Parrott Gallery Shop
Located on the 3rd floor of the Belleville Public Library the Parrott Gallery Shop offers handcrafted jewellery, decor, household items, art and accessories by regional artists and artisans.
Visit us at the Parrott Gallery Shop the next time you are out shopping!
We carry work by…
Mark Armstrong • Linda Coulter • Daphne Creasy • Penny Doolittle • Tracey Edwards • Joyce Empey Smith • Lisa Ferguson • Rachel Harbour • May Haslam • Rebecca Johnson • Paul Johnston • Liz Jones • George Ketcheson • Wendy Klein (Vervoort) • Colleen Lang • Brian Lubben • Andrea MacDonald • Marta Mouka • Tina Osborne • Sue Panko • Bob Pennycook • Sandy Randle • Karen Richey • Rona Rustige • Margaret Ruttan • Debby Smith • Brenda Sullivan • Colleen Thomson • Sue Walker • Cody Whiteman • Carl Wiens • Emõke K. Wilson • Sheila Wright
Featured Shop Artist for October: Emõke K. Wilson
Emõke K. Wilson
Multi-Media Artist
My love of art and all things creative started when I was very young and was introduced to watercolours, oils and later, acrylics. At the present, however, I am known primarily for my ceramic creations.
In 2016 I studied as a Mature Student at Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto. My learning experience there opened up another world of creative possibilities for me, using materials and applying techniques I had not used before. I became smitten with wood and fibres using them to create 3-D shapes, patterns and textures in uniquely beautiful ways.
Incorporating these different materials, techniques and expressive styles into my art forced me to re-invent myself. I wait for the material to tell me what to do. Then, I create, using materials in untraditional, unusual, or previously unthought-of ways.
Featured Shop Artist for November: George Ketcheson
George Ketcheson
My love of wood began in my father’s workshop over 65 years ago. My father is gone now, but his guidance and mentoring over the years helped make me the woodworker I am today. Although exposed to woodworking from a very early age, my first serious attempt was around 1975 when I started carving. In 1981 I started making boxes and have built hundreds since then. I have also made wooden spoons, breadboards, loudspeakers, furniture, and started carving caricatures from golf balls about 30 years ago.
Over the years I have moved to smaller pieces and have occasionally indulged in the whimsical. Some of my creations, like charcuterie boards, have an obvious purpose, but I like to think of all my work as functional, even if the function is just to make you smile. I have put a little bit of myself into each one of my creations, and although I hate to part with them, I love to know that people are enjoying them.
I typically use native woods, much of it cut locally. When possible, I feature wood with flaws like voids, knots, bark inclusions, cracks and spalting. It is sometimes unstable, with wild grain, or damage from insects and micro-organisms, requiring extra care and effort. To my eyes, the most interesting wood is a testament to the tenacity of life, recording the tree’s reaction to adversity. The history of the tree is written in the grain of the wood. It has character and is inherently beautiful. I want to share the beauty I see with others. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.