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Craft fair not the usual fare
Caroline Skelton
cskelton@nsnews.com
If the title "craft fair" conjures up images of macram‚ and raffle tickets, Circle Craft Christmas Craft Market may take you by surprise.
"It's not a church bizarre, it's not like your school craft fair, you know, this is (professional artists) that are there making their living at their craft," said North Shore artist Cathi Jefferson.
Jefferson will be showcasing her pottery at the fair, which runs today through Sunday at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre. This will be her 33rd year working at her pottery, notes Jefferson, just as it is the fair's 33rd year of operation.
"I really think the quality of the show is just unbeatable in the city," said Jefferson. "It's big, and it's just excellent."
Jefferson has repeat customers who return to find her at the fair each year, and she also enjoys the chance to catch up with fellow artists. "I enjoy seeing friends every year," she said.
This year, organizers hope to attract 40,000 people to the event, which will showcase the work of more than 260 artisans from across Canada, crafting everything from metal wall hangings to organic clothing and industrial vinyl handbags, as well as more traditional Christmas ornaments, candy and candles (for a full list of vendors, visit the craft fair website at www.circlecraft.net).
What makes Jefferson's work unique among the fellow potters, she said, is the salt-fired technique she uses to finish her stoneware, which involves adding salt to the kiln rather than using a glaze.
The salt is vaporized at a high temperature in the kiln, said Jefferson, and interacts with the clay to create a glaze. The process can create a variety of textures on the same object, with some sides turning out a pebbly texture like an orange peel, while other sides of the same vase could have an entirely different texture.
"It just depends on how the flame hits the piece," she said.
Her work, said Jefferson, also has an organic look to it, largely inspired by the forests of her North Vancouver home. The pieces are done in organic colours, and often feature natural images like pebbles, leafs and arbutus branches.
Jefferson, who was spending Monday and Tuesday preparing her booth at Circle Craft, is hoping that her vases, dinner plates, teacups and other creations will find enthusiasts among the fair-goers.
"I'm hoping that they'll find good homes, that people will use them," she said.
published on 11/08/2006
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