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.

Teresa Burrows

primary medium
Beading lately, but I like to think of myself as a relatively feral artist. I was trained as a printmaker but living 750 km north of a decent press and studio, I found art in drawing, painting, photography, mixed media, and beadwork.

location
Thompson

mcc member since
2008

what I like most about my craft
What I like about beading is that I can keep it simple, or I can build pieces together and make more complicated works. The caribou women works I have been working on recently have been on-going for 18 months but I do other art in between as I can only sanely bead for about 4-7 hours in any given day. Most weekends I take up a roost and bead non stop. My craft has confirmed that being obsessive compulsive is a good thing in the art-craft world.

how I learned my craft
The north used to abound with talented craftswomen beading. Years ago when I worked at the Ma Mow We Tak friendship centre I had to hire beadwork instructors. A few elderly women showed me the basics, but it was probably twenty years before I started working beads into my artwork

my favorite online craft related resource
ebay. It has opened my world to a variety of sizes, colours, and types of beads that I can incorporate into my work.

MB Artists Selected for Cheongju Biennale

Congratulations to Teresa Burrows, Carol James, Alan Lacovetsky, and Grace Nickel who will have work travelling to the Cheongju International Craft Biennale in Korea this fall.

Teresa Burrows, Rupertsland Regalia: the Sul(fur) Queen

Carol James, Mixed Heritage Sash

Alan Lacovetsky, Arial Landscape Merging River Series

Grace Nickel, Uprooted

Shoshana Coodin

primary medium
Beads!- beading embroidery

location

Brandon/Winnipeg

.
find me on the web at
http://www.shoshbeads.com/
.

mcc member since
2008 ish

where/how I learned my craft
I taught myself when I was 14 or so. I had a fancy hair clip that I bought in the Rocky Mountains, with aboriginal inspired beadwork on it. I was inspired to mimic that technique.

what I love most about my craft

I love beads!

Call for Submissions

MCC’s 2009 Juried Exhibition – Craft: Culture/Counterculture

Application deadline: July 31, 2009

The Manitoba Crafts Council is continuing our tradition of hosting an annual juried exhibition to highlight the best of contemporary fine craft in Manitoba. Craft: Culture/Counterculture is the theme for our 2009 Juried Exhibition, reflecting the dual role that craft objects, materials and techniques can play: creating and affirming the everyday, and expressing something of our collective identity; and/or challenging cultural assumptions, expressing more personal, idiosyncratic visions of the world, and manifesting the creative shadow side of mainstream society.

Craft: Culture/Counterculture will represent approximately 20 artists from across Manitoba who push the boundaries of their media and reflect new approaches to diverse cultural and material traditions. Works will be chosen based upon artistic merit (technical skill, formal effect, and conceptual success), with a particular interest in pieces that reflect our exhibition’s theme by challenging pre-conceived notions of functionality, tradition and beauty, encompassing new technologies and/or reflecting a d-i-y craft ethic.

Exhibition dates:
Sept 17-29, 2009 at Outworks Gallery, Wpg
Oct 1-30, 2009 at Viscount Cultural Centre, Neepawa
Select works will tour rural and northern Manitoba,
November 2009-March 2010

Jurors:
Doug Melnyk, multimedia artist, Winnipeg
Marilyn Stewart Stothers, fibre artist, Winnipeg
Lin Xu, ceramic artist/assistant professor of visual arts, Brandon

Eligible works:
Works will be selected based on artistic merit, skill, design and innovation. Original work (functional, decorative, conceptual) in any craft-based media are welcome (e.g.ceramic, fibre, metal, paper, recycled material, stone, glass and wood). In addition, mixed media and interdisciplinary works that are primarily craft-based in material and/or technique are welcome. Works must be completed after January 2008. Three entries per person, maximum. Entrants must be current MB Crafts Council members.

Images:
The jurors will select work based on digital images with the final selection subject to viewing actual work. MCC urges applicants to consider using a professional photographer to document your work. Please submit images on a CD marked with your name. Use jpeg files with a resolution of 72 dpi, with images’ height or width (whichever is larger) close to 12 in., but not larger. For each work, submit one image with a full view of the work and one or two detail views. Please title each image file as follows: artist’s last name_title_full/detail (eg. Poirier_Moonscape_detail2) The maximum number of images allowed is nine (9). Discs will not be returned. If work is selected, artists will be contacted for high resolution (300 dpi) images to be used in print publications.

Application:
Please include the following information along with your CD of images:
· Your name, mailing address, phone number and email address
· Title of work, date, media, dimensions and price/value of each work submitted (3 works max.)
· An artist statement (100 words max.)

Applicants will be notified of results by August 21, 2009. Work selected will need to be available for photo documentation between August 14-24. Artist fees will be paid for works selected for the exhibition.

Applications, including images on CD, may be mailed (in protective mailer) or hand delivered during business hours (M-F, 9-5) to the Manitoba Crafts Council, c/o ACI (Arts & Cultural Industries Assoc of MB), 501–62 Albert Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 1E9.

Questions about the exhibition or MCC membership?
Contact us at 927-2787.