Filtering by Tag: NS artist

Flower Holders By Nancy Roberts

Added on June 12, 2012 by the ikebana shop.

Nancy Roberts is a Nova Scotia potter who likes to make quirky, fun and interesting pieces.

Indeed, the collection of flower holders that she made for us all have different personalities!

Each glaze is different!

Each texture is different!

Each one comes with a small kenzan (frog). Fill it with water, pick a bloom or two from your garden, stick it in and enjoy!

Nancy is a member of the Nova Scotia Potters Guild.

Learn more about her here: http://novascotiapottersguild.com/members/detail/nancy-roberts

Flower holders are available at the shop or by mail order. $30 (CAD) each plus HST where applicable. All hand-made in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Exhibit Preparations

Added on May 10, 2012 by the ikebana shop.

Finally, the day of the exhibit is almost upon us. It's this coming Saturday, May 12th.

For the past few months, pottery artist Mindy Moore has been working hard to produce new pieces.

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Photo courtesy of Marvin Moore. (http://marvinmoore.com/)

Has she perhaps been sleeping between the potter's wheel and the kiln? (^_^)

The past two weeks, Miyako has been feverishly designing ikebana arrangements. The garage has been taken over...

...and the studio is lined with mock-ups. She will dismantle all of these and re-create them at the gallery.

Please join us and see how Mindy's pottery and Miyako's ikebana breathe life into each other. See the connection!

Exhibit Title: En: Connections
Opening reception: May 12th, Saturday, 2-4 p.m.
Venue: Argyle Fine Art, 1559 Barrington St., Halifax NS
http://argylefineart.blogspot.ca/
Everyone welcome. No entrance fee.

Exhibit days:
May 13th, Sunday, 12-5 p.m.
May 14th, Monday, gallery closed
May 15th, Tuesday, 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
May 16th, Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Old Kimonos Recycled Into Beautiful Bags

Added on April 25, 2012 by the ikebana shop.

Mottainai is the Japanese word that refers to that feeling of regret when something is wasted. It is this spirit that drives Aiko Handbags to create these beautiful bags and pouches out of used kimono and obi fabric. Each one is hand-made. Aiko carefully selects and matches different fabrics to come up with tasteful yet functional bags.

It is a tradition in Japan to never waste a beautiful kimono. Even when it became too damaged and stained to wear, many would unpick the kimono and use it to make other accessories such as bags, pincushions and brooches, in order to preserve the beauty and hard work that goes into the creation of each and every kimono. That is what we strive to do every day here at Aiko Handbags, to preserve the art and beauty that is the kimono in modern, useful and practical ways.

No two purses will ever turn out the same. The pattern on the fabric will never fall in the same place twice and the amount of fabric in that particular pattern is very limited, yielding only one, occasionally two bags.

So who is Aiko? She is a young mother who hails from Nova Scotia but who has a great love for Japanese culture. She chose the name Aiko (meaning "well-loved" or "beloved"), a beautiful and feminine name that expressed her feelings about each and every handbag she creates.

I've had a love for Japanese culure since I was in school, starting withanime, manga and J-pop, then growing into more traditional Japanese culture, such as kitsuke (the art of dressing in kimono), tsumamikanzashi (hair ornaments), and I chose to work with kimono fabric out of a simple love and appreciation for this beautiful textile, and a need to share it with others.

Small pouches for cosmetics and what-not.