Home to stay
Edmonton artist finds her fixture in Kensington after a life of wanderlust
NEW LONDON — An artist that travelled around the country more than 50 times, finally found her forever home on P.E.I.
“I’m originally from Edmonton in Alberta and I’m a first-generation Canadian, so I belong anywhere. But I chose to call P.E.I. my forever home just over a year ago and I absolutely love it,” said Kathryn deBree, who was selling her art at the Christmas Craft Fair in the New London Community Complex, Sunday.
“Many of my pieces reflect places of abode. I have Maritime lighthouses, igloos, boats, and my favourite – campers,” said the colourful artist that incorporates mixed media into her work.
“Campers are my signature because to me they mean stability. They don’t necessarily need to be in one permanent place, but they can hold all your treasures under one safe roof,” continued deBree, a former quilter turned artist of five-years.
“When I made something – whether it was a quilt or later, the creation of art – it represented stability to me. And each time you look at these pieces of art you notice something different; a shell, a flipflop, the patterns in the fabric, and that’s why they are so fun.”
Each piece of art takes deBree five or six hours to complete, although one large picture of a school of fish took 30 hours.
“I conceptualize the images before turning them into art. I also do custom pieces for people if they provide me with a picture,” she said.
The craft fair was a tapestry of texture and colour.
Handmade items could be seen from the ground and up.
Dave and Jean Fortune’s business started off in small pieces when the Journal Pioneer first interviewed them at a different craft fair last year. But since then, Lil’ Buddy Puzzlez has evolved.
“We had eight (jigsaw) images back then and now we have well over 150. Our jigsaw business can be found in gift shops across P.E.I. We have a couple of government contracts. We’ve also branched into Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and heading to Newfoundland,” said Dave.
The puzzles are crafted in Kensington and contain P.E.I. scenes by local photographers.
“The next step for the business is to reach the international market and we hope to do this through our recently launched website,” he added.
Fifty vendors were at the craft fair, which ran from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.