Local Artisan Spotlight - Sticks and Stones Gallery

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we are showcasing a local spotlight who captures love in a very special way.

Sticks and Stones Gallery

Angie Bisset, the talent behind Sticks and Stones Gallery, has a special knack for setting all of life’s special memories into beautiful pebble art.

Born and raised on Vancouver Island, Angie has a strong love for being out in nature and especially being near the ocean. A favourite family pastime is beachcombing. They search for special stones, beautiful pebbles, frosty beach glass, detailed shells, and unique pieces of driftwood. These beach treasures become the inspiration for her pebble art designs.

How it all Began

Angie’s first shadow box design, a bride and groom, was made as a gift for her sister who lives in Calfornia. While walking the beach one day, a beautiful oyster shell caught Angie’s eye. She envisioned a tiered wedding dress, much like the one her sister was about to wear. Everything sort of evolved from that shell to create a unique, one of a kind wedding gift, and not to mention a little something that would remind her sister of home.

Since that time, Angie has made over 1200 pebble art shadow box designs from the comfort of her home office studio space in Nanaimo.

Through Etsy and her website, Sticks and Stones Gallery has an online presence that allows people worldwide to enjoy and purchase her designs. And enjoy they do! The reviews from satisfied customers speak loudly to the quality of Angie’s work.

About the Designs

Each piece is original, yet share an underlying theme of love and tranquillity while portraying the celebration of life’s special occasions.

Showcased in black wood shadow box frames, these unique creations are surrounded by navy blue, hunter green or black matting and set on a pearly white background to highlight the natural variations in the stones.

At the buyer’s request, Angie adds personalization to a design. This could include names, initials or a special date. She also offers a complete custom design option. Customers send in their requests and Angie comes up with a design that matches their vision.

She’s created everything from a couple standing in front of San Fransico’s Golden Gate bridge to a family design which included the dog, two cats and pet turtle.

Sticks and Stones Gallery truly has the ability to create one of a kind unique gifts for every occasion and everyone!

The Inspiration

Angie comments that when she’s sitting quietly creating the pebble art, she can almost hear what the gathered materials have to say. It’s as if they have their own story to tell. This is one of the reasons why creating the masterpiece is a treasure in itself.

She’s extremely thankful for the customers she’s met over the years and the incredible stories shared with her. These stories and the art that’s created from them help build a business she loves.