Jude Radwanski is a silversmith, polymer clay artist, and juried member of the Saskatchewan Craft Council who is currently looking forward to the 11th annual Moostletoe Artist's Studio Tour, which she will participate in as a guest of the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery.
The Moostletoe tour is an annual tradition giving residents and visitors the chance to see where artists work, chat with them about their styles, influences, and beginnings, and stock up on original, handcrafted artworks for Christmas.
The tour takes place Saturday, Nov. 4, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Radwanski had a studio suite in the Hammond Building for last year's Moostletoe, but has since moved to a smaller, more private space.
Radwanski is a retired interior designer whose second career as the founder of Firefly Art Jewellery revivified her love of crafting, colour, pattern, contrast, and creative 'play.' She taught herself to work with polymer clay because she likes chunky, larger-scale jewellery, and clay is light, flexible, and affordable — pure silver pieces tend to be too heavy to wear comfortably for very long.
"This year, I'm exploring a new theme, which is connected to actually being here all winter," Radwanski laughed. "We aren't travelling, so I thought, this is a perfect time to explore winter and all the colours and textures it presents.
"I've also been having a lot of requests for black jewellery, so I'm using the contrast of, for example, freshly fallen snow crystals on black tree branches, and how snow sparkles, and even thinking about how sunlight reflects off a blanket of fresh snow on the ground. I've been looking at frost and how nature draws with frost on different surfaces, like the river when it's frozen, or on a window, or a piece of ice somewhere.
"So, I'm having fun exploring the magical aspect of below-zero weather."
Her love of colour, brightness, and contrasts remains a theme, she explained, because there are more colours in winter than just black and white. There are all kinds of tones in between, from grays and pearls to frosty pinks and icy blues.
"I'm also having fun with some of my earrings," she added. "I've made almost a landscape design, so it looks like a miniature painting."
She is also putting her intense education and training in silversmithing to work making chains, and has innovated a black-and-white silver necklace, handcrafted, that is reversible and length-adjustable.
Radwanski will be setting up a display and doing a crafting demonstration just outside the MJMAG Gift Shop for Moostletoe. The Gift Shop is one of several art galleries across the country that sell her work, including:
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Remai Modern Art Gallery Shop, Saskatoon, SK
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Saskatchewan Craft Council Boutique, Saskatoon, SK
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Alberta Art Gallery Shop, Edmonton, AB
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Craft Council of British Columbia Shop, Granville Island, BC
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Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, Trading Post, Vancouver, BC
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Sass Boutique, Pentiction, BC
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Sass Boutique, Summerland, BC
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Zinnia Textiles, Nelson, BC
Firefly Art Jewellery can also be purchased online at fireflyartjewellery.com.
On Saturday, Nov. 4, Moostletoe-ers should be sure to pick up a tour map and 'passport' book and try to make it to each location. Completed passports (stamped at each stop) can be turned in for a chance to win a $250 gift basket with items donated by each artist/group. Previews of the work of each artist on the tour can be found on the Moostletoe Artist's Studio Tour Facebook page.
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