Season 3, Episode 9: Circle Craft and its Creative Chairs

Knit with kelp, much? Celebrate a birthday with skunks? Elaine Brewer-White and Wendy Van Riesen can discover design, a face, an image, an idea and basically "spark joy" and make art using anything, anytime! They have been in the practice of creativity all their lives. Art is their passion. Check out what they do. Or find their work at Circle Craft on Granville Island located in the Net Loft. 

Where to find Circle Craft

 

Circle Craft
#1-1666 Johnston Street, Granville Island, Vancouver, BC

Website: www.circlecraft.net
Instagram: @circlecraft
Facebook: CircleCraft
Pinterest: CircleCraft

Elaine Brewer-White
Website: www.elainebrewerwhiteceramics.com
Instagram: @elaine.brewerwhite

Wendy Van Riesen
Website: www.dahliadrive.com
Instagram: @dahliadriveclothing

Where to find Glo

www.glosays.com | IG: @glosays | Facebook: GloSaysPodcast | LinkedIn: GloSays | BuyMeACoffee: GloSays

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Transcript

GLO 0:00

Practice a creative mind you are what you think, quote unquote. During our animated conversation this statement seemed to summarize our thoughts on allowing yourself to be bored, and then using that opportunity to practice being creative instead.

GLO 0:21

Welcome back to Glo Says today Elaine Brewer white and Wendy van reason are my guests. They are two talented artists who each have sat on the board of and even served as the chair of circle craft at Granville Island, talking to Wendy and Elaine was incredibly fun and enjoyable for me. These are two locally found passionate talents that come with sparkling personalities. They are interesting, creative and funny. They have spent their life embracing the creative process and being inspired to make art. I love meeting people who are not sure if like minded is the right expression here, but definitely matched in curiosity with me. At least that's what I felt and at least that's what I thought there was something very Kindred about the conversation. I hope I can meet them again post pandemic for a coffee or lunch to talk some more. 

GLO 1:18

Welcome back to Glo Says and today I'm so happy to speak with two members and who sit on the board of circle craft. Her name is Elaine Brewer white and Wendy van reason. So thank you for being here and welcome.

GLO 1:35

Hello. Okay, so I think we're going to start first with this interview about Circle Craft. I think a lot of the listeners will be familiar with circle craft, either as an event or as a store or as a fair, whatever it is. Let's have you tell us about it.

ELAINE 1:52

I'll start this is what Circle Craft is an organization that started almost 50 years ago next year, it will be 50 years by crafters, BC crafters find crafters who wanted to be able to sell their work together in order to make it easier to sell their work. Because as an artist, it's very difficult to find your people or to arrange your own show so that people will come and buy your wares. So the circle craft organization was created so that as a team, they could come together and sell to a number of people. And the fair started very small. It was in the cultural East Cultural Center. It originally started in Victoria actually, we'll see. There you go. So it started there. And then it went to the east Cultural Center, I guess.

WENDY 2:41

Vancouver. Yes.

ELAINE 2:42

So but the artists themselves are from all over BC. And we really include as many you can apply to come to become a member, it's a jury members. So every year there is one time when people who are interested can apply, and then they can be juried to come into the store. It's grown hugely since so now we have 137 members instead of the small handful that started 50 years ago. And the fair itself, as many people will know, became quite huge downtown at the convention center. The artists themselves center their work at the store on Granville Island. So the Granville Island store represents 137 members works, it allows the artists to do the work, send it in, have it sold by people that have been hired to do that and showcase it so that the artists can continue to do their work. So that what happens as the cooperative is that some money is given to the organization to help pay for the people who sell and the artist gets a commission from it, which is a larger than a normal wholesale commission. That's the basis of it.

GLO 3:46

Yeah, no, that's interesting. Does that mean that at any one time there is art there from 137 members? are you on? Oh, there is okay. Okay, however, and

ELAINE 3:57

we have so many different mediums that represented from Pottery, jewelry, leather work fabric, fashion Irin work, we just, we have as many as we can possibly we want to represent all art forms. We're constantly encouraging our members to bring in new work, so everything's fresh, so it's like a new gallery show all the time. Okay,

GLO 4:19

so there's no limitation, even though it's a juried panel, you're looking, what's the limitation or restriction for the jury? Is it a certain level a certain number of

WENDY 4:28

well, it's all about quality. It's all about work. Yeah. And originality. Like we see. consistency. Yes, we have different criteria, but they definitely have to be professionals working in a medium.

GLO4:41

 Okay. Yeah. Interesting. So there's no part timers, there's no hobbyists artists,

WENDY 4:46

doesn't factor into it. What factors in is the work itself if the work is professional and consistent and original? Those are sort of that the touchstones of what our during is about?

GLO 4:59

Okay.  And I think you're right. I think many listeners will be familiar with circle craft as a seasonal sort of offering. Right? A lot of people will start there to go shopping maybe in November. And it's a great representation. It seems like of all the local artists in BC. Does it include other parts of Canada? Or is it really just British Columbia?

ELAINE 5:18

The market itself, the large market is all over Canada, for sure. And it's not also craft members. So there are some circle craft members who participate in the market, but it has grown beyond just the arches and original cooperative. So

WENDY 5:34

that that's the Christmas market, like a Christmas mark one, I really qualify that it's really almost a different entity. It's grown into a Yes, so the Christmas market definitely has people from all over Canada. And it also includes consumables and other things that you find in store. Yeah, right. That's true.

GLO 5:54

And the circle craft itself, since it is a co op, does it have a particular mission? Or is it really besides being a co op, it operates as a business?

ELAINE 6:03

Yeah, it's to celebrate fine craft and to help artists maintain their practice.

GLO 6:09

Okay, great. Sounds good. Okay, thank you. So welcome, Elaine Burr. Whites are having such a great time talking already. I'm talking to Elaine but Wendy may pitch in because they seem to both talk for each other. So this will be a great conversation. But let's talk to the lady first about her background as an artist about what she does. And her story, her artistic journey. So tell me about yourself. Elaine,

ELAINE 6:33

I've been working with clay for about 38 years now. I started in utero. So you know. I'm almost 40

6

GLO and that's what you look like. That is true, right? Yeah.

ELAINE 6:47

And Amoeba? Yeah. Clay is my medium, my passion. I have a background in theater as well. I live with a person who is a performer and that's been our life. We've made her life in the arts. And my work is when I left art school, I was doing big installation stuff, multimedia pieces, and and I started over that journey that pulled back to doing smaller figurative works. And that's where my heart is right now. I use a lot of humor in my work. It's just who I am. I use a lot of color in my work and that and that's those are the things that I relate to. And the last bout eight years I've also incorporated functional work. I'm a sculptor by trade. Okay, I've also started to include functional work as part of my studio practice.

GLO 7:30

Okay, now I noticed Okay, you said that you were educated in art so that what is an art degree like when you're educated? Are you picking a medium already? Were you starting off in clay?

ELAINE 7:40

Okay, went to Emily Carr college where it was still just a college, but they Yeah, you did definitely choose your medium. I started at University of Calgary as a drawing major. Actually, I was doing life size drawings and graphite and pastel and anyways, I moved into clay. Okay, because I found it to be the most versatile medium, I could make sculpture that sat on a table, hung on a wall, laid it out on the floor. It was just there was no end to the possibilities. So that's why I moved into ceramics. And that's what I majored in at Emily Carr. Wow.

GLO 8:11

So when you say okay, when I hear someone say installation, to me, that seems big. So you're making small things, two big things.

ELAINE 8:19

Well installation was you're creating an environment that people walk into and participate. Okay, my some of my installations you could come in what I did was a whole room and everything in the room was ceramic from the chairs to the window that hung from the ceiling to a carpet that was laid out everything was was participatory in that way.

GLO 8:41

Okay. Interesting. And who do you make these things for typically, like art galleries,

ELAINE 8:46

installations, were definitely for public galleries where they're, you know, you would apply for a grant to create this environment and then it would just be it wouldn't be it would be temporary basically. Okay, work I do now. I do mainly to sell through my galleries. I have a lot of gallery representation in Canada. Okay. And then I do a lot of commission work. I do a lot of portrait commission work.

GLO 9:07

Okay. Oh, interesting. portrait permission with ceramics. Yeah, Yeah,

ELAINE 9:11

I do. So I do portrait sculpture and and it's, it's sort of I call it legacy work. It's like telling a story of someone's life. It's just fine.

GLO 9:19

Okay. I love it. And I would encourage all the listeners to check it out. Because it's great work. It's I love it too. You can there's representations of it on your website, Elaine, or white right ceramics. So yes, please go check it out. When you say you do functional art. Can you explain what that is?

ELAINE 9:36

Yeah, well I like just currently I've just done a series of tea pots and the tea pots are they actually work so I call it usable art. And I've got tea pots. I've got one that I'll be taking into circle craft today actually, and I call it a heritage teapot, which is got rabbits all around just the bottom half of the rabbits head and ears of the teapot. The handle is actually one of the ears of the rabbits and the lid of the tea pot is a tale of a rabbit. And so it's sculptural, but it's usable. Okay? That's where, and I'm constantly changing, like things are constantly. I'm going to be 60 next in a couple of weeks.

GLO 10:16
Oh, wow. 38 to 60 that was going to

ELAINE 10:21

happen either. I've got to go back and check. I'm gonna make I'm gonna announce that soon. But I'll just tell you guys for 60 I wanted to do something to give back because I don't need anything anymore. So I'm going to make 60 skunks and I'm going to sell them all and all the proceeds are going to go to critter cares. This is mainly because they really believe in what they do. Okay, cool. 

ELAINE 11:01
I am 60 something in two weeks to when's your birthday? April 5. Oh, yeah. Mine's March 21.

GLO 11:10

Oh, very close.

WENDY 11:13
Yeah. Okay. Anyway, that was interesting to know. It is interesting.

GLO

11:16

And I just curious why skunks versus raccoons. I think I've seen more raccoons.

ELAINE

Right. Let's go with 16.

11:26

ELAINE

11:35

Yeah. When I left its guns when you know, they get they don't get much support. No.

11:40

Don't they are also stinky. It's good to be 60 but it's also a little stinky. Yeah,

11:46

they're incense holders.

11:50

GLO

11:52

Oh you're gonna make all 60? Because they're very present, aren't they? There's something very present physically present about them with the smell and the scent. Yeah.

ELAINE

11:59

And they're also black and white. Which The older I get. I only see things.

WENDY 12:05

Perfect

GLO 12:06

that yeah, it makes sense on every level from every angle. Yes. Have you started making them yet? Yeah.

ELAINE 12:12

Oh, okay. Good idea. start in the middle of that. I have to work my way backwards and forwards. But

GLO 12:17

okay. And you're going to sell them at circle craft? No.

ELAINE

12:22

Oh, how them online? No, online, because I want all the proceeds to go to critter care. Greater care. Yeah, I see circle craft, but they get everything else. But okay. Decide,

GLO

12:33

okay, that's a special thing. Yes. So please go check out her artwork and get a skunk by a skunk. Like when he says I think it's great. I was gonna ask you guys, that was another question I was gonna end with basically, what do you think about having been an artist for you know, a number of years? How do you guys feel about social media being in the digital space now? Not just a website. Now? It's Instagram and LinkedIn. And I don't know, Twitter, I

ELAINE 13:00

just finished taking a course government currently provided the online digital marketing course. Okay, pastic, and a lot of work, but it's an essential, there's no getting around it. We okay. can't ignore it at this time.

GLO 13:15

Do you feel like it takes up too much time, though, like from away from what you want to do? Or are doing? Or do you feel like the advantage of more people seeing what you do?

WENDY 13:25

I find it difficult but you know Elaine's younger, so much younger. And I have a hard time with social media. Personally, I'd be I see so much on there. And I don't want to add to it. I understand that the journey is about finding the people. Maybe that one person my son said to me, but when he mom think he called me Mom, you know that online, you'll find somebody who feels the same way that you do. And that's pretty marvelous. And I agree, like conceptually, that makes my head just blow apart, which I think is a lovely thing. But you know, I mean, I'm pretty happy with just my rocks and grass and and my things that I can touch that are right here around me. So I struggle putting more out in a world that seems to be brimming with people looking for validation, in a way. So that's a struggle. But I do think that there's, it is going to be a really, it's not going away. How can we bridge the gap between making tangible objects, right, and selling them when they can't touch them? How do you do that both Elaine and I, if we didn't sell in galleries, then we were selling personally, this meant that we were actually able to communicate our story. And then both of us had theatre backgrounds. So we were able to use our love of communication story to be able to tell people what it is what this means how I made this and without all of that, but needing to make a video to do that. And break is really mind bending, right? When talking with others is so easy for us and yet my husband teaches it University and finds that the younger people, they have a very difficult time in talking communication because they're so used to a more social media world. Anyway, I find it all mind boggling.

GLO 15:12

You know what, that's the perfect answer. That's really what I was trying to touch on. You took my vague question and ran with it. Because that's I was curious as artists that you know, have made things very in a very physical way and have been living a very physical world. I'm assuming that you're inspired by things around you as well. That's what I was curious about. Yeah. Your response basically to it's an

15:33

interesting transition to make.

GLO

15:35

What's the thing that you have to do the most as a ceramic artist? Is that laundry or cleaning the floors? Because Because I'm guessing there's lots of dust and things around am I wrong?

ELAINE

15:44

I guess I'm the worst ceramic artist in the world. I mean, I thought the ceiling was getting lower but I guess compacting every

ELAINE

that's what I would imagine that the ceiling is getting lower.

ELAINE

16:02

Yeah, it's dusty. It's dusty a sweep every night but that's that's just housekeeping like anybody does my biggest getting supplies. It's a heavy medium. I

GLO

have to decide you're hauling hauling big

16:14

lug,

ELAINE 16:15

ya know, 50 pound boxes of clay are suddenly getting heavier. I don't know.

GLO 16:19

But that's your workout. Right? I've talked to Baker's where they're like, Oh, I don't need to work out because I haul 50 pounds of flour. Like every day.

ELAINE 16:25

My studio is in the in the bottom of my house is six steps down. It's the whole bottom floors, about 950 square feet anyways, wow. But get the clay down there. I get taken care to a day, at this 50 pound box to clean. I looked at the stairs. And I just I started picking boxes down the stairs because you know, it doesn't matter if they're in boxes. It's fine. It's clay.

GLO 16:49

That makes perfect sense to me, because it's not gonna break, right? It's malleable. You could just think

WENDY 16:53

what that clay went through just to be created. It got pressured by the earth and smashed down by rain. I mean, it's been through all lot before it got to a lane. Right? That's true.

17:07

I love it. Now,

17:10

wait a minute.

GLO 17:13

It was just getting good. I'm like why no one else is there. No, thank you. Thank you for your thoughts and telling us about yourself. That was great. What about you, Andy? What can you tell us?

WENDY 17:24

I will talk about myself. But I think because I'm sort of curious about the listener as well. And about my creative journeys, right. And I think it's just interesting to touch on like, whatever your transition or your journey into becoming an artist. And it's so organic. My story is interesting, for sure. But I think that I would encourage anybody that has an interest or passion to see where that takes them. It really is in the practice. It's sort of like anything that you do, just keep doing it. And eventually out of the doing of it. More things will come out of that just because you're putting the energy out there. So mine kind of started organically as well. I was originally an actor, and then I grew tired of telling stories, other people's stories. Through acting. Now I'm thinking I kind of maybe grew tired of people. But anyway, I'm not sure because I ended up going the marshmallow route, which was the desire to, to tell my stories, textiles. It started with a trip that my after I was thinking about leaving the acting community, my family went on a trip to Alaska in a boat. Okay, it was an amazing experience. And we were so small in this big world that I really started to realize that there was just more to be said right now to be told more to be offered into the world than telling other stories, maybe Hollywood stories or whatever.

GLO 18:44

Did you start in Vancouver? Like, how long does that take to get started

WENDY 18:47

in Vancouver? We did three months, we took the kids out of school run up to Alaska, and then we came down it was formative. There's no doubt Yeah. In all of our lives. My son, who hasn't been on a boat since still considers himself to be a sailor. He's now living. And this is all on the side. But he now lives in Campbell River. And he goes, you know, I'm going to get a boat here because I think I've got probably more boating experience than anybody else here in Campbell River and you kind of go Yeah, go for it, son. Yeah, for sure you do. But anyway, he was 14 at the time. So I think he it was formative for him. But anyway, on that journey, I did so many interesting things. With died with kelp. There was just this curiosity that came so when I came back, I wanted decided I wanted to do something else. And I realized that I taught my kids how to knit dye and all these things, which was really my inner desire to work with fiber. And I had been a sower as a kid we used to make our own clothes. I always dreamed of having my own little shop. So I went to have you took their textiles program. And they really nurtured the artist in me about telling stories through material. And I realized I didn't want to return to presentational forum like the theater or the state Like buy galleries at that time, I wanted to do something that was outside of the presentation forum. And that's what I went into clothing. Okay, and I took a used clothing highly influenced by my mother with slips and originally and died with slips and printed on them and sold them. And then when I was looking for more people to be able to encourage with my work, I looked for other things in secondhand stores that there was a plethora of that I could make into clothing that I could print on with the printing method that I liked, which was with dispersed dyes. And I found there were a lot of curtain shears. Okay, so then I designed a lot of clothing that was made out of recycled curtain shears. So when I printed on them, and sold them at fairs and things, and then I needed to save money, and I didn't want to go overseas, I looked for bolt ends from companies that made curtains. Okay, so that I could make more at the same time. But they were still at rowland's still in the recycled kind of venue and then started making more so the business has grown and grown.

GLO 21:03

Wow, what do you make them to use curtain shares and you make what kind of clothing

WENDY

21:08

so I make mostly like a kimono style clothing, right tops, I make things I called piano pants. And so what ends up happening is you take the clothing and I fold the clothing by paint paintings, and then a screen on these paintings. And then I take the clothing and I fold it in a certain way on top of the painting. Put another layer of painting on pin it all down. And then heat precedent. Wow, unwrapped. The cool thing is still shear like occurred shear. Yeah, right. Yeah. So you can see the shape of the woman through it. But not I say it shows your shape, but not your lunch. But that's not a great tagline. But that's really the truth. Anyway,

GLO

21:54

So I love it. You can't forget that. Like, yeah, and isn't that what marketing is all about? You can't forget that. Right?

WENDY 22:08

I kind of call it bodies of art, which is artsy fartsy. But what the hell. The big thing. The big thing that changed was that we took another sailing trip. Okay, on to up to Haida gwaii. And I met Richard Davidson and we became friends. So now I have an indigenous line called ravens, eagles and polka dots. We lived there for a year and Masset.

GLO 22:29

Lucky Oh, my gosh, it must be so beautiful. Lovely.

WENDY 22:33

It was an amazing, another life changing experience. And so that really infused in my work. And now I'm working with Ridge, there's still a walk on the reconciliation rode to go because ours was a handshake and a bunch of sushi kind of deal. And now we have to we really have to legalize it, we have to make sure that it's really clear. I'm more than willing to go along that that route. But so that's where my work has been going. Right? It's colorful, like aliens. I like a lot of color. I'm going to move into painting go afterwards onto campus, for sure. I'm 66 this year, and I'm ready for another venue just for my own satisfaction, right? Like the link that says you reach a certain point where it's not really you know, it's not about the money. It's never been about the money, right? But you have to make some money to be able to justify you having a room for your creative habits. But there's Yeah, there's another shift about what stories are to be told and what venue and what game you want to tell that story. So the creative process is an fascinating one. And it's quite wonderful. Yeah, to embrace it.

GLO 23:38

Did either of you continue to take courses along the way? Or did you just sort of you had that spark? And then you just went with it? I mean, like you found kalp and I don't know that I would ever look at Calvin think I could weave it or diet. But you did. So you obviously have a much different way of looking at things and understanding that anything can be used.

WENDY 23:59

I think that that's in the practice people Elaine could speak to this too. People will say we think these things up like a hair teapot you know what if I heritage teapot, and you realize that that Elaine says that she's got she's taking into the store. But it's like anything else that you do if you do a pot, your podcast, you think of ideas of people that that you'd like to talk to, right? And then you pick those people because it interests you. And it's the same way. If we're looking outside for what inspires us, we're looking for that inspiration. And then if you sit on a boat with three men for a long period of time, calculus starts to look really really interesting. Yeah,

WENDY 24:39

myself a raft of cows that get away.

WENDY 24:44

As a matter of fact, one day I was I got to I just love this image. I got two huge Maple vine poles You know, we've all been so it's it's a little thin. It was one of my knitting needles, and I had all this kelp sitting on a rock and the boys were it with their dad. On the boat. Yeah. And I was just sitting there meeting. I still have the knitting. I made it into the shape of a fish. Wow. Amazing.

ELAINE 25:09

And your husband are sitting at the boat going? No, no, don't bother mom right now.

25:14

Let her finish.

25:15

How is she doing?

ELAINE 25:17
It'll be okay sons.

WENDY 25:20

Duncan made bread. That was the most amazing thing because I made bread every day. And I didn't make the bread because I always knew the kelp.

GLO 25:28

So he maybe you weren't making bread from the kelp though?

WENDY 25:31

Well, that's a good idea.

ELAINE 25:35

kelping me softly.

WENDY 25:39

Yes, yes. Practice a creative mind. You are a creative mind. You are what you used to be you are what you eat. You are what you think. Yes.

GLO 25:50

I love that. That is true. Because I tried to tell my kids that that honestly being good at anything is just practice. It's showing up being consistent. And fighting.

ELAINE 26:02

Maria seeing and you've and you've been following it? Yep. That is the problem with social media. And I mean, I'm now I'm gonna sound my age. But we the unfortunate distraction that kids nowadays have with being online all the time sort of robs them of the boredom or to great initiator for creativity.

GLO 26:23

Yes, I say that all the time. And they just look at me and roll their eyes, or they walk away.

ELAINE 26:30

If you have the power of the Wi Fi cord,

WENDY 26:33

and we all fall victim to that. I don't think I've ever been bored in my whole life. But I will say that I have lacked attention, at this point getting to be 66. I just don't want to wean lose so much time by intention. Yeah, by not deciding what I want to focus on and then focus on it and then darn well do it. Yeah. Rather than whittling away the hours.

GLO 26:59

I remember reading a story about this woman. She's a writer, and her name is cresa cowl. And she wrote How to Train Your Dragon series. It's very popular among sort of young people. And there's movies and things. But people say how did you create all these different characters in your head. And she said, Well, my parents would go and live on an island for half the year with nothing, I think there was like running water, but no electricity, nothing else. And so she started sort of creating characters to talk. He was talking to herself, but she just started noticing a lot. You know, as a child, you know, in those formative years, she just started noticing a lot of things between nature and its relationship with each other, it was very interesting, like to hear her talk about it.

ELAINE 27:41

I have a studio that I have students coming into and even drink Coke, but I've limited the numbers and made it work for a small group of my regular students to save their sanity. And they're mostly older women. And I do see their struggle with because they've never been challenged to create, where in right now the situation that they're in is just called Open studio, because I don't have the time to lead classes or the space. So they're just on their own sort of with my little bit of my help. But you can see that they've never been taught how to think outside the box. That's such a overused phrase, but it really is true. And then you can see the frustration bill because the will is there. But they have know how. And a lot of it takes trial and error. experimentation stinks. That's what I mean trial and error. They they're not willing to do that, because they've never been taught that that's okay.

WENDY 28:40

Yeah. And that you learn from those mistakes. My husband says he says he's always say we these puppet theater right back in Manitoba. And when they would work with the kids, when the kids were making puppets, they usually had no trouble that they were a little stick puppets. When a kid was looking for an idea, they'd say, look in the wood. If I sneak in the clay, it mean it's funny, because that determines outside the box, which in a way it is because it's more than a piece of clay. So thinking outside, but in a way, what's the story that you see right now? If you poke a few holes in it, right? Isn't isn't a monster, or is it a wall?

GLO 29:15

It's a culture to write. I was speaking with a woman yesterday on an interview. And we were saying, you know, the problem with the culture in North America is productivity, because it's all about being as productive as you possibly can and as little time as you possibly can. And so everything is just sort of done for you, right? Like, that's why you can only press things and swipe things and touch things. And like, you know, 50 actions happen, or whatever the space or the time to think things through to just be,

WENDY 29:44

I can go into a whole philosophy about our lives are much happier when we accept what happens. What is Yeah, and then add to that story rather than wish that that thing that happened hadn't happened. Right. Wouldn't it be better if it hadn't, and then the world would be like this. And then you're like, Well, yeah, but it isn't. So what is that? Yeah, we're lucky as artists.

30:05

Yes. Anyways, and that way I think so. Now,

30:09

GLO 30:09

ask you a question now as artists so circle craft, then is that a good thing for an artist like that's a way to have someone else take care of the the sales part or the selling part is that alleviate some burden from you.

30:24

Ultimately, it's

3

ELAINE 30:24

a bricks and mortar store that sells your work. And it takes that responsibility away from you. And of course that comes to the the percentage of the the selling fee. That's what's different. I mean, a lot of artists especially in the in the craft realm, I sell in galleries with my larger work, but it's all ultimately comes down to the same thing. Someone's going to sell your stuff for you. There's going to be a cost involved. And that's sort of what retail is all about. Yeah, otherwise you sell sell, which is all these markets that's been taken away from artists. Her co crack has managed to keep their doors open through this pandemic crisis. It's remarkable. Granville Island is so there's so I'd never seen Granville Island with so many empty storefronts right now. It's so alarming. We rely on tourists. The borders aren't open and the cruise ships aren't here. We're doing everything we can to do some new marketing to get people interested and involved. Come back to the store. Look what we've got, where we're getting our members to bring in new works. We're doing everything we can to sustain ourselves. And that's our goal. keep the doors open, keep artists with some kind of income. Yep. Yeah.

WENDY 31:31

And I think that we're appealing to what I think why we are so successful is that the craft in the store is high end, for sure. It is attracting people who are would normally come down to Granville Island, but then also they were in a more because of COVID more of a self care, more of a home celebration, right and a work. And then we're into local, right or local has always been around, but it's more highlighted now. Right? We create beautiful things. People need beautiful things right now.

ELAINE 31:57

I would say forget Marie Kondo spark joy and give it away. If it doesn't spark joy, we have a whole store of sparking joy. So spread the joy and bring it so clear your house out of all this stuff, then spark joy, then come to circle craft and find the new things that spark joy for you and help support the local arts community.

WENDY 32:15

Because your wallet is our spark joy be able to make more stuff all we really want the only reason we want money is so we can make more stuff. Yes,

GLO 32:25

well said. But it is it's a cyclical thing. Isn't that that really is a local supporting a local to write my local.

WENDY 32:33

You don't have to go elsewhere. My husband used to talk about that we actually we were just talking about when CDs first came out, right? And how we were listening to these great artists. They wondered how many artists like lead violinist springs it would deter because why would you even practice when you can listen to this person plays so great, right? And then we're kind of coming back to say yeah, but it's not your neighbor Johnny who lives next door for a local person like Elaine who's using clay from nearby whatever to make it into something that's about being NBC no longer is it just it's so great always have something that sort of for foreign or you know, cheaply made someplace else and brought back to us it's right here.

GLO 33:14

No, it's true. Now Elaine, you sit on the board right now is that right? Oh you're both

WENDY 33:20

on the board I'm just taking over the chair position.

33:22

Okay, so when New York the current chair right now

33:25

in April we have

ELAINE 33:26

to wait to my birthday though because we're not sure if the world is

WENDY 33:29 
because I don't want I don't feel like I can be the superior chair

33:36

Well, you she needs time to finish her scars probably

33:38
polished and brought to her house

GLO

33:41

I say okay, but do you guys take turns as members of the board do you take turns as chair and read take turns running meetings

WENDY 33:50

we meet regularly and the chairs and decided position? Okay, most of you voted in but I won by acclamation.

GLO 33:59

No, it's interesting. I mean, it's an interesting model because for the listeners who are business people, but also maybe they might be artists and business people it'd be interesting just another model a co op.

WENDY 34:08

Yeah, and we really encourage people that are feeling that they have something that they want to offer you have come to the store just to look around to but but apply

GLO 34:17

Do you have younger people applying? Do they know like if they're a family car do they know Oh, yeah, do you can go apply to circle craft?

ELAINE 34:23

Yeah, well, you can go online and that application is there and and every all the details are there as to what we need for an application deadline is coming up soon.

WENDY 34:33

there's work to be done in game making get in getting our message across but something like this is part of that right? Yes. The call out for more people younger people people have that are in the far reaches of BC cultural people that have artwork. Okay, great. Well,

GLO 34:48

thank you. I appreciate all your time and telling us a bit about your journeys, your own personal journeys and about circle craft. Thank you.

GLO 35:03

Now that you've enjoyed learning a bit about them both check out what Elaine creates that www Elaine Breuer white ceramics calm and for Wendy van reason at www Dalia Dr. Calm that's Dalia like the flower. I promise you will enjoy your virtual visit to both these sites. And since our interview Elaine has released her own podcast called creatives uncorked, and I'm so glad she did. She is adding to canadiana by building a historical library of local artists and all their stories. You can find it on Apple podcasts, go listen and give her a follow. And then in both their own words, go to circle craft and find new things that spark joy support locals when you do. As for me, I just want to let you know that I'm nearing the end of season three this season should end around mid June. 

Thanks so much for sticking with me all this time all this way from September till now. If you like what I do, give me a review on Apple podcasts. You need to go to my show. So just search up Glo Says scroll to the bottom and then add a rating or review. Thank you This really helps. Meanwhile, follow me on Glo Says on Apple or Spotify and I'll talk to you soon