As a shop local enthusiast and collective supporter, I was surprised to hear about Kingston gem Meraqi Art Annex for the first time a few weeks ago! Exploring their beautiful space on Brock St., I thought they would be the perfect shop to introduce you to our new monthly feature: Meet The Locals.

Meet the Locals: Meraqi Art Annex 

Owned by one of the nicest people I've ever met, Grace started this collective 2 years ago to offer a wide and eclectic collection created by artists from Kingston and the surrounding areas. The combination of 2 words, Meraqi sums up the local artist collective meaning "inspired to create with soul, creativity and love."

 

 

Julie: What made you want to start a collective for local artists?
Grace: Well, as an artist myself, it's hard to sell your art on your own because space is very cost prohibitive - especially downtown - so sharing as a cooperative and sharing to support each other was one of the reasons. Also staffing and trying to do all of the things around marketing is complicated and time consuming as an artist.

J: The artists that are part of the collective, they also work here?
G: Yeah! They're here on different days. For example Aurora is usually here on Fridays and Amanda on Sundays. Different days, different artists. It also helps when people love a piece of art we can suggest they come in on a day when that artist is working.  People love that because they can connect and chat with the artist that created the pieces they love.

J: Does the collective remain the same or does it change annually or seasonally?
G: There is room to join the collective. People need to get in touch with us with a portfolio and some information about themselves and we put it in the queue. There is a fee to be a collective artist but we share the space and promote the work.

J: People can find the physical location, but do you have an online presence?
G: Yes. We have the website and I started an online store this week so people can shop during the wintertime when they don't want to venture downtown when the streets are pretty heavy with snow. We're also on all the social media channels.

J: Along with the collective, you also have some consignment artists as well?
G: We have about 20 consignment artists that bring their products in. We try to shake it up and things sell quickly but usually every 3 months we switch it up. Right now we are getting pieces for fall and winter and obviously different things for Christmas.

J: You make jewelry but you are also a potter?
G: I do pottery as well. I do metal work - everything from silver and copper, bronze, brass and some gold as well. I do a lot of sculpture pottery and I have more coming in with metal accents. I have them in different stages of completion but they'll be in soon. The bird houses in the windows and the terrariums are complete with copper accents but newer things are coming.

J: There really is something for everyone here!
G: Absolutely. And something at every price point. That is a big one for us because it's art for everyone in here. It's not exclusive it really is art for everyone. From a $25 necklace to a painting for a few thousand dollars, we really want this to be for everyone and we try to keep it that way. I love when people come in to tour around. We get comments about how the space is like a museum and people can just stay for a long time and just look and come in another a few weeks later and find things they didn't notice the first time around. We have artist biographies on the wall and lots to see. 

J: Would you say that the majority of the pottery that's in here has been fired at Amaranth?
G: I love Amaranth, it's my studio away from home. A good portion of the work here has been done there. A lot of Amanda's Raku and a lot of her pottery is fired at Amaranth. We both purchase the majority of our supplies at there as well. They are our 1 stop shop for sure. I'm so grateful that they're in the community because it makes it easy for everyone, especially new beginners to get their foot in the door and try it out. I can easily send people there because of how convenient the location is and their hours of operation are great. I tell people to go up there to take lessons all the time.

J: What's next for Meraqi Art Annex?
G: I've started blogging and will focus on that a little more during the quieter months. We also want to do some fundraisers and classes. We'll probably look into having things in the store in either January or February.

 

 

 

Yuko smiles big and bright from her home studio as I show up to discuss her upcoming Glaze Gurus class at Amaranth Stoneware. She takes me to her impressive garden to talk about her current inspiration and how she can't wait for her English porcelain to arrive to get started on creating those pieces.

Back in the studio we chat about her pottery journey surrounded by beautiful pieces and listening to Rod Stewart.

Julie: How long have you been a potter?
Yuko: I took my fist pottery class when I was 18 with a Master Potter who was an expert with coils. After that I kept potting as a hobby. 

 

J: How long have you been teaching?
Y: I kept taking classes after I got married and had kids, then started teaching at a Canadian International School in Singapore. I moved to Canada in 2001 and became part of the Kingston Potter's Guild but I wasn't a mature enough potter to teach. The year after I joined the Potter's Guild I was approached to become a professional artist. I said yes but still didn't know how to throw! I was only doing hand building at the time with 1 wheel and a few tools I brought with me from Japan. Gradually I started to throw because I had to make mugs. 

 

J: How long have you been teaching at Amaranth?
Y: 2 years ago. I only teach twice a year because I work from my studio in Japan during the summer with the guidance of a Master Potter.

 

J: It sounds like you are a life long student of potter!
Y: Yes, exactly! Especially with the philosophy. I'm still learning a lot from the Master Potter I work with in the summers. 

 

J: I love that you have been studying pottery since you were 18 but you are still learning. I think that's important for students who want to take a pottery class but are nervous to know...you can be a teacher but always learning.
Y: Oh yes, definitely. I did my first ever solo show in Japan this summer in a gallery. My work is both in Japan and Canada but I'll be doing an art festival in London end of October.

 

 

J: How would you describe the Glaze Gurus class starting next week?
Y: Playing with colours. Playing with pottery. Hands on. No limits and no bad choices. 

 

J: Do you consider this class an all-levels class?
Y: Absolutely. There is a lot of hand building in this class and it is meant for people to have fun.

 

Did you know that succulents are the best plants ever? If you didn't, you're about to find out why these little numbers are so hot right now.

These fancy little creatures have even inspired a recent trend of "living jewelry".

Succulents are the perfect plant if you have a tendency to kill everything. They prefer being left alone, sunning themselves like a cat. If they look dry, what the heck, give them a little water! 

Keep these miniature gems in a sunny spot and your love story will be one for the ages.

You can use the leaves on your plant to grow more succulents! How? Stick a leaf in your pot, water and watch it grow. Even if it doesn't work it will still look amazing.

Succulents are so amazing that they can even defy gravity! Plant your succulents in one of our Living Wreaths (currently on sale!) and create the perfect backdrop for your gravity-defying succulents! If your succulents are afraid of heights, you can also leave as an adorable centerpiece.

                 

Become a succulent owner and amaze your friends with your newfound green thumb! Just don't tell them your new plants are practically immortal.

If you don’t know that Amaranth Stoneware has classes for all interests and skill-levels you’ve been living under the Kingston limestone. Having worked here for a few months and having zero pottery experience I thought it would be beneficial for people interested in taking their first class to get a student’s perspective. So, I chatted up Sarah, our super talented Head of Production who has 2 different classes under her belt already to get some specifics.

 

Because Sarah is an artist (check out her portfolio here) I assumed she was a seasoned potter but her experience with clay prior to working at Amaranth was limited. She modelled with it in school and only took her first pottery class in 2015 when she joined the Amaranth team. See below for our chat and learn why the pottery classes offered at Amaranth Stoneware are for everyone.

Julie: What classes have you taken so far?

Sarah: I’ve take 2 classes now - a hand building class with Yuko and a throwing class with Krista.

 

J: What was your biggest takeaway from both of them?

S: Yuko is an incredible instructor. She’s very intuitive with clay and gets very excited when you start making pieces. In Krista’s class I learnt how forgiving clay is and how easy it is to correct an error. Glazing and trimming make a huge difference. The coolest thing I learnt though is that you can make your own stamps!

 

J: As a pottery newbie, how did you feel going in? Were you nervous learning a new medium?

S: I love learning new techniques and tried to rid my brain of my artistic background to focus on the techniques. I wanted to be ok with failure if things didn’t turn out and just focus on learning.

 

J: How was the class atmosphere?

S: The first few nights were all about building confidence. In the hand building class we were encouraged to work without a plan which helped people get more comfortable with the process.

 

J: Any advice for people wanting to try something new?

S: If you are artistically inclined, try a hand building or glazing class to hone in on that creativity.

 

J: What about people that are interested in pottery but are either too scared to try out a class or don't think they could produce anything that would look good?

S: The classes are fun! You're creating something from nothing and there is something powerful and addictive in that. There were so many people that came with friends to have a good time and were surprised with the amount of pieces they created and how well they turned out. The pottery classes are for everyone!

 

Did you know that 1 out of every 3 bites of food we eat is made possible by pollinators like honey bees? We don't all have a backyard that looks like this so here are a few things you can do to give the bees a helping hand.

Bees are often getting the short end of the stick with climate change as their food (pollen from flowers) is often arriving too early or too late.

Here are a few ways to help them out:

 

 

Support Local and Organic Farmers

Eating foods that are locally grown will help farmers maintain a range of crops giving the bees more pollen options that can help boost their health. 

Practice Organic Gardening

 

Give bees a helping hand by providing a safe environment

 

This Bee Feeder is designed to give bees a helping hand. Filling the feeder with sugar water provides a bee-lated snack when blooms are unavailable.

 

Mason bees are the Usain Bolt of pollinators - always winning gold at the pollinator olympics. The Bee House was created to mimic their preferred wood and offer them a protected space while the females gather pollen to add to the tubes, lay their eggs, seal them up with mud and repeat until full.

 

Bees drink a lot of water but need a safe place to land because drinking and flying is against bee law. Fill the Bee Waterer with glass beads (included) and add water to provide a safe haven.

 

All bee puns aside, protecting our pollinators is something everyone should get involved with.