Flower Power - Mixed Media $1,400.00

Raised amongst the temperate rain forests, mountains and endless shorelines of Vancouver Island.  Christine Stufano Simpson has always been deeply moved by nature’s immense beauty. 

The Raven - Mixed Media - $1, 400.00

Since her adolescence she has attempted to express this wellspring of sinspiration through photography, painting, and mixed media.  A self taught painter, she prefers to work primarily with acrylics. 

Recently she has been moved by the synergies between nature and the grace of the human form.  This has precipitated an artistic process which she calls body printing.  Christin’s art attempts to simultaneously capture and inspire the human spirit.  Here art is an alchemy of awe, respect and th eoverwhelming power she perceives in nature. 

I am a jewellery designer, glass bead artist, and silversmith. The work of creating a piece of jewellery is extremely engaging and stimulating. Making jewellery provides me with the opportunity to play with colours and textures, and to express myself as I experiment with the age-old fascination of personal ornamentation. It is always my intention that the person who wears my jewellery will be positively affected. 

The history of glass beadmaking goes back 4000 years. Silversmithing is also an ancient art. The approach to these two practices has not really changed over the years. The tools used have virtually always been the same. Interestingly, the processes for creating adornments from silver and glass are similar, although the specific techniques are hugely different. Respect for fire is essential!

Flameworking to turn solid, cold Murano glass rods into a molten state in order to meld them into the desired form and fuse them with other colours has taught me about patience. Working with silver wire and sheet to cut, bend, hammer, and solder my way to constructing an article has taught me about perseverance.

The adornments that I make are painstakingly, individually, hand-done: each silver clasp, silver bead, silver link is made one at a time. I make each lampwork bead from Murano glass, one bead at a time. The handcrafted silverwork with the lampworked beads combine to become a one-of-a-kind art piece. I also work with a variety of stones and pearls.

Nothing is cast, nothing is mass produced. I do all the work on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada. I hope you find pleasure in the results.  
Maureen O’Connor

"Moments to Rest" medium Gouache $325.00 CAD

Patty Patching moved to this area from the prairies to do her Master’s degree in Fine Arts at the University of Victoria.   Afterwards she continued her study of Art by becoming a Registered Art Therapist.   She paints because it feels good!  In this series of paintings Patty took her inspiration from the flow of life so visible on the West Coast…the ebb and flood of tides, lush vegetation, a  nd thirst quenching rainfalls.

"Summer Spray" medium Gouache $200.00 CAD

Being true and present to the muse of the moment, her work celebrates the spontaneity and abundance of nature.   She paints with intuition, like a bird builds a nest, one stroke fitting into another until it feels just right!

"Spiral Dance" medium Gouache $200.00 CAD

"Tropical Girl Squirrel & Gnome" Oil on Canvas $1,800.00 CAD

Raised in Victoria, British Columbia, Carollyne Yardley completed two years in the Faculty of Fine Arts, and is a graduate of the University of Victoria, where she completed a double major in Psychology and History in Art. Most recently, she has taken art classes at the Victoria College of Art and studied with Tony Ryder at The Ryder Studio School in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Since 1997, she has been the founder, business owner and creative director of a software application & web development company which provided her with a strong foundation in the visual communications industry.

“I view art and design as a process of thinking, creating, problem-solving, and communicating,” says Carollyne.

She cites a wide, ecclectic range of influences that inspire her work—not just Dali, Mark Ryden, Todd Schorr, Pop Surrealism, Raphael, Ingres and Norman Rockwell, but also Lucille Ball, Elaine from Seinfeld, Wonder Woman, Elvis Presley, and helicopter rides.

In September 2010, Carollyne launched her new business as a visual artist, and began to remove the mask of technology to emerge as her true self, standing with her hands on her hips, yelling and laughing at the squirrels in her yard.

She lives in Victoria, BC, with her husband.

James Atkin has been creating high relief woodcarvings on Vancouver Island for close to twenty years.  His calling as a woodcarver was born out of a life long affiliation with wood, a love of art and a need to create. While recovering from a series of surgeries and with a need to channel energy and frustration, he started carving. Completely self-taught, what began as a form of therapy has gradually blossomed into a passion that is almost an obsession.

Jim is both tickled and intrigued by whimsy, which is apparent in much of his work. His love for the gardens and the natural beauty that surrounds his home on Canada’s Vancouver Island are also captured in many of his carvings.

Somewhat of a purist, Jim prides himself on creating high relief carvings from a single piece of hardwood using only a sealer to protect the wood. This provides the woodcarvings with a natural looking satin finish rather than a contemporary high gloss. Jim loves the intricacies and difficulties of high relief carving. Although the wood imposes and more often than not creates constraints, it is an enjoyable challenge. That challenge requires the ability to visualize in three dimensions and to carve the piece making use of light and shadow in a creative and interesting fashion.

How do you do that?”

“How do you do that?” is the question Jim is most often asked about his carving. His simplest answer is, “I take away the wood I don’t want.”  Creating a high relief woodcarving requires a tendency to be anal retentive, have great courage and a smattering of artistic license. Not to mention a great deal of time.  This is exactly how James Atkin would describe himself.
There are only two of Jim’s carvings that took less than three months to produce from concept to the finished piece. The largest carving took eighteen months.

Inspiration

His inspiration for a wood relief carving comes from many directions: an idea that amuses him, a photograph, a moment in the garden, or simply an intriguing image. The original idea then morphs into something quite different as it slowly presents itself under the tools. The completed design is redone many times on paper until the form and feel are just right and Jim is confident that it will conform to the wood.

Producing a multi level relief woodcarving requires considerable flexibility in design and implementation. Wood likes to move, particularly when relieved during the carving process. This tendency is minimized by laminating the wood blocks, alternating the end grains while matching the surface grains and hoping the wood will do as it’s told. It is a rather exacting process. Jim’s preference is to use hard woods such as walnut, padauk and teak. Though more difficult to carve, he finds they will produce the level of detail he wants.

The carving process

The carving process is difficult to explain without writing a book. Simply put, Jim uses an array of tools to transform a block of wood into an intricate work of art. Those tools include a wide variety of gouges, rifflers, dental tools, foredom drills, fingernails and anything that will give life to all the levels of each element.

The high relief woodcarving is finished using a series of ever finer grit sand paper on every surface, edge and nook and cranny. This takes almost as long as it does to carve it. He uses only tung oil sealer to enhance the natural beauty of the wood and to protect it.

Sharon Bussard Grove was born in Lethbridge, Alberta.  Her first experience with clay was ingrained as a child diligently playing in her Grandmothers studio.  Mid life she returned to her passion for clay while residing in Tsawwassen.  In 1994 She became an active member of the pottery community with the Delta Potters Association and began her career as a fulltime potter.  Two thousand and three marked a transition period, after moving to Sooke she spent the following four winters away at school, first at in Ontario at Sheridan College of Art and Design then completing her BFA majoring in Ceramics at Alberta College of Art and Design.  As a ceramic artist she views her practice as a journey, thankfully one that will never stop being a learning process and filled with challenges. 

Her inspiration comes from life, often imbued with the textures, forms and colors of the landscape that surrounds her.  As her body of work has progressed decorative and design elements have become more abstract and ephemeral creating the spiritual essence of an idea, image or feeling.

Bussard Grove’s studio is tucked away in the Sooke hills at the edge of the forest overlooking the Straight of Juan de Fuca.  “How can I not be inspired living and working here”

Sharon’s work has been shown internationally and is a part of the permanent ceramics collection at the ceramic Arts Museum in  Jingdezhen, Sanbao, China.

"Centre Piece" original acrylic on canvas - $1,295.00 CAD

    Marilyn is an expressionist painter working and residing in the Comox Valley, British Columbia. Art has been a strong passion for her from a very young age. In the 70’s, she majored in Fine Art in high school with the dream to further her art studies, but life chose a different path for her at the time.

"Cedar Rest" Original acrylic on canvas - $1,595.00 CAD

    Her and her husband moved to the Comox Valley in the early 80’s. Yet, she continued to put her art dream on hold to start a family. When their children reached elementary age, Marilyn extended her knowledge in art working as a versatile artist throughout the Comox Valley. She volunteered with a theatre group where she gained extensive experience as a set designer and painter. With this experience, she was offered many mural jobs from the downtown Courtenay and Campbell River BC merchants. Soon after, she decided to complete her studies of Fine Art with North Island College and Emily Carr University and completed her BFA in 2009.

"Standing Tall" original acrylic on canvas - $1,595.00 CAD

    Today her art reflects on the environment with her passion of nature in her non-traditional landscapes with paint. She explores a sensorial perception of the forest through her painting process. The qualities of the landscape elevate her imagination and positive energy becomes the driving force in the creation of her work. Each painting refers to a particular place in nature, yet they are unidentifiable taken from its specific location. She paints with bold, vivid colour that allows a luminosity to vibrate and each piece has a strong sense of light. Working in a large-scale format allows her to work with a loose, gestural brushstroke.

     Marilyn has exhibited her work on canvas in Courtenay at the, Comox Airport, St Joseph’s Hospital, Grottos Restaurant, Muir Gallery, and the Comox Valley Art Gallery, she has also exhibited in Dubai commercial galleries, Victoria and Nanaimo, and private collections.

A Collector by nature, the discovery of the Pique Assiette style of mosaics was a perfect fit for my creative expression. (Pique Assiette loosely translates as “to steal from plates”)

Accumulating stacks of old dishes to use as a palette comes easily for me.  Hunting for materials, scouring the Thrift stores for that perfect cup, plate or dish to be broken and re-purposed, flowers become eyes for fish or leaves turn into scales or fins.

Exclusivly using broken crockery, hours can be spent in one area,to find just the right blend of texture, shape and colour.

Often other’s cast-offs and broken china end up on my door step-the timing of these offerings add significance to a particular piece.

The versatility of this medium is adaptable to most surfaces- my first large scale project was a Kitchen backsplash done entirely in beer stiens. Other works include a variety of themes from the “Fishes from Dishes” series to marine wall murals, florals and portraits are part of my on going exploration.

Magic Trails Acrylic on Canvas 40" x 30" $3,200.00 CAD

My abstract paintings explore different ways of expressing beauty and innovation through the choice of colours, textures, movements, and compositions.  Painting in an abstract language is a liberating process because it is reactive, intuitive, and sensual.  At the same time, the thoughtful control of composition makes it as invigorating as puzzle solving. 

That Bubbly Feeling Acrylic on Canvas 24" x 24" $1,530.00 CAD

"Birds" $995.00 CAd oil on Canvas

Lisa Hebden is a figurative oil painter working in Victoria, BC. She works from drawings, photographs, and memory to make paintings that have a sense of otherworldliness to them. She is fascinated by narrative, which carries over into the paintings: something is always happening beyond their surfaces.

Victoria figurative painter Lisa Hebden is a 2003 recipient of a Painting on the Edge Award from the Federation of Canadian Artists. Lisa holds two degrees, in Fine Arts & Graphic Design, from Nova Scotia College of Art & Design. Her work has been featured in International Artist Magazine, Applied Arts Magazine, Art Avenue, Ceramics Art & Perception, The Vancouver Sun, The Halifax Herald and the Claremont Review.

"Birds" $995.00 CAD oil on canvas

Her paintings can be found in private and corporate collections in Canada, the United States, Germany and Australia.

"Life on the Edge" Oil on Canvas $2,675.00

Linny D. Vine’s distinctive contemporary paintings are known for their joyful energy. Cherry blossoms in full bloom, warm curving paths that invite exploration, each building and tree alive with its own special personality. The hour of day and the time of season both captured at their fullest and most colorful.

"Red Railing" Oil on Canvas $1,175.00 CAD

Linny’s inspiration is the visual world, its

beautiful rhythmic patterns of color and light, as well as her intrigue in discovering the unusual within the usual. She combines these inspirations with her richly imaginative narration to create paintings that are full of life and joy.

"Amber Sky" Oil on Canvas $ 2,400.00 CAD

Linny’s past careers in goldsmith and garden design, plus her experience in commercial photography, contribute to the original perspective and strong design of her work. Whether Linny is painting en plein air or in studio, with oil or with acrylic, her expressive brushwork and unique vision of the world combine to create paintings that celebrate the wonderful character and joyous imperfectness of life.

Linny was born in Saskatchewan, grew up in and around Vancouver and has lived in Victoria since 1992 where she shares her love of painting with her life partner, Jeffrey. Linny’s paintings are treasured in private collections across North America and abroad.

"Dreaming of Provence" $1,450.00 CAD Oil on Canvas

 Lucy moved to the Comox Valley in 1990 after graduating from university in Edmonton.  She immediately fell in love with the beauty of the natural surroundings as well as the vibrant arts community.  A lifelong love of drawing, painting and looking at art came to fruition ten years ago when she began painting in oils.  This new medium offered the luscious, strong colours and layering ability that would enable her to develop her personl voice. 

Working from her imagination, Lucy delights in creating works that evoke a sense of  joy through colour, shape, and line.  She is immensley grateful for the opportunities she has had to pursue her passion.

"Swim" $925.00 CAD Oil on Canvas

Albuquerque #2 - original Acrylic & Resin - $1,700.00 CAD

Ira was born and raised in Bavaria, Germany. She studied French and Economics and worked as a translator in France before she became head of publicity at Warner Bros. Germany. Before Ira and her family moved to Canada in 2004, she worked as a freelance marketing consultant with her own company for the movie industry.  Since 1987 she has worked for Warner Bros., Walt Disney Company, Columbia Pictures, Constantin Film, Fox, United Artist and with several other production companies

In the Park #3 - original Acrylic & Resin - $1,900.00 CAD

After 15 years in a professional career Ira was finally able to turn intensively to what has been her lifelong interest, art. She studied art at the Vancouver Island School of Art with remarkable artists like Wendy Welch, Xane St. Phillip, John Luna, Inga Roemer and others. Independently Ira studied with Sara McIntosh Robichaud. Before she decided that she wanted to put all her concentration on painting and to become a professional painter, she also had an opportunity to study independently with Xane St.Phillip.

   Once I got the opportunity to study the work of fantastic artists like Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, Hans Hofmann, Nicolas de Stael, Robert Rauschenberg it was like a door opened and lead me into the vast land of  inspiration. In my art I don’t focus on copying the realistic. I love the abstract expressionists, their work is about creation and interpretation. 

Lightness of Being orginal Acrylic & Resin - $1,200.00 CAD

I want to be part of this creative process and create something that has not existed before and that comes from  myself. Coming from a different life I understand my chance to be able to create a piece of art as an incredible priviledge.“

EarthWeave Paper Design