This issue of
Nest News will mostly be about our Artists' Happenings....
You will be receiving another very important Nest News in the next few weeks with a very
$pecial offer just for
registered newsletter recipient$. Stay-tuned - it will be definitely be worth your while to be registered on our newsletter list!
If you are a BC resident and just received your $100 BC Government "Rebate" cheque - and are wondering what to spend it on (besides food or gas for the car) we want to remind you about
hand made, made in B.C., Arts and Crafts.... By the way - all of our artists are extremely
environmentally conscious as are our Nest helpers - we think you'll find most artists are - why not treat yourself to a
lasting treasure for your eyes and heart? (Was that too subtle?)
New in the Nest : we now have some of glass blower
Sol Maya's fabulous handmade glass art work on the site. There is just nothing like seeing sunlight through coloured glass, words just can't describe it - although the photos are really good! It truly lifts the spirit. We have a great collection of Sol's orbs, star fish, hearts, flower trumpets and 'barnacles'.
We also have a good selection of
Eve Whitehead's weaving - you'll find it in the Gifts and Textiles section. More of Eve's scarves will be coming on board as scarf weather approaches.
Artist Happenings:Rene Deerheart, Margit Nellemann and Eve Whitehead (wood carving, ceramics and weaving) are three of our artists participating in the
Visions Art Studio Tour. This year is bigger and better - more days and more artists. For anyone not familiar with a Studio Tour, the artists open their own studios to the public - you drive your own vehicle, follow a map, and visit the artists - at your own pace. The artists welcome you in their studios where you can sometimes see demonstrations, and you will always see a collection of their best and most recent pieces. Some artists will have guest artists as well - a special treat. The Visions Group of artists are primarily in the Cowichan Valley, located between Saltair (South of Nanaimo) on the North and Mill Bay to the South. It's a wonderful way to see more of our beautiful province and meet some of our fabulously talented artists. An added bonus is trying some of the great restaurants around (like the
Rock Cod Cafe in Cowichan Bay) and maybe some wine tasting at one of the local wineries. It just costs the gas to run the car - oh, use your $100! You can download the map at
www.VisionsArtTour.ca Kristi Bridgeman (watercolours and acrylics) is the featured artist at Sooke Harbour House during the month of August. The Sock Fairy by Bobbi Hinman (second in the series of Childrens Books) is just now in book stores. Kristi painted the illustrations for both
The Knot Fairy and The Sock Fairy. We proudly carry some of the superb original watercolour illustrations Kristi painted for the award winning book, The Knot Fairy (we also include a copy of the book).
Cindy Gibson (pottery) is going to be very busy showing her one of a kind Fence-post Toppers (as well as her other fabulous porcelain pottery) at the famous, juried, Filberg Festival in Comox, B.C., August 1st to 4th. If you think the Circle Craft Christmas Show (Vancouver) is wonderful - don't miss the Filberg!
www.filbergfestival.com (and don't miss Cindy's booth!)
Jill Rockwell and Mary Lou Moffat (jewellery) are participating in the summer Sidney Summer Market on Thursday evenings. They have both been very busy designing and producing new pieces, you will see some glorious new pieces on the Nest in July. Jill was awarded the Jurors Choice award at the SPAC show for both 2007 and 2008, and, is featured in the Summer 2008 edition of the beautiful
Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine, she was also kind enough to mention
Quails Nest Studio in the article!
Joanne Thomson (watercolours) is also having a busy summer, having just returned from Turkey. As well as conducting all sorts of workshops, she is a featured artist at the
Morris Gallery in Victoria (Alpha & Burnside) until July 12th and will be at the
Glendale Gardens show in Victoria August 9th & 10th. You will see Joanne herself on the cover of the newest Star Weiss book, Havens in a Hectic World (Joanne also did the chapter decorations).
That's an update on just a few of our very talented, accomplished group. This summer, we hope you will feast your eyes and heart on some
Hand Made, Original, West Coast, B.C., Art and Craft! If you are in need of a wedding, anniversary or birthday gift we would be happy to gift wrap and ship your present directly to the recipient and include a card with your sentiments. If you're finding it hard to decide on a gift, remember our gift certificates are ridiculously easy to buy and use (and fully secure!).
Happy Canada Day, and to our close neighbors,
Happy Fourth of July!One of our artists shared this with us the other day:
People don't necessarily care how much you know - what matters is that they know how much you care.
Cheers !
-The Quails
