I have long been a fan of VCC Jewellery and was pleased to meet Christine Dibble, recent Grad of the program. Also a Music Therapist, Christine's beautiful designs reflect her total immersion in the Arts.
Interview with Christine Dibble
Hi folks! My name is Christine Dibble, creator and designer of Bodacious Butterflies, and I am a recent graduate of the Jewellery Art And Design program at Vancouver Community College, 2020.
I started hand making Bodacious Beads woven beaded jewelry in 2011, in a search for alternative forms of creative self-expression after moving back to BC from completing my Masters in Music Therapy at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario. Bodacious Butterflies came to be in 2012 after I was inspired by butterfly wing art I saw in several galleries in the Nayarit province of Mexico. I attended a stained glass art workshop from Sunlight Art Glass in Surrey BC, to explore ways of presenting these beautiful specimens as wearable art. In 2016, I began silversmithing through workshops at the Working Silver Studio in New Westminster BC, to further pursue my love, passion, and craft of jewelry making and design.
I create not only as a means of giving voice to my inner world, but also as an instrument of self-exploration. I find motivation to design wearable pieces through the joy the act of constructing brings, as well as its inherent therapeutic components. I consider art, like music, as therapy: it brings a sense of calm, peace, and purpose. Making gives my life meaning: to devise elegant pieces that people can wear to reflect their inner individuality, and appreciate for their aesthetic appeal and uniqueness is the aspiration of my art.
Since I have been a full time student for the past two years at VCC, I have not had much time to continue growing Bodacious Butterflies within the community of the Lower Mainland. I had, up until the start of my studies, been very active in the artisanal craft show circuit, meeting with current and potential clients, making contacts for custom designs, and growing my professional circle. Since the lockdown following the COVID 19 Pandemic, I am continuing to focus on my online presence, growing my brand globally. It has been difficult, as several shops that sell my work in Vancouver have also closed down, and online sales have seen a definite decline. I often worry about the relevance of my work during these strange days, where other human necessities are far more important. However, art is therapy! As artists, we still need to create, to grow, to build, despite the financial uncertainties. I create for catharsis, not for financial gain, and this will not change regardless of the state of the world.
My plans, now that I am finished my studies and my music therapy work has been put on hold due to COVID-19, are to advance my technical jewelry making skills through online workshops and revamp my website into an online portfolio instead of an online store. I would also like to start a YouTube channel that focuses on jewelry making techniques and how-to videos. I want to expand my audience not only to current and potential clients, but other jewelers as well. I want to use online platforms to connect, communicate, and share art.
I think what sustains me in continuing to move forward with my work is my passion for creating. I want to know more, gain more skill, learn, grow, and branch out. I have always had a herculean drive in all my artistic endeavours, and the present is no different. Though currently we may have had to alter how we connect, I see it as an opportunity to continue reaching personal goals and milestones creatively and artistically.
COVID-19 has currently put a kibosh on our first and second year students year-end show, however we have found alternative means of sharing our work. The VCC Jewellery facebook page is featuring our work online through photo postings, and the BC Craft Council gallery on Granville Island is hosting a window display for socially distant viewing of our work. Opening night at the Craft Council is May 28th from 6-9pm, with both the online and window displays being featured until June 11th 2020.
Click here for more information: https://www.facebook.com/vccjewelleryartanddesign
We hope to see you there, from afar, and I look forward to what these new horizons have to offer.
~ C
Facebook: Bodaciousbutterflies
Instagram: Bodaciousbutterflies
info@bodaciousbutterflies.com
VCC Jewellery Program's Grad Shows, Student Exhibitions and Sales are truly wonderful.
Recently, VCC Jewellery Grad Show has gone online and can be seen on Facebook and at CCBC store on Granville Island.
Thanks so much Christine! Thanks also to Marilyn R. Wilson who led the way by featuring her own COVID Series Olio by Marilyn.
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