On my first day in West Vancouver we set out to travel the West Vancouver sea wall and to get a feel for the community we would call home for the next week. A friend alerted me to the proximity of the Cherry Blossom 2015 fibre art show and I was watching for the Silk Purse Gallery during my travels. When I arrived at the gallery the organizers were setting up for the feature event of the week: A presentation about a fibre art copy of Joy...

Donna Polos works with colour not only in her fabulous painted landscapes but also in her wonderful, whimsical gardens. I recently had the pleasure of spending time with her and learning more about her work. Outside her home her spring gardens are flourishing and attest to her loving care.  The children’s tree-house is now a favorite place for summer afternoon painting and a small greenhouse is a mix of art and plant seedlings. Look...

Marianne Parsons was one of the people to whom we owe gratitude for the formation of the Fibre Art Network (FAN). She is one of the charter members of the group. Coming from a farm background in Saskatchewan, this woman has taken her early training in clothing construction and her training as a teacher to influence the lives of many. After teaching quilting for a number of years she decided she didn’t want to sew any more straight lines...

Janet Bednarczyk recently moved from North Vancouver to Oliver BC and can’t believe her luck in finding a home with space for a studio with a wall of windows overlooking vineyards and orchards. Janet and her husband Don are busy personalizing the gardens surrounding their new home and building a controlled environment greenhouse for Don’s prize orchids. They are busy settling into their new community but Janet, now working only part...

Diana Bartelings, lives and works near Midway BC, a small town along Highway 3 in southern British Columbia. She joined FAN about the same time I did and has been an co-exhibitor in most of the group shows since 2010. Diana’s story is similar to that of many fibre artists in that she entered the fibre art world via traditional quilting. As she learned the basics she discovered that she really liked ‘doing her own thing’, designing rather...

Only a few days before departure on our ‘bucket list’ trip to the west coast of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, I realized that this was an opportunity to connect with as many FAN (Fibre Art Network) members as possible. I’ve belonged to this group for several years and have met a number of members but how better to get to know people than to see where they create their work. It is also a way for me to personalize this bucket-list...