Ursula Neufeld

primary medium
mosaic

location
winnipeg

find me online at
http://www.mts.net/~bunny21/MosaicArtDesigns.html

MCC member since 2008

what I love most about my craft
I love working with the many materials, textures and colours. The melding of each piece of glass, smalti, glass tile and beads. Mixing colours and then mixing just the right shades of grout to get the desired affect.

how I learned my craft

My techniques/methods evolved with a Mosaic course I attended one summer with Master Mosaicist Sonia King. She teaches all over the world so her knowledge is immense. To be able to spend a week learning and creating in front of a Master teacher brought my knowledge and inspiration to another level.

a favourite craft quote

"The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust

best online resource

One of the best resources for a Mosaic artist is http://mosaicsandceramics.ning.com

PJ Anderson

primary medium
Earthenware.

location
Winnipeg, MB.

mcc member since
early 2009

what I love most about my medium
What I love most about clay is that I make things. No matter what else is going on in my life or the world around me I can, at the end of my day, take a deep breath and say, "Today, I created something new... I made something beautiful."

how i learned my craft
I studied at the University of Manitoba and have just finished my Honours year in Ceramics.

craft mentors
A few of my craft mentors are Grace Nickel, Alan Lacotvetsky ( both instructed me in first year, they made me love clay) and Magdalene Odundo, whose work I fall more in love with every time I see it.

recent projects
I have been in South Africa studying Zulu ceramics and interviewing potters for the last few months.

Tammy Sutherland

primary medium
textiles - I have never met a fibre-based media that I didn't like, but my top three mainstays would probably fall under the categories of embroidery, quilting and knitting.

location
Winnipeg

mcc member since
2009 - a newbie!

what I love most about my craft
The process... the in and out and in and out, the back and forth and back and forth, the repetitive rythmic breath of life in the making. With part-time work and two young sons, dedicated time for making is limited, but still, I make everyday and my hands are rarely idle. My craft work is the mortar of my life, filling every tiny crevice of time and holding it all together.

where/how I learned my craft
Initially, I was mother-grandmother-friend taught. Later, I had the privilege of studying textiles at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design under many wonderful mentors.

work I admire and how it impacted me
I love the work of Nancy Crow, Dorothy Caldwell, Anna Torma's large scale embroidery, and the Gee's Bend Quilt Collective. My introduction to African American quilting traditions through the work of the Gee's Bend quilters and Harriet Powers was huge in my development. The spontaneity, immediacy, and incredible energy of their quilts broke open my rigid, neatly ordered view of the quilting universe, and I've never turned back!

Doug Manness

primary medium
Hand carving, wooden fishing lures (no power tools)

location
Springstein, Manitoba

mcc member since
2007, presently on the mcc board

find me on the web at
www.wwlures.com

how I learned my craft
My interest in sportfishing began at the age of fourteen. I am self taught in my craft.

what my craft has taught me
I have learned that quality workmanship takes time and patience.

a bit of history
In September of 1999, Water Wolf Lures was created. Since then we have sold lures in wooden boxes in many parts of Canada and abroad. We have attended many art and gift shows, and are listed presently in the Uniquely Manitoba 2009 catologue.

Andrea Braunstein

primary medium

Hand built low fired clay painted with acrylics

find me online at

www.andreabraunstein.ca

see my work at

the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Gallery Shoppes, Glitz and Medea Gallery

mcc member since the 1980's

what I love most about my craft

After all these years I still feel a rush when my hands touch clay. I usually start a piece with a basic idea, but I never know where it will take me. That's the excitement for me.

where and how I learned my craft

I took wheel throwing classes with Duane Perkins in the 80's and was influenced by the many potters that I worked with in the Euphoria studio. At that time, I also attended workshops at the University of Manitoba and throughout the province. In recent years, I became interested in hand building and took sculpture, painting and drawing classes, which brought me to the work that I do today.

a craft based show that made me think differently about my work

When I was still wheel throwing I saw a show of Jordan Van Sewell's sculptures. It had a great impact on me as I loved the fun and creativity of his work. I now look at the world around me and try to have fun while I incorporate what I see in my sculptures. When I stop having fun, it will be time to quit.

Ron Rempel

aka
Kaleidoscope Studio

location
Winnipeg

primary mediums
base metals, found objects and glass

find me on the web at
http://flickr.com/photos/ron_rempel/

mcc member since
1995

what I love most about my craft
I love the challenge of working with non-traditional materials as it relates to jewelry-making.

how I learned my craft
For the most part I am self-taught although I have participated in some workshops offered by MCC.

my art heroes
My "heroes" are many - primarily artisans that explore and push the boundaries.

Marilyn Folson

medium
clay

location
just north of Gimli on Lake Winnipeg

.

find me on the web at
http://www.marilynfolson.ca/

what I love most about my craft
I love the plasticity of clay; it's a medium that allows me to take "play" to the level of "idea." That's very exciting.

something my craft practice has taught me
I've learned that technical "problems" are all part of the learning; pushing the limits is a fun challenge. I try to relax and let the work and the idea develop. I never start a piece knowing what it will look like; for me there's no adventure in that.

where/how I learned my craft
Ceramics/sculpture/art books and magazines--I love them all. I'm always looking at art. Also, I learn a lot from our travels (Santa Fe was a favourite art destination). I come home inspired and ready to work again. Mostly, I learn by doing. I try to stay open to all possibilities in the clay.

a craft-based show that made me think differently about my work
The Jean-Pierre Larocque show at the Gardner museum in Toronto was very freeing--the rich, textured surfaces, the abstraction, the historical references; the celebration of clay as a natural, earthy material that has its own beauty.