|
|
| Imagine That! Artisans' Designs, 251 Craig Street, Duncan, BC V9L 1W2, 250-748-6776 | |
|
Imagine That!
|
||||
|
Imagine That! is an artisan-run co-operative store in Duncan in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, B.C. Midway between Victoria and Nanaimo, the Cowichan Valley is renowned for its high concentration of artists per capita. Our store shows the finest local art and craft pieces, featuring artists' paintings, works in clay, glass, wood, metal and fibre. We offer an ever changing selection from over 90 of the best artists in the Cowichan Valley and on Vancouver Island.We celebrate imagination and fine craftsmanship. Imagine That! invites visitors to British Columbia to come to beautiful Vancouver Island. Spend some time here, to enjoy the area and to take home artwork and gifts by our Island artists and artisans. Situated in busy downtown Duncan City Square, our storefront entices passers-by with delightful window displays. Shopping at Vancouver Island's premier artisans co-operative is like visiting ninety top notch art galleries all at once. Exquisitely hand crafted works of art hang from the rafters, cover the walls, line the shelves and grace the large store windows at Imagine That! Store Hours: Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Featured Artists from April 29 to May 31, 2013Come and see woodworking by Ken Broadland and silk paintings by Clare Carver.
The Perfect Wedding Gift by Ken BroadlandWoodturner Ken Broadland caters to weddings. Well, not exactly . . . he caters to the wish lists of brides and grooms all over the world. He estimates that perhaps 70 percent of the customers who purchase his work at "Imagine That!" or at his home studio are shopping for wedding gifts, and all are looking for something unique, handmade and representative of the Cowichan Valley. The remaining 30 percent of his customers are looking for something special to give themselves! Some find the perfect wedding gift but can't bear to part with it so they return to "Imagine That!" and choose a different one of Ken's natural wood treasures to give the happy couple. Others, like a recent visitor from Toronto, have received something of Ken's for their own wedding and enjoyed using it so much that they come "out West" to find one-of-a-kind gifts for their friends. Ken's forte as an artisan is to find pretty woods on Vancouver Island and turn them into a form that is both functional and beautiful. Salad bowls and spoons are his specialty, but in his "Heartwood Studio" workshop near Duncan he also produces cooking utensils and utensil holders, snack bowls, serving trays and platters, cutting boards, fruit bowls and many other useful and decorative items. Finishes are food-friendly walnut oil (or mineral oil on some of the cutting boards) with a beeswax topcoat to add extra lustre. See more of Ken's work at www.heartwoodstudio.ca
Clare Carver, silk painterClare started painting on fabric using the traditional batik method. "I melted wax and drew my picture with a tjanting tool. Years before, my mom sent me silk paints and yards of silk. Since then, after much research, I moved on to a water-based resist (instead of wax), exchanged wooden frames and duct tape for a proper frame, and then to painting with silk dyes." The advantage of dyes, although more work because they have to be steam set, is that they merge with the fabric (keeping the soft texture), and they are much more vibrant than paints. Clare enjoys finding new ways and things to paint in silk. At present she paints cushion covers, wall hangings, scarves, eyeglass cases and purses. See more of Clare's work at www.pillotalk.ca |
|||||
