The Costco Connection - March/April 2008

MEMBERconnection

Worth his weight in clay

Babineau, which features his ^work ^as ^well ^as ^works ^by ^more Clay-relief artist Richard Gill than 40 of his contemporaries, _sells _his _unique _pieces _at _aranging from paintings to pot- _gallery _next _to _his _studio.tery to jewelry.

NESTLED IN BURNSTOWN, a village located less than an hour from Ottawa, you’ll find clay-relief artist Richard Gill toiling away at his Fog Run Studio.

Adjacent to the studio lies

Bittersweet Fine Craft & Art, a gallery run by Gill’s wife, Cheryl

CHERYL BABINEAU

The joint venture, known as are fishing boats and outdoor Bittersweet Fine Craft & Art at scenes from places he’s trav-Fog Run Studio (www.burns elled; Newfoundland was a town.ca), is a dream come true recent inspiration. for the duo. Gill starts with a pencil

“If we like their work, we sketch and also does two kiln take it on,” Gill says of their firings at 1200°C (2200°F)—and selection process. “It has to be ends up with 300 one-of-a-kind accessible in terms of price and pieces per year. His work is dis-appeal to our small town.” played internationally in

An architect and an artist by churches, restaurants and pri-training, Gill transitioned from vate and public collections. pottery to sculpture and finally to “A customer once said I relief murals, producing custom came in on budget, on time and work for businesses and individ- it looks like it’s worth more than uals on any subject matter. he paid for it,” says the 62-year-

His most popular requests old Gill, a Costco member at are for murals of people’s houses Kanata. “Now that’s not a bad and for achievement awards, epitaph for an artist.” but his favourite pieces to create —Shana McNally

BLACK BOX MERSEYSIDE LTD.

The Black Box Theatre Company’s award-winning duo of Ian Karl Moore and Gillian Stokes have found business and personal happiness both on and off the stage.

Enter, stage left

TAKING ITS NAME from the fact that a theatre is considered a black box until you add the lights, seats and so on, the Black Box Theatre Company was launched by founder Ian Karl Moore in 1994. But when administrative director Gillian Stokes joined the troupe in 1998, the theatre company broke out of its box, so to speak.

Known today as Black Box Merseyside Ltd. (www.blackbox merseyside.co.uk/index.php?page=home), the Costco UK member employs a stable of actors who bring a unique brand of theatre to corporations and schools.

One program, Black Box Corporate, provides trainers, writers and actors to produce small-scale performances, role-playing scenarios and interactive scenes highlighting corporate issues and corporate videos. It’s the company’s largest area of growth.

Their Theatre-in-Education program reaches 40,000 schoolchildren a year. In conjunction, Black Box Education delivers educational arts workshops on topics ranging from Shakespeare to bullying to drug awareness, while Black Box Bespoke performs at summer arts festivals, college residencies and drama programs.

“There was a demand for theatre in the schools, especially Shakespeare, and we went on from there,” Stokes says.

The most rewarding component for the company might be Black Box Theatre School, available to aspiring thespians age 7 and older, regardless of ability or level of experience. Designed to develop drama and performing-arts skills, and to increase theatre knowledge, it draws more than 100 students every weekend.—SM

Casey Ehrlich is making quilt
panels to draw attention to
kids’ concerns about the
environment. So far she’s
sewn 400 12-by-12-inch
squares into six
panels.

Global warming

84 The Costco Connection MARCH/APRIL 2008

3CASEY EHRLICH KNEW she wanted to do something for Earth Day 2007—she just wasn’t sure what. After exploring the possibilities and tapping into her creative side, the 15-year-old decided to make a quilt to help kids express their concerns about the environment.

Following that thread of an idea, Ehrlich launched Blanket the Globe (www.blanketthe globe.com). The Marblehead, Massachusetts, teen made the first square, but she’s relying on kids from her school—along with anyone 18 years and younger from around the world—for more

squares to sew together.

Ehrlich’s hopes for Blanket the Globe are that the panels will be displayed around the world and eventually at the United Nations as a way to bring awareness to environmental issues.

She explains that kids in particular feel powerless when it comes to global warming and other issues. “A lot of [kids] are scared and don’t know what to do,” says Ehrlich, whose parents, Lori and Bruce Ehrlich, are Costco members. “They see my project and they get excited. It gives them a voice.”