festivals in New York, Palm Beach and Los Angeles. Teacups & Mink opened first in Vancouver to rave reviews.

POTS & POTPOURRI

Toby Rabinowitz

From splendid planters to tiny, fanciful creatures the ceramics of Toby Rabinowitz inhabit their own creative universe.

This solo exhibition of hand-built ceramics features large planters that are ideal for year round use. In summer they work hard in gardens, solariums or sun porches and in winter they corral scarves and mittens while providing a sculptural accent for the entranceway. Complementing these useful giants are smaller pots and tiny figurines. Rabinowitz enjoys using a painterly approach to decorating the large work while the smaller pieces allow her to exercise her playful imagination. Rabinowitz’s collectors enjoy staging their own whimsical and changing scenarios by arranging the figurines and pots.

May 8 - June 13, 2010

SALMON RUN

Urve Manuel

The watery world and spawning cycle of the salmon comes to life in sparkling glass by Urve Manuel.

The water may be calm on top but a churning world of activity goes on below. Glass artist Urve Manuel recreates a salmon run from sea to stream with a curving glass table and a school of life-sized glass salmon mounted at different heights.. Urve uses fused and slumped glass for the three-dimensional fish as well as leaded glass panels for their environment. Glass with its ability to reflect light and capture colour is an ideal medium for Salmon Run.

SPRING again! May 8-30

Group exhibition

The Craft Council Gallery celebrates spring with craft that conveys the pleasures of
the season.

Robin’s song, a chattering brook, wee bright flower faces - all these things delight our winter-weary hearts when spring returns. Spring again!, is a juried exhibition drawn from the Craft Gallery’s call for fine craft that is inspired by spring’s rich colours and textures. Buds, blossoms, warm breezes and all the delights of nature will be expressed in textiles, clay, wood, paper and a variety of other materials.
Take home some spring so you can have it all year long!

MOTHERS and MOCCASINS June 6 – 21

Karlie King

A documentary film offers us a window onto the halo of meaning surrounding the
aboriginal tradition of moccasin making.

Karlie King is a Ph.D. candidate in the Folklore Department at Memorial University with a special interest in First Nations’ women. Her film features female elders from Saskatchewan making and sharing stories about moccasins. The documentary traces the making of the moccasin from beginning – hunting the deer, tanning the hide – to its construction and final ornamentation. The film shows us not only how a moccasin is made but how they have shaped aboriginal life and culture.

June 26 - August 15, 2010

Annual Members Exhibit

A members’ exhibit where the only criteria is excellence – all media, styles and
themes are showcased with pride.

Contemporary fine craft in Newfoundland and Labrador embraces many materials, techniques and approaches. From traditional to contemporary, from decorative to sculptural, craft in this province varies with each maker and is changing every day. Awards for excellence in innovation, design, and personal expression single out the best craft from this popular show that attracts emerging and established professionals. The Annual Members Exhibit is the Craft Gallery’s largest and most diverse event. The Juror’s Choice Award is always a surprise.

August 28 - October 3, 2010

COME ALL YE! Second Verse

Caroline Clarke, Cara Kansala & Pam Dorey

A 3-artist show provides a light-hearted portrait of Newfoundland folk music through the prints of Caroline Clarke and the woodwork and mixed media creations of Cara Kansala and Pam Dorey.

A sequel to their first show delving into the stories and images of Newfoundland folk music, Come All Ye! Second Verse features a further look at a favourite theme. Caroline Clarke is both a musician and a visual artist who brings a special sensitivity to the music that helps to explain where we live. Collaborators Cara Kansala and Pam Dorey are best known for their whimsical wood sculpture that affectionately depicts outport life. All three artists cherish the character and culture of Newfoundland.

PUFFINS, KITTIWAKES & MURRES...OH MY!

Rosalind Ford

Soft sculpture birds and their young populate the Craft Council Annex Gallery in this solo show by textile artist Rosalind Ford.

Puffins, kittiwakes, and murres! Rosalind Ford combines her skills as ornithologist and textile artist to fill the Annex Gallery with sea birds. Birds suspended from the ceiling fly through the air. Birds tend their young amid eggs and caplin on a false rock cliff. Rosalind creates her three dimensional birds from silkscreen likenesses based on her up close observations as a scientist. She is fortunate to be able to handle several species and bands them for release and study. The soft sculpture birds range from life-sized to smaller representations – so you can start your own flock.

October 16 - November 21, 2010

WALKING DREAMS

Rachel Ryan

Textile art and video combine to create an installation that questions the many layers of reality.

The textile art of Rachel Ryan is admired for its exacting technique and the sophistication of its design but it is always remembered for what it reveals on closer inspection. Rachel brings the improbable and the picturesque to her own brand of surrealism in textiles, creating landscapes of the mind. She works with a fine control of textile collage, painting and embroidery. This show includes the digital video film of Rachel’s brother, Nathan Ryan to add another layer that hints at the ethereal or uncanny.

MAKING PATTERNS FROM THE EVERYDAY

group exhibition

Hooked mats by the Rug Hooking Guild feature designs transforming the everyday

Design instructor Jennifer Archer challenged members of the Rug Hooking Guild to see patterns in their everyday environment and use them to create patterns for hooked rugs. Wallpaper, simple templates, discussion and other sources of inspiration were transformed into shadow boxes, carved lino blocks and prints, abstract patterns and ultimately exhibition-quality rugs. This show includes rugs along with their templates and carvings created by class participants from the Rug Hooking Guild of Newfoundland and Labrador and Jennifer Archer.

December 4 - December 19, 2010

Comfort & Joy

A juried exhibition of fine craft in a variety of media that interprets the festive season in function, form, colour and texture for your home and gift list.

Who isn’t looking for Comfort and Joy? This show demonstrates that good things are happening in studios across the province. Unique ornaments, pottery, art for the wall and table top, scarves and accessories and much more offer you dozens of handcrafted ways to mark special occasions, ceremonies and family festivities. Reward yourself or a loved one with something invested with care, skill and creativity.