George F. Heagle
The Cotswold Studio - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Email: cotswold@shaw.ca
Telephone: 780-447-4512

Designer/Craftsman

I have been designing and hand building solid wood furniture for more than twenty years. My approach can trace its roots back to one of the founders of the English Arts and Crafts movement - the famous furniture maker Edward Barnsley. I have always strive to create work which is true to the guiding principles of the Arts and Crafts furniture - to capture resonance and harmony of form and function while celebrating the inherent beauty of wood. A further important influence on my work is the simple and deceptively minimalist aesthetic of the Japanese style. When one marries integrity and skill with the finest possible materials, the beauty and honesty of the work comes through. All of my work is made to capture that essence of beauty and bring it out for others to discover. I began my career as an artisan in 1983.

 
Education:
1974 - 1978

BA Philosophy
York University,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1979 - 1980 General Carpentry Certification
St. Lawrence College
Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Professional Experience
1983 - 2007 Designer and maker of finely crafted furniture under the name of The Cotswold Studio. Design and make high-end fine furnishings for private and corporate clients.
1987 - 2007 Design and provide numerous weekend workshops on furniture construction technique
2005 - 2006 Instructor
Furniture Design and Construction
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology - Edmonton, Alberta
2004 - present Instructor
Furniture Design and Construction
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology - Edmonton, Alberta
Professional Membership Southern Alberta Woodworkers Society, member, Calgary, Alberta
Alberta Craft Council, board member, Edmonton, Alberta
The Furniture Society, member, Free Union, Virginia, USA

Selected Exhibitions
1989 Alberta Craft Council Exhibition of Contemporary Furniture
Edmonton, Alberta
1993 Southern Alberta Woodworkers Society
Calgary, Alberta
1997 "Never Just a Cigar" Electrum Design Studio
Edmonton, Alberta
2000 "Frost" Industrial Designers Association of Edmonton Show
Edmonton, Alberta
2001 Southern Alberta Woodworkers Society
Calgary, Alberta
2002 Interior Designers Home Furniture Show
Edmonton, Alberta
2005

Southern Alberta Woodworkers Society
Calgary, Alberta

"Four Corners"
TU Gallery
Edmonton, Alberta
2006

"Small Treasures"
TU Gallery
Edmonton, Alberta

"Outside the Box"
Alberta Craft Council
Edmonton, Alberta
Collections

Public Collection:

  • Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, Alberta Canada
  • St. Thomas Moore Catholic Parish, Edmonton, Alberta
  • Lilihammer Olympic Committee, Lilihammer, Norway
  • RCMP Memorial Edmonton, Alberta

Private Collections:

  • Many private collections in Norway, USA and throughout Canada
Representation
1998 Dixon Gallery
Edmonton, AB
1999 - present Alberta Craft Council Gallery Shop
Edmonton, Alberta
2000 - present Electrum Design Studio
Edmonton, Alberta
2002 - 2003 Xylos Gallery
Calgary, Alberta
2004 - present Terra Cotta Dudes Gallery
Black Diamond, Alberta
2005 Avens Gallery
Canmore, Alberta
2005 - present TU Gallery
Edmonton, Alberta
Commissions & Awards
1994 Lilihammer Winter Olympics
Flag box competition, 2nd place out of 42 countries
2001 Southern Alberta Woodworkers Society Exhibit (juried)
Calgary, Alberta
Merit of Recognition
2004

St. Thomas Moore Church (design and provided all the furnishings for their Edmonton parish. Sanctuary and Baptismal font, 2004)

Luscar Mines 50th Anniversary Commemorative Awards
Edmonton, Alberta
Design and provide 4 large rosewood sculptures to be places in ATCO Gas and Luscar Mines corporate offices.

2006

RCMP Memorial project

Alberta Foundation for the Arts Project Grant
This grant allowed me the opportunity to create new funtiture for a solo exhibition that will take place in 2007