ARTISAN ALLEY: Fourteen new vendors showcase art, products

Posted on August 14, 2026 by Ryan Dahlman

Maple Creek News

Mel Mackenzie says she has always been creative.

When she moved 18 months ago from Calgary to Abbey with her family, trading city life for a small Saskatchewan village, she found an environment in which her arts and crafts could thrive.

“It was a breath of fresh air leaving the noise of the city,” she said.

Her cottage industry, Mel’s Crafty Lil’ Things, is now gaining a good reputation in the area for its one-of-a-kind creations.

On Saturday, Mel made her debut at Artisan Alley, part of the Jasper Cultural & Historical Centre’s Lunasa festival.

Visitors to her booth found everything from hand-painted wearable art, keychains, bookmarks and jewellery to trinket trays and custom accessories – items she creates while also looking after two-year-old Emerald with her husband, Keith.

She does custom-made work, takes online commissions, and promotes her crafts through social media, such as Instagram.

“I also rely on word of mouth,” she said.

Another artist who attracted lots of attention in the alley was Medicine Hat’s Natalie Oliphant, whose work should be familiar to Jasper Centre visitors.

Her piece, Eveline, a silver mannequin seated on a suitcase, was inspired by a short story in James Joyce’s The Dubliners and is displayed upstairs at the centre.

In Eveline, Natalie puts into art form the profound emotions of being in an inescapable situation.

In the summer of 2023, she saw Eveline on the big screen in Times Square, New York City.

As an eco artist, Natalie focuses on creating while respecting the need to protect the environment, using repurposed fabrics to create texture on each body form. Thousands of found items are affixed to each piece, her works revealing the many emotions caused by the human experience, from female infertility to rejection, sorrow and feelings of being trapped.

At the weekend, Natalie showcased her “hobby” art, including glassware, birdbaths, sculptures and mannequins adorned with repurposed objects.

For local fans of her work, she has exciting news. She will be holding a solo exhibition at the Jasper Centre next year.

“I am so looking forward to it,” she smiled.

Mel and Natalie were among 14 newcomers at Artisan Alley, which featured 20 vendors set up along a stretch of Jasper Street.

A different form of art was offered by Sheila Stienley, who was making a return to Maple Creek.

A self-taught animal artist and photographer living just west of Swift Current, she has always enjoyed drawing, and for many years would focus exclusively on horses, before expanding her subjects to pets.

Although she prefers pastels, she has explored other mediums such as graphite pencil, coloured and watercolour pencils, markers and pen. Pet photography has also become an art form she enjoys.

As well as art for sale, Artisan Alley featured wooden signs, jewellery, crochet, sublimation products, wreaths, Christmas decorations, antiques, personal collections, baking, canning, and fresh produce and eggs from the Golden Prairie Hutterite Colony and honey from Cypress Hills Honey Farm.

The Jasper Centre booth alone, run by Cindy Drury and Morgan Bowie, offered huge variety, with items from the museum’s flea market last month occupying several tables.

Kelsie Masur, organizer of Artisan Alley and owner of Bears, Bird + Bee, thanked people for coming out on a scorchingly hot day to support the event.

Many people in Maple Creek will remember Kelsie and her children, Walt and Aurea.

They lived in the house with the orange door on Cypress Street and were regular faces at the Jasper Centre.

Walt and Aurea now have another sibling – Maslyn, who arrived about three weeks ago.

Although Kelsie is living outside Maple Creek, she is happy to maintain ties with the community.

“Maple Creek is still our home,” she said.