Wow, another exciting year with no shortage of inspiration.  There is so much talent in our fine city.  I am so impressed with not only the talent but also the tenacity of these artists to “make it work”.  Creating a livelihood from the arts is seldom easy and I tip my hat to all these artists for persevering and bringing such beauty to the world. I would love to share some of the highlights…

First stop was of course 1000 Parker Street.  We were fortunate to go early before the huge crowds arrived and I got to spend a little time chatting with some of my faves from the past and some new to me artist.  Studio 480 is often my first stop as two of my favourites are house in that room.  Elaine Garrett of Cappellino was there in fine form.  (Elaine told us that Cappellino means little hat in Italian). Recently she had attended a workshop/camp for milliners and was so excited about the opportunity to share time with other talented hat makers.  Her hats are gorgeous and if you are a hat person it is worth it to drop by her studio.

And of course Karen Bagayawa is still top on my list.  We have written about her before and she still impresses me to no end.  I loved seeing her new colours and collections. Her inspiration board related to the end result seamlessly. 

We also stopped by Arleigh Wood‘s studio.  A few years ago I first saw Arleigh’s work at “the Crawl”. That collection had a very interesting bird theme, I loved the entire collection.  Her work has transitioned and has a very different feel – equally as interesting.  When asked about the transition she explained that since then she has had 2 children and as we all know life itself changes with these additions.  Not surprising it showed up in her art.  

The best new artist in my opinion was Klee Larsen.  She is a very talented photographer and what she does for postproduction is extremely unique.  She shoots in 35mm and does multiple exposures. Those images in themselves are gorgeous.  But then she gets to work on them by adding multiple layering techniques and the end results are incredible.  I definitely will be keeping my eye on her.

Next stop was the Mergatroid Building.  This was a great surprised.  Somehow in years gone by I have bypassed this building. Clearly that was a mistake. It houses many vary talented artists.  The top on my list was ceramicist, Grace Lee, of Eikcam Ceramics.  Her collections, although organic in nature, were still very contemporary and each collection cohesive.  My favourites were the red and turquoise collections. 

There were so many more but too many to mention.  “The Crawl” never disappoints. 

It was also great to see many familiar faces as we toured about the “hood”. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as we did. Ellie, what were some your favourites?  

~ Patti Houston, owner of Flüff Design & Decor