Workshop Instructors 2003

Workshops :: Instructors 2003

Who was here in 2003? Lots of names you'll recognize!

Click here to see this year's instructors.

Names are listed below in alphabetical order, by surname. Workshop codes are linked in parentheses at the end of each bio.

Cheryl Anson
Janet Armstong
Rosalind Aylmer
Michelle Boyd
Keith Burdon
Edmund Butler
Joan Carrigan
Louisa Chadwick
Donna Cochran
Martha Cole
Kim Cowley-Adam
Will Cummer
Gloria Daly
Dan Gillis
Pam Godderis
Tanya Graham
Hilary Henderson
Wendy Henderson
Jen Heibert
Naoko Hirano
Les Józsa
Gary Kelly
Rebecca Lavell
Fran Nadeau
Paula Seifred O'Brien
Rick O'Neill
Dan Richter
Karen Selk
Jane Stafford
Coralie Swaney
Deborah Tilley
Barb Trowbridge
Janet Tufnall

See past instructors: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004; 20022001 & earlier.


Cheryl Anson

Workshops: 2003-38
Cheryl Anson has been working with wood for over eight years, specializing in veneering techniques as a way to stretch our precious resources. In addition to building her own pieces, she is a woodshop manager, looking after equipment and teaching at The Joint, a 12,000 square-foot woodworking facility in central Vancouver, British Columbia. Top

Janet Armstrong

Workshops: 2003-20
Janet Armstrong is a textile artist from Vernon, British Columbia who specializes in contemporary quilts and wearable art. Many of her garments, both knitted and sewn, have been award winners in competitions since 1992. Janet enjoys helping students create something unique, and in the process, sharing a passion for all types of fibres and textiles. Top

Rosalind Aylmer

Workshops: 2003-7
Rosalind Aylmer has taught the advanced-level Textiles Program at Capilano College and many workshops throughout the Pacific Northwest, including Convergence 2002. Rosalind is a member of the Vancouver Guild of Fabric Arts and her works have been shown in galleries throughout British Columbia such as the Crafthouse on Granville Island, British Columbia. Top

Michelle Boyd

Workshops: 2003-27
Michelle Boyd is a hand spinner and fibre artist from Fort McMurray, Alberta. After fifteen years of custom knitting with commercial yarns, she sought a more diversified approach to fibre and discovered the versatility and practicality of the drop spindle. She has expanded her repertoire of skills to include needle felting, bead weaving and dyeing and is currently pursuing her Master Spinners Certification through Olds College. Michelle is a founding member of the Wood Buffalo Weavers Guild. Top

Keith Burdon

Workshops: 2003-37
Keith Burdon has been carving East Coast folk art tradition for over ten years. He is a self-taught carver with experience as a carpenter and cabinet maker. His colorful, whimsical work usually has an aquatic theme and can be seen in many locations on the Sunshine Coast as well as Granville Island in Vancouver, British Columbia. Top

Edmund Butler

Workshops: 2003-40, 2003-80
With over twenty years' woodworking experience, from antique restoration to custom furniture and house building, Edmund Butler has mastered the craft of designing and making dovetailed boxes. Originally from England, Edmund currently resides on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast and is eager to share some of his enthusiasm and passion for woodworking. Top

Joan Carrigan

Workshops: 2003-1
For eleven years, Joan Carrigan has studied basketry with numerous outstanding basketmakers, acquiring a broad-based knowledge of basketry techniques and materials. She has taught extensively while living on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia and is a founding member of the Salt Spring Basketry Guild. Top

Louisa Chadwick

Workshops: 2003-17
Louisa Chadwick has been involved with textile crafts of all kinds from an early age. Her knowledge comes from personal research and workshops with well-known instructors. She has taught workshops and has spoken on topics that are as diverse as her interests. Top

Donna Cochran

Workshops: 2003-2
Donna Cochran's passion for basketry evolved over twenty years of international development work throughout Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Since moving to Salt Spring Island, British Columbia in 1995, she has been exploring traditional and contemporary basketry techniques using a wide range of materials, while teaching workshops and exhibiting for over 5 years. Top

Martha Cole

Workshops: 2003-23, 2003-24
Martha Cole is an internationally recognized full-time fabric artist whose works are heavily machine stitched and quilted. She creates realistic images that explore the diversity and beauty of the Earth and her creatures. In Martha's words, each is a celebration of the planet of which we are a part. Top

Kim Cowley-Adam

Workshops: 2003-30, 2003-83
Long time weaver, spinner, knitter, dyer and accredited fashion designer, Kim Cowley-Adam trained as an instructor of Saori handweaving in Osaka, Japan in 1997. She operates Fyberspace Studio in Nanaimo, British Columbia where she teaches and creates art-to-wear hand-woven garments and home furnishings. Top

Will Cummer

Workshops: 2003-34, 2003-35
Will Cummer has been a wood worker for over thirty years and has been involved with making driftwood furniture for seven years on the Sunshine Coast. He enjoys teaching others how to use the odd shapes and forms of found wood to make furniture that is comfortable as well as beautiful. Often featured in newspaper and magazine articles, he is working on a book, encapsulating his beachcombing and woodworking knowledge for others. Top

Gloria Daly

Workshops: 2003-18, 2003-19
Working from her studio located in the Cowichan Valley, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Gloria Daly, AAASc., is a textile artist and workshop facilitator. She has studied Design and Embroidery with City & Guilds, London, England. Presently her work is touring for Northcott Silk Inc. With over twenty years of teaching experience, Gloria has a wealth of knowledge. This, combined with her sense of humor, makes her classes a fun place to learn! Top

Dan Gillis

Workshops: 2003-36
Dan is a marine biologist by trade and has been involved with wood working most of his life. Over the past two decades, he has been interested in Japanese carpentry, particularly in shoji making. While he still makes traditional shoji screens, he is currently making various shoji screens and lamps blending traditional skills with contemporary western design. Top

Pam Godderis

Workshops: 2003-16
Pam Godderis, B.Ed., is a fibre artist and freelance teacher working with guilds and organizations worldwide, primarily in Canada and the USA. She has authored two books, numerous articles and several correspondence courses. She has received several awards including "Outstanding Achievement in Fibre Art" from the Government of Alberta. Pam's sense of humor and calm professionalism encourages her students to explore their natural creativity. Top

Tanya Graham

Workshops: 2003-25
Tanya Graham's passion for knitting began when she was just six years old. Over the next fifty-two years, her love for sewing, spinning, weaving, quilting, embroidery, and traditional rug-hooking has been unleashed. In 1995, Tanya became an accredited rug-hooking teacher with the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild. She now teaches in Squamish and Greater Vancouver, British Columbia. Top

Hilary Henderson

Workshops: 2003-21
In 2002, one of Hilary Henderson's appliqué quilts was showcased at the Canadian Quilters' Association Quilt Show at the Edmonton Art Museum. Hilary is an experienced quilter who likes to keep it simple. Her straightforward appliqué techniques capture realistic looking flowers, buildings and people in her quilts. Top

Wendy Henderson

Workshops: 2003-10, 2003-11, 2003-12
Wendy Henderson designs and knits garments that highlight her interests in color and fine-finishing details. She is a published designer and has won awards for her work. Wendy teaches at both the Okanagan and Island Knitting Retreats, where she endeavors to inspire all knitters to try new techniques and challenges with no "knitting police" in sight! Top

Jen Hiebert

Workshops: 2003-28
Jen Hiebert is a Vancouver British Columbia-based tapestry artist who has been weaving in various forms for over ten years. A graduate of the well-known Capilano College Textile Arts Program, her work has been exhibited in various venues around Vancouver. Her current tapestries merge traditional technique, pop culture, art, and craft. Top

Naoko Hirano

Workshops: 2003-20
Naoko Hirano has been teaching quilting in Japan for over twenty years. She has exhibited her work around the world, and is devoted to introducing Japanese culture through her quilts. Naoko uses vintage kimono fabrics and traditional paper-folding (origami) techniques to create images from nature and Japanese mythology. Top

Les Józsa

Workshops: 2003-39
Les Józsa is a recognized expert on wood, having published over 150 scientific papers, technical reports and articles. He has served as an expert witness in forensic dendrochronolgy in the Supreme Court of Canada. Les has also mastered the art of carving and much of his work reflects the folk art traditions of his native Hungary. Top

Gary Kelly

Workshops: 2003-31, 2003-32, 2003-33
Gary Kelly is a self-taught woodturner. Upon purchasing his first lathe in 1980, he was instantly hooked on turning wood. His work ranges from tiny miniatures to architectural columns nine feet tall and has found its way as far as Europe and South America. He enjoys introducing young people to woodturning at the high school in his hometown of Gibsons, British Columbia. Top

Rebecca Lavell

Workshops: 2003-8, 2003-9
Rebecca Lavell's family llama-raising project evolved into Celtic Moon Fibreworks, which initially offered custom carding, then grew to include workshops. In 1999, Rebecca started needle-felting and incorporated it into a large part of her work and classes. Rebecca and her husband, a machinist, have developed three multi-tools specifically for needle-felting, as well as a progressive yardage felting machine designed for home and commercial use. Top

Fran Nadeau

Workshops: 2003-3
Fran Nadeau studied basketry and chair caning during her husband's naval posting to England in the early 1990's. Upon returning to Canada, her passion for caning inspired her to start a business called U-Neek Chairs, which grew to service a widespread clientele and several ongoing contracts with furniture refinishing companies. Most recently, Fran has been working from Victoria, British Columbia, surrounded by her collection of over seventy-five antique chairs gathered in the United Kingdom and Ontario. Top

Paula Seifred O'Brien

Workshops: 2003-14, 2003-15
Paula studied textiles as fine art medium at Goldsmith's College in London. An innovative teacher, she inspires students to push the borders with an irreverent "no rules" approach. She has exhibited her textiles and wearable art in Canada, the United States and in the United Kingdom. Paula is known for her colorful Pavelka Designs, and currently brightens British Columbia's Sunshine Coast. Top

Rick O'Neill

Workshops: 2003-41
Rick O'Neill is an experienced professional wildlife photographer who has also spent many years building kayaks and cedar strip canoes. Most recently, Rick has been making Native American Flutes, a craft he learned from Ron Keller, a Native American musician and flute maker. Top

Dan Richter

Workshops: 2003-42
Dan Richter has been building custom stringed instruments for eight years after studying guitar-making at Timeless Instruments in Saskatchewan. His guitars, basses, dulitars, banjos and harps feature unique designs and one-of-a-kind inlays utilizing shell wood and metal, and are sought after by musicians of many genres. He currently works from his studio, Dragonfly Instruments, on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast. Top

Carola Russell

Workshops: 2003-81, 2003-82
Carola Russell has been an avid Independent Canadian Sewing Educator for eighteen years and is well-liked for her patient teaching style. She has traveled extensively across the United States and Canada teaching and sharing her knowledge at sewing shows, workshops and retreats. Several of her projects have been featured in magazines including Creative Machine Embroidery, Sew Beautiful, Sew News and Threads Magazine, and when you see the many samples she brings to her classes, you'll know why! Top

Karen Selk

Workshops: 2003-26, 2003-91
Karen Selk, co-founder of Treenway Silks, is an internationally-known textile designer and artist who since 1972, has focused on weaving and silk fusion. She travels and researches the history, culture and heritage of silk traditions throughout Asia. The cloth, culture and people of other countries as well as the life in Karen's garden are the source of her creative spirit and she shares her discoveries through workshops, lectures, magazines and a video. Top

Jane Stafford

Workshops: 2003-29
A well-known artist, instructor, and fibre entrepreneur, Jane Stafford started as a student and progressed to teacher at the renowned Banff Center School of Fine Arts. She now teaches and lectures throughout North America, sharing over twenty years of experience in the field of handwoven textiles. Jane currently resides in British Columbia's Gulf Islands. Top

Coralie Swaney

Workshops: 2003-4, 2003-5
Coralie Swaney is a self-taught doll artist with a lifetime of experience. She has a background in portraiture and costume design and is a member of the Canadian Doll Artists Association, Circle Craft in Vancouver, and the Co-op Gallery in Gibsons Landing. Originally from New Zealand, Coralie now makes her home on the Sunshine Coast, where she is inspired by the many great characters who live here. Top

Deborah Tilley

Workshops: 2003-22, 2003-90
Deborah Tilley, a resident of Edmonton, Alberta, currently works at Earthly Goods - one of the top quilting stores in Western Canada. She has been quilting since 1990 and wishes that she had started sooner! Over the past twelve years she has concentrated on learning the technical skills required for quiltmaking combined with making original art quilts with exciting color combinations. Her latest passion has been kaleidoscopic imagery interpreted in cloth. Top

Barb Trowbridge

Workshops: 2003-6
Barb Trowbridge, textile artist, designer, and teacher, works in gutta-resist, Japanese rozome (wax-resist), shibori, quilting and Japanese stencil techniques using Procion H, Japanese Acid and Natural Dyes. She has her B.Ed (UBC) and M.Sc. (Merchandizing, Apparel & Textiles, U. of K.). Now retired from her high school and university teaching career, Barbara works and teaches out of her Designs In Silk Studio on the Cowichan River in British Columbia. Top

Janet Tufnall

Workshops: 2003-13
Janet is a fabric artist living on the Sunshine Coast. Janet's lifelong passion for sewing first developed during her childhood in England. This award-winning sewer is constantly intrigued by new sewing techniques, and especially enjoys teaching. In her current work, Janet's fascination for detail is revealed in both her work with textures, and "extreme" miniature quilting.