Four artists will display their works in Silk, Wool, and Silver at the Rainforest Arts gallery in April and May. All of them will be doing demos. Go to cvcas.ca/events for dates and times.
Lorraine Taylor – Silk Painting
“I have always enjoyed playing with colours, and when I first saw the vibrancy of the dyes moving about on silk cloth, I immediately knew that this was to become my new passion. Fourteen years later, I still find joy and satisfaction in the silk painting process.”
A lifelong and mostly self-taught crafter, Lorraine enjoys the endless possibilities of this beautiful art form using paints, dyes, and techniques that allow her to play with colours that move about on the soft silk cloth to produce beautiful works.
Gail Grekul – Silk Painting
Gail was educated in Alberta with Education and Bachelor of Science degrees in textiles and fashion. She has always been fond of experimenting with various textile art forms.
In 2014, she relocated to Vancouver Island and discovered painting with dye on silk. Gail loves colour and capturing the personalities of her subjects in her own unique style.
Donna L Bennett – Fibre Art
Donna is a fibre artist who creates and teaches in Chemainus. Her wearable art emerges through a “slow clothing” process of felting by hand from sheep’s wool. Donna also does Nuno Felting, incorporating loosely woven silk textiles into the wool.
She creates one-of-a-kind pieces inspired by the local landscape. “I create wearable art as a vessel, a container for the human form, with the practicality of a garment that brings warmth and comfort and the whimsy of an accessory that enhances the natural beauty of the wearer.”
Jane Barry – Silver Jewellery
Jane learned the art of making silver jewellery through adult education, workshops, and classes. She enhanced her skills, learning from and working with a designer in Mexico, where she spent many winters.
Looking for a new way to add colour, she called on a previous flirtation with felting and discovered the unexpected combination of soft, warm, textured wool defined by the hard, cool gleam of silver had an unexpected allure.
Her SoftSilver pieces are playful, lighthearted, and easy to wear.
Rainforest Arts is located at 9781 Willow Street. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. You can contact the gallery at info@rainforestarts.ca or 250-246-4861. Find out more at RainforestArts.ca.
Craig Spence
Chemainus, BC