For immediate release

  July 8, 2013

Copper & Fire Arts Event Returns To Britannia Mine Museum Community arts event showcases unique metal and earthen crafts mined from Mother Earth Sunday, July 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Britannia Beach, BC – The Britannia Mine Museum is hosting its 11th Annual Copper & Fire Arts Event on Sunday, July 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. featuring talented artists from all over British Columbia and their unique metal and earthen crafts. Copper & Fire is the museum’s premiere summer event showcasing crafts derived from mined materials “of the earth.” “This is my favourite event of the year at the Museum. I really enjoy the visiting artists who are passionate about their work,” says Kirstin Clausen, executive director of the Britannia Mine Museum. “It is interesting to discover how these talented artists can morph and transform materials that come from the earth into beautiful and compelling art pieces. This event is the perfect reminder that there are connections between art and mining.” The Copper & Fire Arts Event features British Columbia artists such as metal workers using copper and bronze, ceramic artists using a number of different mediums, and jewelers, including (artists bios below): • • • • • • • • • • • •

Liza Bennett, potter from Squamish, http://lizabennett.wordpress.com/ Ania Kyte, glass bead artist from Mission, www.turtlebeads.com Daniel Miller, a chain maille artist from Victoria, http://corvuschainmaille.ning.com/profile/DanielMiller Rebecca Shorten, potter from Burnaby, http://rebeccashortenpottery.blogspot.ca Valeri & Valentina Sokolovski, stone artists from Surrey, www.artofvaleri.com Rudolf Sokolovski, bronze/metal artist from Vancouver, http://www.modernsculpture.ca/ Donna Stewart, contemporary abstract artist/concrete painter from Sechelt, http://www.alldonna.com/ Jim Unger, metal artist from Abbotsford, www.clayburncopperworks.com Martin Vseticka, silver/goldsmith jewelry artist from Squamish, www.vseticka.ca Byron Anderson, mixed media sculptor specializing in wire trees from Gibsons Eric Gindlesperger, blacksmith from Squamish Sharon Tirixow, a stone sculptor from Langley

 

 

The museum will also provide hands-on workshops and arts and crafts activities for kids of all ages including sculpting copper wire crafts and bead jewelry. Located 45 minutes north of Vancouver on the picturesque Sea-to-Sky highway, the Britannia Mine Museum was transformed from a mining legacy site into a vibrant internationally recognized destination in 2010. The museum provides an unforgettable visitor experience with the new BeatyLundin Visitor Centre, the Britannia A-Z heritage hall, the historic 20-storey Mill building, the underground mine train and outdoor gold panning. Open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with guided tours every 45 minutes throughout the day. About the Britannia Mine Museum:   The Britannia Mine Museum is a mining legacy site and a vibrant, internationally recognized education and tourist destination located between Vancouver and Whistler on the Sea-to-Sky highway. It is a National Historic Site and a non-profit organization encouraging mining awareness through entertaining, experiential education programs and exhibits, important historic collection preservation and insightful public engagement that allows guests to leave with a better understanding of mining in BC; past, present and future. www.britanniaminemuseum.ca. -30Media contact:   Yvonne Chiang Britannia Mine Museum 604-880-5090 [email protected]

 

 

Artist Biographies Liza Bennett Biography, potter, Squamish http://lizabennett.wordpress.com/ I arrived in Squamish in 1997, by way of the forest industry. After a decade in the field of silviculture, I decided to take my interest in plants and ecology in a new direction. It has since become an all consuming passion. Although my recreational hobbies are vastly different they can be described in much the same way, I am either up to my elbows in mud or up to my elbows in clay and on any given day, sometimes both. I have developed a niche nursery, mainly growing iris and hosta, but it has over the years diversified to include locally durable perennials and some tree and shrub varieties. I also am a pottery artist, working mostly with slabs to build pieces, each one unique, combining funky with functionality. Often the pieces are either inspired by or embellished with the plant material around me. Ania Kyte Biography, glass bead artist, Mission www.turtlebeads.com In addition to being a Mom to my two sons, Alexander and Anderson, I am also a glass lampwork bead artisan (which means that I use a torch flame to melt glass and make artglass beads). I discovered a passion for beadwork about 10 years ago, with the help of a good friend named Linda, who started me with a few basics and encouraged me in my progress. Since then, I have been involved in aspects of beadwork such as: beadweaving, loomwork, and wire-work. Years ago, I took a class with a local lampwork artisan, and became passionate about the art of lampworking, which involves melting glass over a torch flame to create unique, hand-formed glass beads, one at a time. For the first five years, I used a very basic set up to create all my beads: a HotHead torch, propane gas, and Morretti/Effetre glass from Italy. Now, I use a more complex set up: a Nortel Minor torch, along with propane and an oxygen-concentrator for the majority of my work. I still keep the Hot Head set up on a secondary workstation for teaching classes and for working with Satake glass, a lead-based Japanese glass. All my beads are kiln-annealed overnight in my "Olympic Murano" kiln with a "Bartlett" digital controller for strength and durability. Daniel Miller Biography, chain maille artist, Victoria http://corvuschainmaille.ning.com/profile/DanielMiller Daniel is a Victoria resident where he works as a chain maille artist. He has been creating chain maille clothing and jewelry for the last four years since he was inspired to start by a fellow artist. He has learned the craft through online forums and experimentation. He is often proudly showing his latest endeavor to family and friends and is always met with encouragement.

    Daniel is dedicated to the reclamation and preservation of this ancient art. He enjoys making chain maille, discussing, teaching, and learning about the seemingly infinite varieties of patterns. Daniel hopes that his passion for the craft will inspire others to create art that will surly stand the test of time. Rebecca Shorten Biography, potter, Burnaby, http://rebeccashortenpottery.blogspot.ca My functional work is a balance between simplicity of form and complexity of design. Creating pottery really is the better of two worlds: at once craft is fused with art in the creation of an object that brings function in contact with elegance and beauty. The primary way that I connect the everyday with elegance and beauty is through nature. I am greatly inspired by the works of Emily Carr and Georgia O’Keeffe, using the form of the pot as a frame for specific details of nature. My current exploration of sgraffito decoration demands that the design appears simple, but is instead the result of a complex process of planning, implementing, evolving, learning, and growing. The end product is a series of pots that are similar, never exactly the same as each other, and a demonstration that handmade items reflect the human processes of thought and deliberation. Valeri & Valentina Sokolovski, stone artists, Surrey www.artofvaleri.com Valeri Sokolovski was born in Ukraine and grew up studying plastics in Khazakhstan in M.B. Grekov Art College in Odessa, Ukraine. He worked as a sculptor-monumentalist in Odessa and exhibited his works in various countries, such as Russia, Ukraine, France, Italy, USA and Canada. In 1974 he became a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR. In 1992, Valeri moved with his family to Canada and has been busy creating ever since. He was very active participant in many art shows through BC Mainland and Washington State and has won many Artistic Appreciation awards. Valeri was frequently written about in newspapers, books, radio, And was a winner of many Public Art Projects. Rudolf Sokolovski, bronze/metal artist, Vancouver, http://www.modernsculpture.ca/ I remember the day when I sat in my father’s studio playing with a block of clay. I was five years old. I am a sculptor, artist living in Vancouver, BC. I specialize in several types of medium, such as bronze, stone, fiberglass, and plasters like hydrostone. I take commissions from individuals, businesses, development companies, and publicly funded projects. I specialize in all sizes ranging from indoor statues to large scale outdoor pieces.

    For large scale projects that require a team approach I work with artist Valeri Sokolovski. Valeri worked as a sculptor-monumentalist in the Ukraine, designing and implementing public art works ranging from small scale commissions to large monuments commissioned by the government, and has over 45 years of experience with this. Valeri specializes in stones like marble, granite, limestone, soap stone, and alabaster, and also in wood, bronze, fiberglass, and plasters. Donna Stewart, contemporary abstract artist/concrete painter, Sechelt, http://www.alldonna.com/ When it comes to painting, rules are not my idea of capturing the creative spirit. I love experimenting challenging new techniques or trying to recreate old ones. Abstract has always been my favorite form of expression. My inspiration comes from lines, colors and textures I see everyday. Each painting begins with a certain shape, size or color. Dancing loosely between instinct and feelings open mindedly I let the painting evolve. I seem to know and recognize the one line that helps a painting take shape. My favorite thing is to spend time in my studio or my friends, let time go lightly and appreciate the entire artistic ness that is created. Jim Unger Biography, metal artist, Abbotsford www.clayburncopperworks.com Jim Unger is a self taught metal artist whose only real formal training was high school art class. Though always interested in art, whether it was drawing, painting, or any of a hundred forms, real life took over. First employed as a carpenter and later opening his own cabinet shop. It was at this shop that copper first appeared for him. Jim was asked to build a cupola, a small copper roofed structure on a barn. There was left over copper sheeting and with a little coaxing with a hammer here and there, small copper objects soon appeared. Well, one thing led to another, and soon many copper objects have been coaxed out of many copper sheets. All though cabinet making and copper work might not seem to be related, both are forms of creativity and both require skill with your hands. Jims work keeps evolving and pieces he made several years ago may not be made now, but are replaced with new fresh ideas that in turn create more ideas. Martin Vseticka, silver/goldsmith jewelry artist, Squamish, www.vseticka.ca Before finding his career as a goldsmith, Martin Vseticka enjoyed many years of work as a landscape architect and a wilderness guide. Martin Vseticka, like the fathers of his European grandfathers, believed he would know his destiny when he encountered it. When he made his decision to become a goldsmith, Martin Vseticka studied

    for five years under Master Goldsmith Jurgen Schonheit in his internationally famous atelier shop on Granville Island, in Vancouver, British Columbia. There is no doubt that after exploring the world as a wilderness guide for twenty years he would bring his love of nature into goldsmithing through unique design and environmental ethics. Mr. Vseticka incorporates his environmental values into his goldsmithing products by utilizing recycled and hand panned gold whenever possible. Specializing in the form and forge method for gold and silver work and the tension set for precious gems, Mr. Vseticka is an award winning jewellery designer with his trademark halibut hook design. He loves contributing to the world of jewellery through articles in trade magazines. It is his passion for perfection that will continue to make him an internationally sought goldsmith. Sharon Tirixow Biography, stone sculptor, Langley Sharon Tirixow is a resident of Langley, British Columbia and has been sculpting for almost twenty years. While she initially worked in wood, her real passion is now stone sculpting. Sharon studied under award-winning stone sculptor, Cathryn Jenkins. Sharon Tirixow’s stone sculptures can be seen at the Birthplace of B.C. Gallery. Sharon has also been a regular participant in the Gallery’s annual “Demos in the Garden” on the BC Day Weekend at the beginning of August.