ART
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| Different views of the fused glassware by Marcela & Sergio Golod of Royal Glass Design which was presented to a prize winner at the Northern Lights Awards in Los Angeles. |
PEI was selected once again to provide awards to the Canadian Tourism Commission. The Northern Lights Awards are annual media awards provided by the Commission to international writers and photographers. The prizes are awards for individuals selected for excellence in tourism media work in a variety of categories. A total of ten items are presented as part of an annual marketing event promoting Canada as an international destination. In February, PEI artisans and visual artists entered their sample items ranging in value from $250 for third place items to $750 for first place items.
The items arrived at Confederation Centre for the jury process where three local judges selected items for final decisions by the Canadian Tourism Commission. PEI artists and artisans were then commissioned to produce items that were presented to the winners of the 2008 Northern Lights Awards.
The first prize piece was awarded to Marcela & Sergio Golod of Royal Glass Design in Stratford, for a bowl created to incorporate waves into the pattern.
The second place prizes were shared this year between two different artisans. Jacques Gaudreau for his applewood and cherry box and jeweller Gail Hodder, who created silver magnifying glasses to enclose with the boxes. The box construction included wood from an aged apple tree that once grew on the Green Gables site. Gaudreau obtained the wood when the trunk was being discarded from the site. Seasoned well in his studio, the applewood was awaiting an opportunity to be incorporated into a special piece. Jacques and his wife Diane operate Gaudreau Fine Woodworking Artisans in Oyster Bed Bridge. Gail Hodder’s sterling silver magnifying glass shows the ability of a skilled artisan to create a unique variation on a functional item. With her background as a NSCAD graduate, and now as jeweller with Walker Studios, on Victoria Row, Hodder is one of the new designers on the scene to watch.
Ayelet Stewart, Stratford silversmith and goldsmith, was once again commissioned to make the prizes for the third place winners. Her etched sterling silver bookmarks won with an entry which was designed specifically for the competition. Ayelet was internationally trained at both the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, and with a MFA from Kanazawa, Japan. Paintings by Island visual artists, David Campbell and Gail Somers were also purchased as thank you presents for those involved in judging the journalists and photographers entries this year.
Presented each year by the Canadian Tourism Commission to outstanding travel writers, editors and photographers, the 2008 presentations were held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills during Canada Media Marketplace ’08, in April.