Artist Directory

Inspired by Judy Chicago’s “The Dinner Party” to share ideas in fibre, paint, thread, and stitch, I retired from my career in Special Education to learn from experts and search for my own voice in fibre art. I am grateful for the many opportunities I have had to learn from and exhibit with a wide range of accomplished artists.
My subjects have ranged from BC’s natural beauty to human displacement/migration and family history, with a current focus on a close look at nature.
My art process is layered in the standard quilt structure, i.e., from the bottom up: backing, batting, surface — surface being the most interesting, as I integrate image transfers/painting/ printmaking/non-traditional piecing, and free-motion stitching (a sewing machine dance) to carry each message I have in mind.

Website: www.uncommonthreads.ca

Social Media Links:Facebook | Instagram

My post secondary education in art school, various jobs and experiences always centred on art making, teaching, working in mixed media and clay. Working with clay meant countless hours in the studio and eventually led to teaching others how to make pottery. 

Now, after almost 30 years of pottery making, I still find so much satisfaction in the rhythmic motion of clay on the wheel and what can be created from a solid block of the clay material. I appreciate that pottery has been created for centuries from artisans all over the world and that I am a part of that. The historic nature of the material keeps me grounded in making pots that will last and be kept as a memento of a time and place for a very long time. 

My pottery can be used daily or given as a keepsake. I like the idea that my work is affordable for people and that the work is in private collections all over the world. When people visit our gallery from other areas, they are amazed at the nature surrounding them and how that is reflected in my work. Local flora and fauna, natural wildlife and abstracted designs and motifs are a signature design element in the finishing on my pots. I work mainly in white stoneware, but I have recently added a terra sigillata spray finish to my pots that I carve into to achieve a brown that is multilayered and tonal. I also use a black slip that I carve through to reveal the white clay underneath. It’s very much like drawing and when I work on those pots it’s very serene and I feel very blessed that I can do this work for a living. I have also recently discovered slip trailing and creating multiple layers on the clay surface. This is similar to collage and involves a few different techniques, colours and layering. I also enjoy Collage with paper and paint materials, building up imagery on a wood substrate and hope that these two art forms collide in style and process so you can recognize my pots and the canvases are from the same artist.

• Website: http://www.islandclayworks.com

• Social Media Links: https://www.instagram.com/islandclayworks

From tree-climbing days in South Africa to sketch-filled afternoons in England, Nicola North has always found her way back to creativity. Living in the Comox Valley for the past 18 years, she channels that lifelong imagination into enchanting pen and watercolour works inspired by the wild beauty of the West Coast.
With a keen eye for detail and a touch of whimsy, Nicola’s art captures the magic in small moments - detailed drawings capture knots in trees, twirls of kelp and seaweed, and flora in bloom. Her pieces are both grounded in nature and lifted by story, offering something truly unique to every viewer.