Christmas spirit, and a sense of whimsy, fills the air at Heather Goldminc’s Clayworks Studio.
The Lantzville clay artist wants people visiting her studio to feel like they have stepped into a friend’s home where they can leave their troubles at the door and immerse themselves in holiday wonder.
With so much political turmoil due to the recent American election and conflict around the world, Goldminc said she wanted to create a calm space for people to enjoy.
“I wanted to bring something to almost let people immerse themselves in those two days that they could forget a little bit, even just for a small time,” said Goldminc.
She is hosting a Clayworks Christmas at her studio, located at 7060 Arbutus Crescent, Nov. 26-27 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The theme is a Scandinavian Christmas.
“For me a Scandinavian Christmas really blossomed in my head. It was the simplicity of Swedish design and the joy,” she said.
Goldminc’s son Scott Briggeman, a baker at the Vault Café, is baking some Swedish and Danish treats for people to purchase during the event.
For the event, Goldminc has created a new line of functional pieces – plates, bowls, serving trays and others – inspired by Royal Copenhagen porcelain designs from the 1700s.
She decided to take patterns that would usually be small and repeated numerous times on a piece and make them larger and more dominant on her work.
“I’ve taken what I’ve really loved about it and blown it up and made it much more modern,” said Goldminc. “I just tried to tie in things I thought would be sweet for Christmas. I really wanted to bring a modern look that people would want to collect.”
Goldminc has also brought in pieces from her other Clayworks line for sale.
She is one of the most collected clay artists in North America. Her pieces are sold in Costco stores around the world and specialty stores.
Partial proceeds from sales will go to the Vancouver Island Symphony’s Education Program. And Goldminc said she also plans to give to community food banks.