Over 60 community members and visitors joined the festivities last Friday for the Fernie Museum’s annual fundraiser in aid of museum programming and Heritage Fernie initiatives.
Guests enjoyed culinary artistry from Fernie Catering Co. including passed canapes and chef Barrie Elliott’s signature grazing table plus a signature ‘Dance with Dragons’ cocktail specially created for the event by Fernie Distillers, along with Fernie Brewing Company beers and wines from Skimmerhorn Winery.
The museum’s annual ‘12 Days of Christmas’ auction ended at the event after two weeks of online action, followed by a flurry of bids on the night for some of the larger packages and artwork by local artists including Leanne Stothert, Michael Hepher and Laura Nelson.
The main exhibit hall of the museum was cleared and decorated in sparkling blue and white for guests to mingle, dance and enjoy themselves, with Steamboat Vacation providing lively entertainment including a combination of classic favourite tunes and energetic dance tracks which had the crowd up on their feet. The event and the auction brought in $5,400 for the museum’s ongoing projects. The event also kicked off the museum’s 40th anniversary celebrations which will extend from December to the society’s annual general meeting in May.
“Once again, we are very grateful to the community for their support and enthusiasm for our events and fundraising initiatives. We continue to appreciate the generosity of our local artists and business community in donating to these annual events that allow the museum to offer ongoing community programming,” said museum executive director, Ron Ulrich.
The evening also provided a preview of the museum’s winter exhibit, Hot & Cold: Glass Art in Three Parts, featuring the incredible talent of renowned local artist Katherine Russell.
Katherine Russell is one of Canada’s leading glass artists. She splits her time between making blown glasswork and kiln-formed glasswork utilizing both methods to explore new concepts, techniques and creative objectives. Her blown work is produced at a hot shop in Black Diamond, while she works on her kiln-formed and cold fused pieces at her home studio in Elkford.
In this newly curated exhibit, Russell examines the methods and techniques that she employs in her studio. The series includes large blown works for which she is most known, including several Murano glass vases and large decorative platters. The exhibit also includes pieces from her kiln-fired experimental series titled ‘Memories are Malleable,’ plus new cold-fused pieces where she has worked to bring texture and colour to decorative wall panels. The collection demonstrates an incredible breadth and diversity of work which represents this relatively new genre of decorative art.
The exhibit also includes a short video by Nick Nault, which shows the artist at work in her studio to provide additional insight into her process and style.
The exhibit will be on display until April 19, 2020 and entrance is free with museum admission or membership. Russell’s work is also for sale in the museum’s gift shop.