Ottawa artist Linda Curran began creating floorcloths in 1983. While extensive renovations were being done on her home she retreated to her basement with a piece of canvas and her paints. The result was her first floorcloth. After the birth of her first child in 1984 Linda started her business "Country Canvas" and entered the world of craft shows. Now the mother of three children, Linda creates between 100 and 200 floorcloths a year for shows, along with custom work, and many smaller pieces such as pet placemats, and sells them through local stores and craft shows. Her work has been shipped all over the world.
Linda has been featured many times in local newspapers and television (the Ottawa Citizen, Regional Contact, breakfast @ the New RO, etc.)  She is also a contributing artist to the book "Floorcloth Magic" (Lisa Curry Mair, Storey Books, released October 2001)
Linda has also been featured  on Sue Warden's "Craftscapes...the Entrepreneurial Spirit" (spring, 2004).
As well as giving weekend workshops, Linda teaches art at Joan of Arc Academy, Eastern Ontario's only fully bilingual private school for girls. Linda teaches the grades  6, 7 & 8 girls, in visual art as well as grades four to eight in computers. She also teaches an afterschool art program to children in junior kindergarten through to grade 8 and afterschool sewing to girls in the intermediate division. The girls in the intermediate afterschool art class  raised enough money through selling their handcrafted items at a Christmas Craft Sale to purchase a kiln for the school, as well as two pottery wheels. Now, all the girls can experience the wonder of working with clay and glazes.

Linda also offers a summer camp that includes sewing, visual arts and computer graphics to girls from ages nine to fourteen. The camp is held at Joan of Arc Academy in Ottawa. You can e-mail Linda for an application for the camp.
 
Linda has developed her own techniques through trial and error. She makes use of high quality products to ensure the best durability possible. Although each piece is hand painted, Linda makes use of many different tools to create interesting backgrounds and effects.  Linda's best work of the year can be seen at these upcoming shows.

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