Arelee craft artist, Karen Pashovitz from Prairie Fire Alpacas successfully passed the jury process conducted by the Saskatchewan Craft Council (SCC) last weekend.
As a result, she has received the coveted "Juried Marketing Member" status.
Pashovitz raises alpacas, and harvests the wool for alpaca shawls, socks, toques, barrettes, mitts and scarves which are made in collaboration with a number of local knitters. The alpaca wool is also used to make felted wall hangings.
"Craft artists, who are juried, have samples of their work evaluated by experienced professional craft artists working in the same media," said Chris Jones, member services coordinator for the SCC. "There are detailed and written criteria that the work is judged against - ranging from aesthetic appeal to the quality of the workmanship."
"It's a tough exam," said Jones. "Karen passed with flying colours."
"What we are looking in our jury process is hand made products that do more than keep you warm," said Jones.
"This knitted work transcends simple functional clothing accessories and becomes wearable art. The coarse fibres are used for beautiful felted rugs or wall hangings or can be cut out for insoles - making sure that everything except the 'hummm' and the spit is used.
"What is especially interesting about Karen's work is that she raises the alpacas herself. It's relatively rare these days for an artist to be raising her own raw material rather than buying it. It speaks to her commitment to excellence - that she wants control over the entire process to ensure that nothing but the best goes into her work."
The SCC is a Cultural Industries Service Organization with the mandate of promoting excellence in craft. With over 400 members, it operates 4 major craft markets in Saskatchewan as well the Traditions Handcraft Gallery in Regina and the Affinity Gallery in Saskatoon. The SCC also organizes touring exhibitions and other educational opportunities.
