Market Vendors
at   the  Arts on the  Avenue Market
on Sunday Aug 27, 2023
(In Alphabetical Order)
 

Alda's handmade jewellery is sterling silver and copper with set gemstones, glass beads and fused glass. It includes necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings and pins - each one unique. Artistry in metal.
Each of the glass beads featured in Bryony jewellery is individually lampworked in flame by Jane. European leather and high quality findings are combined to create vibrantly colourful jewellery that is joyful and fun.

Meghan of Bellamy Home Studio is known for creating calming landscapes and relaxing paint by number art kits. Her main mediums are watercolour and wood. She uses these materials in order to create one of a kind artwork.

An artist living on Vancouver Island, Canada. When not creating artwork she is constantly looking for inspiration by exploring the island with her dog, Luna.

Born and Raised on Vancouver Island, Beverly Herriott is a mixed media
artist, primary favouring soft pastel. Inspired by the land and seascapes surrounding Vancouver Island each piece draws for a lifetime of memories at landmarks close to heart and home. In her paintings she loves to bring forward the unexpected and often overlooked details of the natural beauty of her surroundings, such as little quirks, depth of colour, or contrast of reflections, that otherwise might go unnoticed.

I'm an artist who loves photography and a photographer who loves to paint.

Dead Ringer Purses is handmade reclaimed leather accessories with a smattering of ghoulish charm. The use of spooky eye-catching linings and hand screen-print original eerie images resurrects the reclaimed materials. Our accessories are made with and from locally thrifted reclaimed leather items. The goal of making accessories from thrifted item is to keep as much clothing and re-usable items out of our landfills.

Carol paints in both watercolours and acrylics. Her work shows her fascination with water, boats, and reflections. Her west coast landscapes are vibrant and bold, yet offer a sense of calm with the colour combinations.

Working out of my Ladysmith studio, my paintings are about the interaction of colour, texture and line - expressed in abstract form and are emotional responses to the world around me.

Whimsical paintings using only tempera depicting everyday life and imaginations all to bring a little smile on the face and a little flutter of the heart. Strong on colour and simple lines and forms.

Experience the beauty of stone sculpture with the unique creations of Daniel Cline. A multi-talented sculptor, Daniel has gained a reputation for his ability to transform a wide variety of stone into sculptures of movement, form, and spirit. His sculptures are highly sought after by patrons who appreciate the quality, originality, and diversity of his work. Based on Vancouver Island, BC, Daniel draws inspiration from the natural world around him to create works of wildlife, abstraction, figurative, and traditional subjects. Explore his powerful, thought-provoking stone sculptures for the private and public sphere and discover the unknown or unseen through his artistry.

I have a BA with a major in Fine Art and Painting from Concordia University, and have been creating art for many years.
I love to play with colour and light, and love to challenge myself by working with different media.
Art adds so much richness to my life.

Carolynn has been studying beautiful lettering and book construction for close to thirty years. Each book is made by hand from choosing the decorative papers to the size and purpose to each handmade stitch that brings all the elements together. Carolynn's books come in a variety of sizes and are used in many different ways. She enjoys teaching lettering and bookbinding classes. Carolynn brings life to letters and paper through her work.

One of my greatest pleasures is to take a discarded piece of wood and work with it to strengthen it and coax amazing beauty from it.

Realistic paintings in oils and watercolour of working vessels and BC's unique coast
michaeldeanart.com

Armando Dos Santos has been working for 50 years with leather, always looking for new shapes and ideas with a focus on natural forms. Creating leather books, bowls, chests, shoulder bags, wallets, briefcases.

I have always loved stained glass and have been a stained glass artist for the past twenty years.
There is always something new to learn , new challenges.
Each process takes many steps , design,cutting,foiling, soldering etc.
I hope to keep glassing and learning for many years to come.

Hilltop wood and Resin is run by husband and wife team Rob and Jolene. From our tiny basement workshop in Nanaimo, we design and create many small scale wood projects that make perfect gifts to others or to yourself. We are well known for our cribbage boards but we also create a variety of other items such as serving boards, cutting boards, plant pots and more.

Damborg Art - As an artist on Vancouver Island, my paintings have a west coast style. Scenes with organic flowing skies, mountains, trees and water are a common theme in my artwork. I like to paint places I have seen as well as create imaginary landscapes. I also love to create paper art also known as quilling.

Vancouver Island potter Laura Gosnell, considers herself truly a resident of British Columbia. Now residing in Chemainus, she has lived, studied and created all over this breathtaking province. She feels at home nestled amongst coastal forests, mountains, and the Pacific, each of which influence her work in her high fire porcelain, functional pottery.

I am a resident of Ladysmith but started my pottery journey in Fort St John, BC, 12 years ago. I would describe my work as functional with a colorful twist. I use patterns and underglaze to add interest.

Having survived an idyllic childhood along the shores of the St. Lawrence River in Lachine, Quebec, I draw on my memories of childhood for my images. My paintings depict the joy in simple daily life, strong, hardworking women and villages. There is a quality of harmony and security and a childhood memory of the good in life. I try to capture a simplicity of spirit that sometimes evokes powerful feelings of nostalgia in the viewer. I do not work from photos but draw on my imagination to create an idealized and whimsical world.

My work is notable for its vibrant colour and its story telling quality. It is illustrative, whimsical and captures moments in time. Viewers often ask themselves what has just happened or what is about to happen? Most of the work has a joyful quality and is full of movement. My characters work, chatter, dance and sometimes fly. I like to hope others can feel some of the joy I feel in creating these images.

My passion for handmade ceramic tiles began several years ago in Baja, Mexico. My work is vibrant and colorful, often includes animals and plants or whimsical subjects. My pieces are single or multiple tile creations, including mirror and fireplace/bathroom sink surrounds. I do some commission work. All the frames are made from beautiful Port Renfrew driftwood created by my husband, Douglas Hughes.

Mark Jackson is originally from the UK, but has lived on Vancouver Island since 1998. Ever since he can remember, he has had a passion for classic machinery, particularly cars and motorcycles. Mark can be frequently seen driving his 1970 Triumph TR6 British Roadster around the Cowichan Valley.

Through his artwork, Mark aims to evoke feelings of nostalgia and rekindle memories of simpler times. He believes classic cars were designed and built during an era when craftsmanship and attention to detail were highly valued. Mark replicates this ethos in his art and for his clients worldwide.

His love of old-world architecture is prominent in Roger’s paintings, transporting the viewer into history, earlier times and places. His use of bold colours and sense of perspective enhances the illusion of being there.

He sees beauty in working boats, whether at sea, at anchor or at the dock. He is not just painting a wall or window or a boat or a wave on a beach, he is telling a story or inviting the viewers to tell theirs. “I paint because I love the process and the challenge of a blank canvas and the sometimes unpredictable, yet exciting, outcome.”

Roger is based on Vancouver Island, painting in oil and acrylic, en plein air or in studio, on canvas or wood panels. He conducts workshops and teaches courses for painting groups, Elder College, CVRD Recreation Program, Cowichan Valley Arts Council. His approach to teaching is that it’s not really teaching; it’s more guiding and encouraging, building confidence, peeling back the layers to find the artist inside.

His work is in private collections or has been exhibited in Scotland, England, Alberta, Ontario and various shows and venues in BC and on Vancouver Island, including but not limited to:
• Federation of Canadian Artists, Calgary Chapter
• Federation of Canadian Artists, Granville Island
• Federation of Canadian Artists, Victoria Chapter
• Cowichan Valley Fine Art Show, Duncan
• Visions Artists Studio Tour, Cowichan Valley
• Artishow Victoria, Artist-in-Residence Program
• Moss Street Paint-in, Art Gallery of Great

Cheryl Joe born and raised in the Cowichan Valley.

Cheryl’s art work is made with cedar bark she harvests herself, such as traditional hats, headbands, roses, grad caps just to name a few.

She also enjoys weaving with wool on a loom or cardboard, at home or one of the many schools in the district.

Beading is something she learned during the pandemic via zoom. She Is always looking for something unique to create.

Last but not least, the newest hobby is flower arrangements.

www.etsukok.art

The Willow Way is a small Vancouver Island business specializing in Rustic Willow furniture and Garden Art. All pieces are handmade by me with an attention to detail. I hope to create a meeting place of Art and Craft, Function and Form.

I am an enthusiastic rock climber and mountaineer, and have combined this passion with my woodworking hobby to create portraits of the peaks of Vancouver Island. Medium is maple, birch, red oak, poplar and arbutus.

The Ladysmith Community Fund Society has established a community endowment fund that will operate much like a community foundation, to receive donations and bequests. Revenue from the fund will be granted annually to successful charities who have proposed projects that benefit the community. Community members may join the Society, and participate on committees or on the Board, to help the Society build and manage the Fund.

www.ladysmithhealthcareaux.ca
This community group supports health care and education in the community through volunteers and community participation. Last year Ladysmith Health Care Auxiliary had an interest booth on the Sunday night and the store was open to attendees at the Arts on the Avenue timeframe especially for the occasion.

Engage. Inspire. Grow.
The LDHS is a registered non-profit society operated by volunteers that manage the Ladysmith Archives, the Ladysmith Museum, and the Industrial Heritage Site located at the historic former Comox Logging & Rail Co. site for the Town of Ladysmith.

Our mission is to promote awareness of Ladysmith and the District’s history and to help preserve its heritage.

Sarah Leo is a Calabrese-Canadian artist, professional musician, and writer from Ladysmith, BC, whose passion for the beauty of everyday life and connection describes every art and poetry decision. Some of her favorite things are sunshine, biking, and working on her passions as a full-time artist. Sarah grew up on the golden prairie fields of Alberta listening to stories her Italian grandparents would tell, and later found herself writing to explore the depths of all meaning, and storytelling in multiple art mediums. Sarah has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Visual Arts and English, and a Bachelor of Education degree in high school teaching that ultimately inspired more art in celebration of connection, love, and light. To learn more about Sarah's mixed media photography, painted jean jackets, music, and poetry, visit www.sarahleoartist.weebly.com

Tracy Lewis has been dreaming and drawing houses her whole life. While teaching stop motion animation at Shawnigan Lake School she was inivited to take a pottery class and created her first house lantern. That was ten years ago! Tracy's work is created with warmth and whimsy, a clear influence from her education for animation.

Life on Vancouver Island is unique and hauntingly beautiful, this series of work in watercolor and mixed media is a homage to the place I call home - filled with inspiration from sea and shore life, the misty, ethereal landscape, and the magic and colors of the West Coast

Nanaimo based Artist, Janet McDonald: "Fine Art Painting is my passion. I paint primarily in oils as I enjoy the opacity, body, buttery feel and blend-ability of this medium. I also love using heavy texture in my underpaintings to support my works' narratives. I do this by troweling on a texture paste around my subject and working it with a variety of rubber combs, knives, fingers etc. to create the affect I want! In addition to my paintings and traditional reproductions, I have also offer a line of FUN & FUNCTIONAL versions of my art including locally made pillow covers, mini art tiles & hand thrown/painted pottery. Please check out my website at JanetMcDonaldArt.com!"

I have been potting for 20+ years. I live in Port Alberni where I have my own studio. I work in mid fire clay and produce mostly functional ware along with dabbling in some alternative firings.

Patti McNeice is a self-taught ceramic assemblage artist living in Cowichan Bay, BC. When not up to her elbows in clay, she works fulltime as a Nurse. She sits on the Arts Council of Ladysmith & District Board of Directors and teaches pottery at The Clay Hub Collective. Since 2016 she has owned Passion Over Principles Clay Art (POP Clay Art), a home based ceramic studio. Patti creates one-of-a-kind eclectic functional or sculptural pieces out of a mixture of glass, clay, wood, metal, and fabric fragments. Her work is available at Imagine That! Artisans Designs in Duncan, BC.

Tylor McNeil works in collections that touch on challenging subjects that life being from alcoholism, loss of love ones, depression, isolation, and suicide to name a few by sharing it through the lense of unbelievable beauty and elegance that comes from the natural world.

Known in Atlantic Canada for his signature floral paintings Tylor McNeil is now saying help to the west coast by pushing the narrative of what a man is experienced to take interest in. Capturing delicate beauty with a level of sensitivity and emotional sensibility. Showing ones vonrablity is a core to being male and most importantly human.

Wilma Millette Collage Artist
Wilma creates curiously creative collage artwork featuring original antique papers, maps, and found objects. She combines them in unexpected ways, to create a narrative that gives them new life and relevance. Her work often explores social themes tempered by the use of humour and whimsy. It is the playful nature of collage that first drew her to this art form and has kept her interested. The variations are never ending and the materials themselves inspire a steady flow of possibilities.

A self proclaimed garden and bird nerd, Katherine uses her photographs of flowers and felines from her garden and birding watching as inspiration for her fused glass work

Photography and digital art has always been my passion but often the photograph is only the beginning of my vision.
Using a fine point stylus on a Wacom tablet and various brushes, textures my vision for each photograph comes to life, often evolving after many layers of ideas are combined.
The prominent themes in my work are still life, nature, flowers and my latest passion of wild birds. I am passionate about the medium of digital photo art as it allows me to explore many different methods to achieve my vision and allows much creativity in my work.

Sheila Norgate is an animal-loving, feminist, writer, author and performer not necessarily in that order. She makes her home on beautiful Gabriola Island.

As a mixed media artist, Trisha enjoys using a variety of mediums and techniques in her work... collage, acrylic painting on canvas, watercolour & ink, linocut prints, photography and digital & hand drawn illustrations. Her compositions, usually incorporating wildlife or nature, are colourful and lively, always possessing a narrative quality.

Victoria, BC-based jewelry artist, Kim Reid of Mystic Glass Creations, has been honing her Glassblowing skills since 2002 & Metalsmithing skills since 2016. 

Connection with nature’s beauty and the elements is an ever-present inspiration of Kim Reid’s. The same powerful forces that continue to transform Canada’s coastal mountains and shores are brought to life in her art. The elements of earth, water, wind and fire are dramatically combined within layers of glass to conjure a sense of movement and mystery. Two items might share a similar ‘design’, though being ‘hand-worked’, they can never be the same. Each piece is unique, characteristically distinct and appears differently according to the wearer, ambient light and environment.  

Kim delights in the knowledge that her art contributes to the well-being of her customers in a very personable, memorable and spiritually distinctive way. Her customers feel beautiful inside and out because of what she does. She knows this because her customers tell her so time and time again. 

This personal connection is never greater than when she is working on a cremation ash keepsake, content in the knowledge, her art is contributing to someone’s healing process and connecting loved ones to joyful memories to hold close and remember. Comforting people is deeply rooted in her core being, and she shares in the value and meaning of her Memorial Glass.

Those 20 years in, Kim admits this is a journey with no end as, the learning never stops. 

Vancouver Island artist, Mimi Roy, has always shared an affinity with the past. As a little girl, she loved transforming old clothes into new fashion. No timeworn discovery was safe from her vivid imagination, her needle, or her spool of thread.
Mimi has since traded in her sewing machine for a saw and torch, and these days she’s fashioning jewelry over jackets and accessories over apparel.


Mimi has a keen eye for turning up treasures; she can find copper in clutter, silver in salvage, and bits of brass in bygone boxes. Not only do these vintage plates, platters and serving trays speak to a different era, they also boast beautiful,
intricate patterns which Mimi transforms into stunning pieces of wearable art.


Earrings, bracelets, necklaces, accessories, key rings, and ornaments—the list is never ending. You can be sure, however, that each new creation evolves with careful attention and respect paid to the interesting history of the original piece. Mimi’s process of “old treasure to new trinket” is recycling at its finest.


Each discovery Mimi makes is different from the next. As a result, no two pieces of jewelry are alike. “There is so much history in these finds,” Mimi says, “and a lot of mystery hides in their imperfect and tarnished surfaces. And if someone brings me a treasured family heirloom to work with, there is often an entire story. I feel honored to help keep such special family memories alive.”

'Saving the planet one platter at a time'

Mimi Roy

Morgan Saddington is an award-winning part-time jewellery artist living in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. Working primarily in sterling silver, she has developed a love of metalsmithing by practicing traditional silver-smithing and chain maille techniques for over 20 years. After completing an Associate Degree in Visual Arts, her journey into jewellery making began with beadwork and assemblage. Over the years she has expanded on these techniques by taking numerous silver-smithing, chain making, metalsmithing, and etching courses. Combined with her own research and experimentation she has developed a style that is uniquely her own.

​Morgan considers her work to be limited production and one of a kind. Pieces can be re-created or customized, however there are always slight variations that make each piece unique. Morgan takes pride in creating well designed, fabricated, and finished pieces.

Hi I'm Brenda and together with my daughter Krista we are FaeGarten Clay. We make hand built pottery, bothe decorative and functional, for your home and garden. As each piece is formed by hand it has an organic look and feel. Using local plants and garden herbs to decorate, as well as images of mountains, ocean and forests echos the beauty of the Island that surrounds us.

During Covid, I taught myself to paint using some YouTube tutorials and love of octopus. I started with a group of eight octopus, and it has bloomed into more.. inspired by the beauty of the natural world, color, and light and shadow. Born and bred on the West Coast I have been inspired by the ocean, recently, I have relocated to Kamloops, and I’m looking forward to inspiration of the desert.

Essential to her work is the layering of textures, marks and colour to create a history of surface. I apply paint and collage,layer upon layer sometimes deconstructing,sanding and scraping back to reveal hidden surfaces.The addition of mark making with various tools adds to the texture. She works primarily on paper, canvas and panel.

We at SilverStream925 Sterling Jewelry have been creating Unique, High Quality all Sterling Jewelry since the 1990's. We strive for Beautiful, Original designs for the whole Family, some with Gemstones. Rings, Pendants, Bangles, Bracelets, Earrings, Necklaces, often One-of-a-Kind !

Dave balances between emotionalism and intellectualism in his art work and he believes that in Western art it is a combination in various degrees of these two things that contributes to longevity and memorability. He is a student of art history and he taught western and cultural history as part of his classes plus he involved students with working on projects with indigenous artists.
Dave works in themes, such as arbutus trees, but he strips them of leaves, berries and bark to create more of an emotional response to the trees. He has also worked with birds, working boats, wind and flying figures plus other themes over the years. You may recognize locations from his observations but he works primarily in his studio, adapting and transforming the subject to suit his intentions. The intellectualism comes from the subject itself and ideas around why it was created whereas the emotionalism comes from style and colours that were used and what the viewer reads into the work. Connections, such as trees to arteries and veins, are important to Dave and they allow the viewer to speculate as to what the artist intended.
Symbolism is personal yet contributes greatly. A pigeon is a reference to a small chick that he raised in Nova Scotia while the arbutus tree twisted and turns as it seeks the light.

Vancouver Island based artist Valerie Strom creates figurative paintings that are inspired by her deep love of people and the human experience. Mainly focusing on figurative portraits she designs paintings that evoke emotion and focus on colour, loose brush strokes and warm light. Growing up in a family with a mother that immigrated from Mexico she lived between two cultures and frequently travelled to a small village in Mexico that she also called home. Her paintings often feature indigenous women that she knows from Mexico hoping to shed light on their strength.

My work is all about process. I spend time designing my piece by reviewing many photographs, making thumbnails, and note-taking about colour and line. When I get down to putting my brush to the canvas, it all happens quite quickly in a near-meditative state – my wellness is the purpose of my art. What is created isn’t as important to me as the hours spent at the easel.

Cowichan Sweaters , Vests, Toques, Gloves ( Regular & Fingerless ), Mitts , Socks, Slippers of man

Creative since her beginning, Pipi grew up in a family of makers and creators who found happiness in the simplicity of handmade tradition. Influenced by natures colour, pattern and textiles from family folklore, Pipi continues to follow in their footsteps creating functional art using fabrics and paint.

I have been working with clay for decades, starting at age of 5. I trained as an artist in college and hold a bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics. I have lived and created in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island for 17 yrs. I enjoy my time painting in acrylics as well, often inspired by our island landscapes...mountains, trees and the sea.
I have a studio just south of Duncan and enjoy visitors and welcome special orders

"DuckWilli" is Sue Williams of Ladysmith. I am a silk painter of wearable art. My style is illustrative with bright colours and whimsical subjects , which I hope will bring a smile.
The process of silk painting is such fun, and the pieces are meant to be worn every day! Each piece is hand created, and one of a kind original Art. I accept commissions and we can collaborate on what you are thinking of.

Williamson is a Canadian artist known for her bold landscape paintings. Born in London, England, Williamson’s parents encouraged the development of her artistic talents by exposing her to art, music and literature at an early age. The family moved to Canada after WW2. Williamson grew up in Ontario and British Columbia. Her family spent summers camping or at the lake and her sketch pad was always at hand drawing the landscape. Williamson completed a two year graphics art program while living in Vancouver in hopes of pursuing a career as an illustrator.
Williamson’s interest in fine art became serious when she moved to Nelson, BC in the late 1980’s. Williamson had her first public art show in the Nelson Artwalk. She took courses at the Kootenay School for the Arts, turning her talents towards acrylic landscape painting. Missing the ocean, Williamson settled on Vancouver Island in 1992 immersing herself in the growing artist community.
Williamson has worked as a painter, photographer and darkroom technician, paste up artist, writer, muralist, set designer, illustrator and art instructor. She works in various mediums but prefers acrylics as they allow for spontaneous and immediate results.
Williamson is a member of Art 10 Gallery, Federation of Canadian Artists, Nanaimo Arts Council, and the Ladysmith Waterfront Gallery. She is a regular participating artist in the Nanaimo Artwalk. Williamson has work in private collections in Canada, USA and the UK.

Sarah Wilson is a potter living and working on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Orginially from Ireland, she draws inspiration from the rugged landscape of her birthplace as well as the beautiful surroundings in the Cowichan Valley where she has chosen to call home. Her pots are intended to enrich the human experience and to be suitable for use in our everyday lives.

melissawoodcock.com

The Yellow Point Drama Group (YPDG) is a community theatre group made up of dedicated volunteers who strive to create and perform popular and original plays. Located at the Cedar Community Hall, YPDG welcomes those looking to enjoy live theatre as well as those in searching of finding a friendly group to be a part of whether it be onstage or backstage.

At Seahound Studio we are avid beachcombers and love everything West Coast. We make sea glass art and beach themed art with genuine sea glass, driftwood and sea shells found on the beaches of Vancouver Island. The materials have tumbled in the surf for years so you can be sure the art is infused with the ocean! Used frames are given a new life by hand-painting them and giving them a distressed look. The unique art pieces can be hung in front of a window as suncatchers to brighten up in the sun. The art is also popular as decoration on bathroom and kitchen walls.