Shiny Fuzzy Muddy is back at the beautiful historic Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street, December 10th and 11th. This collaborative event is brought to you by 4 core members and local makers, Janna Hurtzig, Kari Woo, Arleigh Wood and Frances Dickinson pictured to the left. They formed a non-profit collective to create events that bring art to people. Shiny Fuzzy Muddy brings together more than 30 local artists to meet and share their craftsmanship in an environment that opposes the large mass produced products. They hand pick the artists that join them each year so you can expect some returning favourites as well as some new guest artists that will be exhibiting their work. This year you will again find jewellery, ceramics, fine art, clothing, textiles from local artists including Toodlebunny, Arleigh Wood, Julie MacKinnon Ceramics, Westerly Shoes, LUprints, Daub & Design, Adhesif Clothing Company and kari woo contemporary art jewellery, Winterluxe and LUprints. Some of the new designers participating this year include Haejin Lee Ceramics, Vanessa Lam with A Drop of Wonder Studio who does photography with mixed media painting and Claudia Schulz who designs hats as pictured below. Shiny Fuzzy Muddy runs Saturday, December 10th from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm and Sunday, December 11th from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. Admission is $3.00 and these funds will go to an Emerging Artists Scholarship. Each year, Shiny Fuzzy Muddy identifies an Emerging Artist and supports their new business endeavors with a grant to participate in the event. In 2016, the Shiny Fuzzy Muddy Emerging Artist Grant was awarded to a personal favourite East Van artist, Stephanie Symns, of ANTIPOD Workshop. Symns is a textile designer who uses the digital realm as well as much more hands-on process-based work like weaving, dyeing or hand-printing. We know Stephanie is now set up in a new studio space off Clark Drive and participated in her first Eastside Culture Crawl the other week. So these grants go a long way to promoting art in our community. To learn more about the other artists participating this year, we invite you to visit Shiny Fuzzy Muddy.
If you are planning to attend Shiny Fuzzy Muddy, you may wish to check out the contest being offered by the Georgia Straight. It is a chance to win $200 to spend at Shiny Fuzzy Muddy. Note no cash value, but $200 in amazing works by the artisans on site during the event. Contest closes December 8th.
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