Side Street Studio Blog | The best locally crafted gifts that B.C. can offer
About This Site
Side Street Studio in Oak Bay Village, Victoria, has been selling the work of British Columbia artists since 1984. Currently the Studio represents over 320 local B.C. artists and the web site www.sidestreetstudio.com has over 2000 pages of unique and exceptional value local artists work. All of our artists work makes superb gifts for any occasion.
Unique, locally crafted and original pottery, jewellery, textiles, glass-art, wood turnings and carvings, sculptures and west coast photography; all unique and one-of-a-kind. There are gifts for every occasion, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, housewarmings, romantic events, thanks yours, good luck and just for you! more...
George Yearsley said “that I have been a carver for fifteen years and a full time artist for the last few years. I grew up in Crescent Beach, B.C. but always yearned for a wilder existence.
Eight years ago I moved to Tofino and built my own house amongst the coastal cedars. There I found much more solace and inspiration, eventually meeting master carver Henry Nola. 
Henry’s way of life had a profound affect on my personal direction”.The idea of carved feathers came from my many forays into the wilderness areas of B.C. — especially to the old growth forests. Time and again, while on these trips, feathers would present themselves to me.
The eagle feather became a symbol of wilderness and especially the old growth cedar forests; feeling the need to honor my connection to the feathers and trees I walked amongst, I carved one out of cedar. In so doing, I try to honor and respect the integrity and spirit of the cedar tree.
Eventually I have became known as, “Feather George” for my finely carved eagle feathers I was known for. All my carvings, which include feathers and boxes, are made from reclaimed red and yellow cedar with inlay of abalone, scrimshaw and semi-precious stones. Hand-crafted feather bases are made from soapstone or antler.
You can see more of George’s superb work at www.sidestreetstudio.com
Chance Adrian Gesinghaus Northwest Coast Indian Art.
Chance was born in Alert Bay, BC on September 24, 1980 to Donald Gesinghaus and Janice Bernard. Chance belongs to the Kwaguilth Nation. He has learned wood carving from his father, Don. Chance has been apprenticing with his Aunt, Nancy Dawson since he was sixteen. Chance continues to create his art and is becoming a sought after artist.
Chance’s silverwork is superb. His eagles, dolphins, whales and feathers designs make superb pendants. You can find more of Chance’s superb work at www.sidestreetstudio.com 
Wanda Shum writes “I am a B.C. grown artist who was formally trained in Electronic Communication Design at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design; I’ve been an independent artist for over 16 years with a variety of works to my name. All my work has embodied an attention to detail in form and function. My works are recognized for their bright and whimsical qualities”.
“Currently, I’m working with polymer clays in a technique called ‘millefiori’. ‘Millefiori’ or ‘A Thousand Flowers’ is a traditional Venetian glass art that involve the formation of a cane-like sculpture with fused glass rods that has a pattern throughout. 
The modern version of this is created by laying different coloured polymer clays together. Then the cane is sliced to reveal the design within. To me, millefiori is a combination of painting and sculpting”. 
“This technique has allowed me to create unique limited edition designs of jewellery (I’ve created a few exclusive designs for the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature). More recently, I have created a line of home decor which features items such as wine stoppers, glassware, and teapots covered with millefiori slices. My latest body of work, especially my teapots have moved beyond the framework of form and function into the distinct realm of collectible art pieces”.
You can see more of Wanda’s magnificent work at Side Street Studio, Victoria, B.C. 
Phil Cottell writes. “In 1997, I retired from my work in forestry research and development, and our family moved from Vancouver to Vancouver Island. There, the notion of woodturning gradually emerged (something I had last done in high school, but remembered enjoying). 
And, combined with carving, colouring and pyrography, this interest developed into a sort of avocation. My objective became to transform mainly found local woods into functional and aesthetically pleasing objects — vessels like bowls and vases, platters, plaques — and to achieve, on occasion, things of some artistic beauty.”
“Over the past 12 years, I’ve attended many seminars and courses, gaining insights from some of the world’s premiere woodturning artists. I have also participated regularly in Community Arts Council events (Studio Tours, Sidney Fine Arts Show) on the Saanich Peninsula, and for five successive years had pieces accepted for the Sooke Fine Arts Show.”
“Most of my raw material is salvaged from locally grown native tree species (e.g., maple, yew, arbutus, Garry Oak, Alder, Red and Yellow cedar, Douglas-fir, hemlock). 
The Wood Recovery Program of the Vancouver Island Woodworkers Guild, of which I’m a member, has been a reliable source. One of my memorable mentors said “Turn what grows in your back yard!” — so that’s what I tend to do. ”
“The Island Woodturners Guild, and smaller local woodturner groups, have been of immeasurable support for materials, tools, techniques –and inspiration. While most of my activity is solitary, I enjoy collaborative projects with Parksville woodcarver Barri Hearn, and with Coast Salish artist Chris Paul of Tsartlip. Barri carves delicate wildlife/nature themes on my turned bowls, platters and wall plaques. Chris draws traditional and contemporary Salish spindle whorl designs on discs that I prepare; we then carve them together.”
“In 2008, our family moved from North Saanich to Brentwood Bay, where I built a dedicated workshop/studio. It’s operational, although not yet fully organized, and is a pleasant, productive space to inhabit.”
“I’ve greatly enjoyed the relationship with Nigel and Sue Hayes at Side Street Studio since the time it opened under their ownership, and look forward to being part of their new venture at their second location in Victoria.”
Ray Franklin was born in Oxfordshire in England. He grew up during the war and enjoyed the woodworking classes at school. He did his National Service in the Coldstream Guards, serving ten months of his term in Egypt.
Ray and his wife, Ann were married in 1956 and emigrated to Canada in June of that year. After working on a farm for 4 years he changed to construction and subsequently became a crane operator. 
He never lost his interest in woodworking and made much of their furniture. After retiring in 1989, he developed his skills in woodturning.
Ray loves unlocking the secrets in a piece of wood and combining different coloured woods to make unusual designs. He has won several awards for his work.
Some of these these vases have 448 pieces of wood in each one. 
They are made up of Black Walnut, Yew and Ebony, and required approximately 350 hours to build them. They are mounted on turntables. Please turn them slowly. You can see more of Ray’s outstanding wood turning at Side Street Studio.
Helgi Eyjolfsson writes. “Like people, no two pieces of wood are exactly alike. I select woods locally and from around the world. My favorites include cocobolo, amboyna, and any type of burl especially those with natural eyes such as bird’s eye maple, yellow cedar burl and buckeye burl. A burl is a growth on the outside of the tree that can be removed without killing the tree”. 
“I first discovered the beauty of wood while completing my first project nearly 50 years ago in high school. Now in retirement, I spend as much time searching for wood as I do transforming it into my finished product. Once the wood arrives in my workshop, I let it dry for up to 5 years to ensure stability and to provide me with ample opportunity to study each piece and visualize the most outstanding finished product possible”. 
“I have discovered that the most important skills in woodworking are the selection of the wood and probably more importantly, the application of the finish. The finish gives each piece the chance to show its natural beauty and to preserve for generations to come the opportunity to admire the piece as it was in its living state. My Viking heritage has given me the desire to learn from the ancient masters and contributed to my striving for the perfect finish that can only be achieved with time, patience and lots and lots of sanding and polishing”.
“Like people, no two pieces of finished product are alike. If asked, I cannot duplicate a finished product. The wood grains, especially those in burls, cannot be duplicated in nature. Like many fortunate people, the wood that I use has lived to a wonderful old age and therefore may come with a blemish or crack. I strive not to hide these distinctive marks of maturity, but rather use them as a point of beauty”.
“Enjoy your unique piece of handcrafted artistry!”, you can find more of Helgi’s fine work at Side Street Studio.
Graeme Evans discovered his love of woodturning shortly after retirement from 33 years with the Canadian Navy.
“I completed a woodturning course at Tools n’ Space Woodworking in 1998, worked part time at Tools n’ Space, and progressed my woodturning skills to the level which allowed me to instruct basic and 
intermediate courses” said Graeme. “I am currently Vice President of the Island Woodturning Guild and am an active member of two woodturning groups.”
Most of my turnings are made from local British Columbia woods gathered through local wood recovery programs. The large variety of species planted in Victoria over the years allows for some pretty spectacular wood. One of my favourite is local Dogwood which not only has lovely grain patterns, but also colour in the form of pink stripes throughout the wood. Many ornamental fruit trees yield great wood if you can dry them without checking. Western big Leaf Maple is very popular because of it’s perpensity to spalt and the lovely Burls that it produces. Arbutus creates a challenge with turning green wood.
Two of my latest turnings come from wood which was purchased a number of years ago – California Redwood, also known as Sequoia. The first is a 10 
inch shallow bowl and the second is a 12 inch platter. It never ceases to amaze me what you can find when you “open” a piece of wood. Both of the pieces have “Birdseye” markings which make them very unique.
I have also just completed a Cherry bowl for the Island Woodturners Guild challenge. One of our members Cheryl Samuel from Edmonton provided templates which were produced by Gordon Langer of the Edmonton Turners Guild. 
The challenge was to produce a bowl as close as possible to the shape provided. The idea behind this challenge was to get the members of the guild thinking about shape and form.
Robert Jakobsen is an artisan native to Nanaimo, British Columbia where he salvages much of the wood used in his work. Logs which are considered to have little market value (e.g. destined for firewood) are milled with a portable band saw mill. Robert works with local woods to illustrate the diversity and beauty of British Columbia’s forest resources and the need for more attention to resource management.
Robert uses these woods to make picture and photo frames from a combination of Purple Heart with Western maple inlay, Broad leaf Maple with Walnut inlay and Yellow Cedar with Red Cedar inlay.His variety of boxes are finished with four coats of rubbed polyurethane making for a very durable and attractive finish. While his photo frames use three costs of polyurethane.
“This is a magnificent use of our natural resources” . “Robert’s work is well crafted and shows fine wood joinery talent”, “We are proud to show his work and bring to the attention of local people (and visitors) just what you can achieve by re cycling”, said Nigel Hayes, owner Side Street Studio.
Feedburner RSS
