Copper and Fire 2021

For immediate release                                                                            

Britannia Mine Museum’s Copper & Fire Arts Event Showcases Local BC Artists and Unique Metal and Earthen Crafts

Saturday, September 18 - 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Britannia Beach, BC (August 24, 2021) – The Britannia Mine Museum’s annual Copper & Fire Arts community event is returning Saturday, September 18^th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. featuring talented local BC artists and their unique metal and earthen crafts. Copper & Fire is the museum’s premiere community event showcasing crafts derived from mined materials “of the earth.”

The family-friendly Copper & Fire Arts Event features earth-inspired jewellery, sculpture, copper work, gemstone art, pottery and painting, all inspired by the landscape, plant life and forests of the Pacific Northwest. 

“The Copper & Fire Arts Event is our annual community event where we celebrate the arts and where visitors can come experience and see for themselves the unique and creative ways minerals from the Earth can be showcased through art,” says Elena Whitman, Manager of Guest Services at the Britannia Mine Museum. “It is inspiring to see how these gifted artists can transform and create such beautiful and compelling art pieces, and it’s a special way to see how we are all connected to mining.”

Some of the BC artists who will be showcasing their creations include:

• Ailsa Brown | Canvas & Clay – Delta-based artist Ailsa Brown is known for her mixed media paintings and wheel thrown “clay art” that are expressions of our intimate relationship with nature and the oneness of all living things. ailsajbrown.com

• Angela Muellers | Paint – Brackendale-based painter Angela Muellers is a classically trained portrait and landscape artist, who is best known for painting natural forms and the effects of light like mountain landscapes, nature, animals on copper. angelamuellers.com

• Hazel Cruse | Copper - Hazel Cruse is a local jewellery artist who combines textures, shapes, shiny, rough, ancient, organic and sometimes not-so-perfect materials to create pieces that are "perfection in imperfections". Her custom handmade pieces showcase her passion for South Coast jewellery, North Coast carvings and engraved silver, and ancient Tibertan Turquoise and coral adornment pieces.

• Jim Unger | Copper – Abbotsford-based metal artist and former cabinet maker, Jim Unger operates Clayburn Copperworks where his custom hand-hammered metal works have evolved over the years from simple garden objects to large sculptures and contemporary works of art. clayburncopperworksdesign.com

• Martin Vseticka | Silver & Gold – Sea-to-Sky-based Martin Vseticka is an award-winning jewellery designer who brings his love of nature into goldsmithing through unique design and environmental ethics. He specializes in the form and forge method for gold and silver work and is best known for his trademark halibut hook design. vseticka.ca

The Britannia Mine Museum provides unique and memorable experiences that engage visitors of all ages. Visitors can enjoy fun exhibits and crowd favourites like the underground mine train, gold panning, the historic 20-storey concentrator Mill building and its BOOM! special effects show, the Terralab STEAM learning space, the minerals and gem gallery, and the Beatty Lundin Visitor Centre.

Located 45 minutes north of Vancouver on the picturesque Sea-to-Sky highway, the Britannia Mine Museum is open seven days a week with appropriate COVID-19 safety measures and procedures in place. This includes enhanced staff training, smaller bubble tour sizes, advanced ticketing and reservation required, accommodating appropriate physical distancing, and implementing site sanitation protocols.

The Museum is encouraging everyone to practice safe COVID-19 protocols including frequent hand washing, physical distancing and staying at home if you are sick.

For visitors who only want to check out the Copper & Fire Arts event, discounted tickets are available online under “Special Events” in the online booking system. For those who prefer the full Museum experience including the event, regular admissions are also available for purchase online at www.BritanniaMineMuseum.ca.

About Britannia Mine Museum:

The Britannia Mine Museum is a mining legacy site and a vibrant, internationally recognized education and tourist destination located between Vancouver and Whistler on the Sea-to-Sky highway. It is a National Historic Site and a non-profit organization encouraging mining awareness through entertaining, experiential education programs and exhibits, important historic collection preservation and insightful public engagement that allows guests to leave with a better understanding of mining in BC; past, present and future. www.britanniaminemuseum.ca

Facebook: @BritanniaMineMuseum Instagram: @BritanniaMineMuseum

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Media contact: Yvonne Chiang, 604-880-5090, ychiang@bcmm.ca