The Haven Social Club

Featured Visual Artist at the Haven Social Club

Gallery Opening Night: June 14, 2008

For the last six years, artist Melynda Kalyn has been one of the only female coppersmith in Canada. When she first started, it was difficult for her—as a young female—to even find work in the trade; today, she has sold out every single one of the four art collections (save two pieces still available from 2006) she creates every year. Beyond exhibiting in Calgary and Edmonton, her custom work can be found in many private residences and corporate spaces all over Canada.

The Haven Social Club is honoured to be the first to host her newest collection, the first released in 2008. “This is my most organic collection,” says Kalyn. “It’s playful, with a soft side one doesn’t expect from metallic mediums.”

As Canada doesn’t offer the educational resources to obtain a coppersmithing degree (as opposed to Europe), Kalyn created her education in this nearly forgotten ancient trade.

When Kalyn first worked with the art form, she found it difficult to convince metalsmiths to hire her in shops all over Calgary. “They thought I was really cute, really sweet—but not tough or serious enough to train in the trade. One coppersmith actually told me outright that I was too pretty to work with metal, that he wasn’t going to pay me to have his male employees follow me around, and that I should just go get married instead.”

Kalyn, who now ownes her own studio, refused to take no for an answer and has spent the last 6 years honing her trade. “I studied Canadian and European techniques” ” says Kalyn, “but soon found that to really advance my abilities, I needed to learn by trial and error in my studio. I have been through every process known to man to learn what colors I can get from copper.”

Though Kalyn’s studio, Cumberland Blues, is in Calgary, she often travels to Edmonton to exhibit and create custom work for private buyers. “Edmonton is a great city,” say Kalyn, who does five times as many shows in Edmonton than in Calgary. “I love coming up here. I have been embraced by the art community here ten-fold compared to Calgary.”

Kalyn is especially appreciative of Edmonton’s art community and culture. “Support from the Edmonton artistic community is wonderful,” she says. “There are a lot of people here who aren’t afraid to share the limelight and want fellow artists to succeed. Also, I find that Edmontonians are more willing to spend their money on funky clothes, funky music, funky art.”

Kalyn was a natural fit for the Haven Social Club, a live music venue and arts centre that aims to promote local artistic talents, raise awareness for social and environmental issues, spark passion for the arts in Edmonton, and invest in the local community.

“When I saw her work for the first time, I knew she was the perfect choice for our opening exhibit,” says Melinda Steenbergen, general manager of the Haven Social Club. “There’s a spontaneous nature, a richness of tone, and a complexity in texture in Kalyn’s work that echoes the musical artistry—especially in the blues—that we value on our stage.”

Kalyn, an active supporter of the blues community in Calgary, finds much inspiration in music. She become involved when her grandmother was revived from illness at the same time she first began to attend blues jams. “The blues is such a powerful way to heal the soul,” says Kalyn, who saw the music turn her grandmother into a whole person again. “Instead of all the prescriptions and drugs, we can use the blues.”

During the opening night of Kalyn’s exhibit on June 14, 2008, an up and coming blues band, Rotten Dan and the Boogie Patrol, will perform.