Fernie & Elk Valley Culture Guide Issue 2 Fall 2016 | Page 21
FEATURE ARTIST
Katherine
Russell
After travelling the world and thriving
on big city life as a young artist,
Katherine Russell has found balance
and inspiration in the small and
welcoming town of Elkford. Katherine’s
introduction to glass came with her
BFA studies at Calgary’s Alberta
College of Art and Design. A glass
elective on her ‘useful and employable’
graphic design course quickly developed
into her major in the conceptuallyfocused and encouraging environment.
Sampling a range of mediums from
photography and sculpture to welding
and fibre arts provided a diverse
platform from which to work, and
allowed the artist to hone her talents
without feeling boxed into one
discipline.
Katherine’s post-graduate
apprenticeships with highly skilled
glass artists in Black Diamond, AB,
and Perth, Australia, added invaluable
training in the business of being an
artist. Now based in Elkford, she
continues to blow glass in Black
Diamond and maintain her connections
to the Calgary glass community while
thriving on new relationships with a
diverse array of local craftspeople.
Katherine is currently collaborating
with the Fernie Forge on an exciting
new public art proposal. Katherine’s
striking pieces are well known in the Elk
Valley, and can be found on Fernie’s
colourful art banners, as well as at Eye
of the Needle in Fernie and at galleries
in Calgary, Edmonton, Regina and
Western Australia. Her home studio in
Elkford is open by appointment.
Katherine has embraced the Elk Valley
way of life with her husband and two
young sons, enjoying the local trails,
gardening, camping, running, and
volunteering with the Elkford Nordic
Club, Arts Council and Triathlon. In the
fall she will be offering glass workshops
at her studio and working within the
local school system for initiatives
including Artstarts and Artist in the
Classroom.
katherinerussellglass.blogspot.ca.
[email protected]
250 665 8005
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