VANCOUVER - Seven B.C. artists were honoured by Premier Gordon Campbell and Keith Mitchell, chair of the British Columbia Achievement Foundation, at the third annual BC Creative Achievement Awards held today at The Studios at Shaw Tower in Vancouver.

"These awards recognize the artistic excellence of both emerging and established designers," said Campbell, who is director of the Foundation. "This year's outstanding recipients bring vitality and inspiration to B.C.'s creative community."

For the second year, two artists were named recipients of the BC Creative Achievement Awards of Distinction, honouring their vision, innovation and talent in the field of applied art and design. Acclaimed jewelry designer Toni Cavelti and pioneering textile artist Joanna Staniszkis each received a specially designed certificate crafted - from calligraphy to frame - by B.C. artisans using B.C. materials.

The five artists recognized as recipients of this year's BC Creative Achievement Awards are:

- Jill Allan - crafts unique glass objects and jewelry;
- Rachelle Chinnery - hand carves porcelain objects that evoke the seascape of B.C.'s coastal beaches;
- Renata Crowe - combines torchworked and cast glass with silver to create custom jewelry;
- Patricia Fieldwalker - has been designing deluxe lingerie, worn by celebrities, for more than 25 years; and
- Teale Merkeley - builds high-quality furniture from household objects.

Examples of the designers' work was on display at the awards presentation and will be featured in a travelling showcase that will visit select galleries around the province. These recipients each received a $5,000 prize and were granted the use of the BC Creative Achievement Award seal to signify their creative excellence.

An independent jury chaired by board member Dr. Robert Belton, Dean of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, selected the recipients. The jury was comprised of Sam Carter, artist, craft and design educator, and associate professor at the Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design; Allan Collier of Victoria, design curator and historian; Ron Kong, manager of Circle Craft Co-operative Shop and Gallery and former curator, Canadian Craft Museum; and Coleen Nemtin of West Vancouver, who has served on many art gallery and advisory boards in both Vancouver and Seattle, and has helped raise more than $1 million for Vancouver's Contemporary Art Gallery.

The British Columbia Achievement Foundation is an independent foundation established and endowed by the Province of B.C. in 2003. The Creative Achievement Awards are one of five initiatives of the foundation. The others are the BC Community Achievement Awards recognizing those who have made a significant contribution to their community; the BC Award for Canadian Non-Fiction recognizing excellence in literary non fiction; the BC Creative Achievement Award for Aboriginal Art; and Time to Read: the BC Achievement Award for Early Literacy.