Course Instructors of Markham Guild of Village Crafts

Christine Alexiou, A.O.C.A.

Christine is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art in Communication and Design. Her background includes many years spent working as an Art Director, Designer and Illustrator in the Educational Publishing field. This award winning multi-media artisan is currently exploring a life-long passion for textile and fibre art through art quilts, collage, fabric manipulation, painting, print-making and creative embroidery.

When she left the publishing industry, a natural outlet for her background and talents was teaching. Through teaching she feels that she is able to pass on to her students her love for all forms of visual creative expression.

Whether she is teaching art classes in drawing and painting or craft classes in fabric dying and printing, quilting, altered books, collage, fibre art and more, her philosophy is to always try to bring out the creative potential in her students. She freely shares her considerable knowledge with her students and always encourages them to think “outside the box” in order to develop their creativity.

Gayle Fehr

Originally from Alberta, Gayle has been involved in creating and teaching arts and crafts in Markham for over 25 years, lately specializing in Calligraphy, paper arts and painting in various media.  She has taken numerous university, college and community courses in a variety of art forms. Gayle is a talented artist in many medium and part of the Markham Group of Artists showing her work regularly in the local community.  She enjoys teaching at the guild and helping to keep traditional arts alive.

Grace Tanfara

Grace started Rug Hooking in 1987 as a hobby. It quickly blossomed into a passion. It was upon entering pieces in the Sunderland Fall Fair in 1993 and being selected for the Judge’s choice award that Grace was approached to teach the craft. During demonstrations people became fascinated with the craft and wanted to take lessons. The Beaver River Wool Crafters suggested that since Grace enjoyed helping other members she was the right choice to teach for them. In 1995 Grace completed the two year OHCG Teacher’s Certification course and she hasn’t looked back. She has been teaching at the Creative Sewing and Needlework Festivals since 1998.

Grace continued to enter a number of Fall Fairs each year and created 10-15 unique and challenging rug hooking designs that were entered into various non-traditional categories. Of note she developed 3-D rug hooking pieces, which were entered along side stuffed animals. These brought accolades, inquiries and generated interest. She won numerous ribbons and inspired many new hookers who turned to her for lessons. In 2000 the OHCG selected tow of Grace’s designs, “School’s Out” and “Got One” for their Millennium project.

Grace is the current President of the Ajax Rug Hookers and the past President of the Beaver River Wool Crafters. Grace is teaching at Markham Guild of Village Crafts starting in Fall of 2006. Her goal continues to be to encourage students to stretch their ideas of Rug Hooking and to continue taking the craft in new directions.

Mary Mullen

Mary Mullen, born in Ireland, was educated by the Loretto Nuns in Dublin, learning to knit, sew and cook from an early age. She sewed for her children until that certain age, when they said No! more hand made clothes.  In 1989, Mary wanted to learn traditional hand quilting and took her first quilting classes at the Markham Guild of Village Crafts in 1990.  Although the hand quilting process was lovely, it was too slow for my speedy lifestyle. Mary started machine quilting and loved every minute.  She has won awards for her Quilts at the Guild and has displayed her work at York Heritage Quilt Shows.  At the Guild Mary pursues her passion for quilting and is a popular teacher of the Irish Chain and Quilting 101.   

Michelle Zikovitz

Michelle Zikovitz, a textile weaver and fibre artist for over 25 years, participated in a parent and child basketry workshop18 years ago and was immediately hooked. Her love of baskets and weaving provided the perfect combination to branch out into basketweaving and, as less time became available to sit at the loom, basketweaving became the focus. It was not uncommon to see her weaving at a skating rink or soccer field during practices.

Mostly self taught, many of her recent works include her random dyed reed technique which creates truly one of a kind baskets.

Neala Corbett

Neala Corbett was born and brought up in Truro, Nova Scotia. She moved to Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in 1985 and soon settled into the craft scene in Sydney doing everything from sewing, designing and making table cloths to crocheting and knitting. A founding member of HomeCrafters of Cape Breton she has been involved in one craft after another ever since. Of all the crafts that she has been involved in Teddy Bear making and designing is her favourite. She has been making and selling her bears since 1985 and in the last 21 years has sold them world wide with bears being adopted to such countries as the US, Germany, Russia, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Cyprus, South America, Australia, Norway, Switzerland and of course all across Canada. Her bears have been sold in stores in Canada such as Seagull Pewter in Halifax, Nova Scotia; The House Of the Christmas Elves in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia; and Granny's Special Gifts in Sydney, Nova Scotia to name but a few.

In the beginning like most bear makers and designers the bears she made were from commercial patterns and were made from both synthetics and mohairs. After taking a brief hiatus from bear making she began designing her own patterns and working exclusively in real fur about seven years ago. All of Neala's bears are ONE-OF-A-KIND and made from vintage recycled fur coats and are hand stitched, using only the finest of materials.

Neala discovered the art of needle felting a few years ago and now offers a line of needle felted sweeties to compliment her real fur bears. She has been teaching needle felting at Whitevale Craftworks in Whitevale for the past two years.

Peggy Kwan

Peggy Kwan began quilting ten years ago and has been an enthusiastic teacher at the Markham Guild of Village Crafts for the past four years. After learning the traditional quilting patterns and techniques, Peggy branched out quickly into designing her own quilts using her own methods. She loves colour, sees the possibilities of fabric differently, and brings the influences of her Chinese background into her work. Her personal favourite is three-dimensional, origami quilting, which she finds blends her east and west sensibilities in her quilts and wall hangings. Peggy looks for ideas in magazines, books calendars and pictures, but it is her interpretation of what she sees that makes her quilts unique. Quilting and teaching others to discover their art in quilting, is something she finds relaxing. Students in her classes are encouraged to be adventurous and to experiment by moving away from the colours and patterns they would normally select. Peggy can be contacted through her e-mail peggykwan@sympatico.ca

Sue Winlaw

Born in Woodstock Ontario, Sue started sewing at age 10, added crochet (taught to her by her loving Grandmother Olive Nettleton Town) at age 12 and added English Smocking at age 22 (taught to her by her unbelievably fabulous Mother Dorthea Winlaw). Sue has been into crafting now for over 45 years and loves the look, the feel and the talking about crafts. Currently Sue teachers Crochet for beginners at MGVC and will add an advanced course in Winter of this coming year. Sue prefers working with "big" crochet hooks and likes to see the project finished quickly. She loves the fun and "fluffy" yarns as well as the muted earth tones. Sue has been on the Board of the Markham Guild of Village Crafts for the past 10 years and has just completed 2 years as President. She now looks forward to adding new courses to teach and rounding up more teachers for the Guild.

Val Tuck

Val Tuck artiste and teacher of Paper Tole, was born and raised in England, trained as an Occupational Therapist and came to Canada in the late 1960's.  Her interest in crafts dates back to her childhood.  After raising a family here and pursuing a number of different interests she discovered the art of Paper Tole.  Fascinated by the art she determined she would learn how to create these beautiful pictures.  She discovered she had a keen aptitude for the craft and quickly developed the basic techniques into a high degree of perfection.  Her work has been seen and sold in many art shows, and she also creates commissioned pieces.  Val has been teaching many a willing student over the past eighteen years at the Guild and out of her own studio.  Students find her attention to detail in the relaxed atmosphere makes the activity therapeutic and gives her a large following of returning students.

Yvette Piiparinen

I started quilting with night school classes with Lucy Anne Holliday. She is a traditional quilter and taught us hand piecing and hand quilting. I enjoyed her class for 6 years.

I found that piecing traditional blocks did not inspire me and I was drawn to designing my own tops using standard blocks as accents rather than the whole quilt top.

Appliqué, embellishing and trap unto is also something that interests me. They really can add punch to your work.

After taking many workshops I decided I needed to find a way to utilize all these blocks…..so I could still take more workshops!  I now incorporate the blocks into my UFO vests and UFO jackets.

I started teaching back in 1995, which was at a Yacht club. I designed an appliqué / pieced wall hanging.  The ladies learned to appliqué and quilt ….they loved it.

Along the way I developed an obsession with chickens. I have made a series of chicken quilts, wall hangings, tea cozies etc. My full size “Self Portrait with Chickens” was featured on the front cover of the quilt magazine “Home & Comfort” (as were a few of my other pieces). I have also had my work and instructions published in a craft magazine in Finland. As well, there was a two page article printed in the Finnish newspaper of my work.

I have taught in various venues and you can see my work in numerous places. (Centre 55, Vapaa Saana, Scarborough Bluffs Yacht club)

My latest obsession is UFO vests and UFO jackets. Check out the classes listed and I hope to have you join one of them.

Do you teach a Craft ?

Are you a talented individual who is interested in teaching?  Please contact the Guild for more information about joining our team. (905) 294-7421.