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Lively City: Burnaby creatives show off arts and crafts

Summer’s the time when many people either get out of town to some exotic destination or stick around and relax in the comfort of their own home.
Anna Talbot Wesburn mural
Anna Talbot paints part of the Wesburn Community Centre mural, one of the activities in need of a few extra helping hands. Organizers are repainting the mural with an outdoorsy theme, and anyone is welcome to drop by and help.

Summer’s the time when many people either get out of town to some exotic destination or stick around and relax in the comfort of their own home. But whether you’re staying in the city this week or being a tourist in surrounding neighbourhoods, there’s Burnaby artwork to take in across the Lower Mainland.

At Deer Lake Gallery, check out “Corallia,” an exhibition of sculptural work by Diane Roy, on now through Aug. 9. The display showcases Roy’s extensive collection of fibre sculptures modelled after marine life and made from such materials as linen, cotton and nylon.

“Roy’s work is marked with endurance and devotion to the laborious processes of knotting, bending, weaving and crocheting fibres,” reads a release about the exhibit. “Her fibre sculptures are reminiscent of sometimes familiar and other times fantastical marine creatures.”

Roy was raised in Northern Québec and received a B.A in fine art and education from the University of Québec in Chicoutimi. She has been a resident of British Columbia since 1986.

For more information on Roy’s work, visit her website, fibreart.ca.

Painting it up in Wesburn

If you feel like making some art of your own, the city’s arts development program wouldn’t mind a few extra hands for the repainting of its Wesburn Community Centre mural.

For the first time in over 30 years, the mural on the outside of the building is getting painted over with a new design, depicting stories with elements of family and nature, as well as a theme of apple trees in honour of the orchards that used to be in the area. Artists Todd Polich, Valerie Methot and Anna Talbot worked with residents in the spring to develop the theme.

The program is hosting free community painting sessions on Thursdays July 24 and 31 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., with a final public painting opportunity at the Wesburn Family Picnic on Wednesday, Aug. 6 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Anyone interested is encouraged to drop by the centre, located at 4781 Parkwood Ave.

Vancouver gets crafty

In Vancouver, drop by the Circle Craft Cooperative’s second annual outdoor Summer Market – in conjunction with the Craft Council of B.C. – featuring jewelry by Burnaby artist Joanna Lovett.

Among the 88 exhibitors are Adhesif Clothing, Braden Hammond Glass, Brian Hoyano, Chloe Angus Design, Roberto Fioravanti, Robert Held Art Glass, Haejin Lee, Fiveleft Leather, Lajla Nuhic and Him Creations.

“Against the beautiful backdrop of Burrard Inlet, attendees will find fine work in clay, glass, leather, metal, fibre, and wood, as well as clothing for children and adults, jewelry, fashion accessories, home décor items, and visual arts,” reads a statement for the free market, which runs from July 24 to 27.

The market is in Jack Poole Plaza at Thurlow and Canada Place, near the Vancouver Convention Centre. The event is free, though attendees are encouraged to register via Eventbrite at http://tinyurl.com/or5r6ts, with the first 100 registrants receiving 10 per cent off any purchase at Circle Craft’s Granville Island store until July 31.

The market runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For info, check circlecraft.net/content/summer-market-2014-information.

Burnaby women in Shakespeare classic

While you’re in Vancouver, you might as well take in the Bard of Avon’s The Winter’s Tale in an all-women performance by Classic Chic Productions at PAL Studio.

The show runs from July 26 to Aug. 9 and features Studio 58 graduates Corina Akeson and Andrea Yu, both of Burnaby. Akeson has performed professionally in theatre across Canada and the U.S., and Yu has worked as the dramaturge intern at Solo Collective Theatre and currently works as the Artistic Associate at Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre.

For more information and tickets, check classicchic.ca.