2014-2015
MAJOR STUDIO: "Northern Narrative"
Florence Cross The Lawn,
Acrylics On Board, 2015, 30" x 40" |
Danger Love The Night,
Acrylics On Board, 2015, 30" x 40" |
Dear, You're Crushing Again,
Acrylics On Board, 2015, 30" x 40" |
Description
For my major studio credit I created two series of narratives based off a novel I was writing. The first series I created was made up of three very large acrylic paintings. As you can see above, I painted in a realistic style to bring my story to life. For my second series I experimented with collage, Photoshop and painting (see below). Both narrative series carried out the same message. I left each painting or collage to be interpreted by the viewer’s imagination, much like the process of reading a book. Each composition is a window into this fictional yet familiar nature-based world.
My novel was inspired by Northern Ontario’s landscape and it’s unique dark charm. Nature is a huge part of the development of the characters in my novel so I chose to focus on portraying each of my characters through their relationship to the environment they all similarly share.
Along with my fellow undergraduates at the time, we had the pleasure to display our artwork at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery for our Major Studio Exhibition (2015) and at the Definitely Superior Art Gallery during their Urban Infill Exhibition (2015). "Dear You're Crushing Again" was also selected for the Mississauga's Living Arts Center's juried exhibition "Here and Now". It was on display from October to January 2017 as part of a select group of artists celebrating the center's 20th anniversary.
My novel was inspired by Northern Ontario’s landscape and it’s unique dark charm. Nature is a huge part of the development of the characters in my novel so I chose to focus on portraying each of my characters through their relationship to the environment they all similarly share.
Along with my fellow undergraduates at the time, we had the pleasure to display our artwork at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery for our Major Studio Exhibition (2015) and at the Definitely Superior Art Gallery during their Urban Infill Exhibition (2015). "Dear You're Crushing Again" was also selected for the Mississauga's Living Arts Center's juried exhibition "Here and Now". It was on display from October to January 2017 as part of a select group of artists celebrating the center's 20th anniversary.
Exhibited:
"Dear, You're Crushing Again": People's Choice Award (Lakehead University Major Studio Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2015) |
2011-2014
UNIVERSITY WORKS
Title: Unwelcome
Date: 2014
Medium: Mixed Media Sculpture (Wood Poles, Newspapers, Cardboard, Tape, Paper Mache, Paper Mache Clay, Shellac Spray, Projection of A Busy Highway)
Size: Life-size Yearling Moose, 6' x 9'
Category: Environmental
Medium: Mixed Media Sculpture (Wood Poles, Newspapers, Cardboard, Tape, Paper Mache, Paper Mache Clay, Shellac Spray, Projection of A Busy Highway)
Size: Life-size Yearling Moose, 6' x 9'
Category: Environmental
DescriptionIn 2014, a projection of a highway showing passing cars is aimed down over the life-size Paper Mache Moose. The two Photographs shown on the left were taken of Unwelcome on full display at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery during Lakehead Universities Juried Student Art Exhibition. This artwork represents the modern relationship our Canadian society has with our wilder neighbors. It questions, "Who has the right of way? Who has the right of this land?" The audience should feel a responsibility over our local symbol of the North.
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Exhibited:
Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2014.
Awards:
Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2014.
Awards:
- Ruth Tye McKenzie Award in Visual Arts (Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2014)
- Thunder Bay Art Gallery Award (Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2014)
Title: Focus On The Hens
Date: 2014
Medium: Acrylics On Wood Board
Dimension: (x2) 16" x 20"
Category: Environmental
Medium: Acrylics On Wood Board
Dimension: (x2) 16" x 20"
Category: Environmental
DescriptionAs an avid wildlife photographer, I have had the opportunity to interact with my wild subjects. Consequently, I understand the environmental issue that photographers pose to wildlife. Humans, whether intentional or not are viewed by wildlife as predators, intimidators or competitors in their natural habitat. Photographers, whether intentional or not can disturb the lives of wild animals while they “stalk them” for that perfect picture. I painted these two realistic wildlife portraits to portray the distrusting relationship between humankind and nature. Both ducks on the right share the same gaze with its audience and are fully aware of their presence. Look at the water ripples, the way each bird is moving away in its environment. The eyes of each bird are unblinking and caught in a direct stare. Each composition has only one animal, a cropped background (as if looking through a binocular camera lens). There is only one purpose for these works and that is to use the illusion of life to recreate the natural relationship between man and nature.
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Exhibited:
Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2015.
Award:
The Stevenson Family Award (Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2015)
Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2015.
Award:
The Stevenson Family Award (Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2015)
Title: Part of The ForestDate: 2014
Medium: Paper Mache Sculpture Size: 4' x 3' Category: Environmental |
DescriptionWhen a hunter takes the life of a wild animal, they are also taking away that wild animal's niche in its environment. When a niche is missing, every species the individual wild animal played a role with will be affected by its absence. I created three hollow deer mounts covered in hand-cut foliage (Bunchberry, maple, elm and red oak leaves) to show a symbolic relation the hunter plays when taking part of the forest.
Each deer mount was casted over Plasticine and reattached back together (see far right photo). |
Title: Love CallDate: 2014
Medium: Mixed Media Sculpture (Plaster Casts, Acrylic Paint, Stereo Speakers, Wood) Size: Six Life-size Common Loons, Each Loon Is 2.5' x 1.5' Category: Environmental DescriptionThis multi-sculpture was inspired by the Common Loon's social interactions. Stereo speakers, left and right were individually placed under two separate loons. A recording with the Common Loon's yodel, tremolo and wailing are heard bouncing back and forth indefinitely in the display room. The goal of this work was to replicate nature and the natural processes of the Common Loon's iconic social behavior.
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Title: The FawnDate: 2014
Medium: Acrylics On Canvas Dimension: 30" x 40" Category: Experimental DescriptionThe fawn in this painted was only added at the very end of my experimentation with abstract painting and was not the original influence of its design. The aim of this project was to paint based off the music you were currently hearing. I felt at the time, a rhythm and sound I was hearing through splattering my paint. I chose each colour based off both the music's and my own mood. In conclusion, I realized my work reminded me of a colorful field so I decided to add a fawn to create more movement and rhythm.
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Title: AbstractDate: 2013
Medium: Mixed Media on Canvas (Acrylic Paint, Heavy Gloss Medium, Heavy Molding Paste) Dimension: 26" x 36" Category: Experimental DescriptionOur task for this painting project was to find a well-known abstract artist and replicate their style, changing it into something that is your own. We were also asked to experiment with different mediums, of which I used many layers of heavy molding paste and heavy gloss medium.
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Title: Self PortraitDate: 2014
Medium: Mixed Media (Acrylic Paint and Cast Plaster) Dimension: 18" x 24" Category: Experimental/Portraiture DescriptionFor this Portrait, I wanted to experiment with both patterns and 3D textures. I cast part of my face using plaster and attached it to my painting. I blend the cast using heavy body mediums and colors that matched the background's color temperature. The simple pattern I used was chosen based off my interests towards birds and repetitive wallpaper decorations. Nature symbolically is a huge passion of mine and I often use it to help express my voice. Wallpaper sets the mood and interpretation of a room so I thought blending its basic style into a portrait would add more attention to my personality portrayed in this scene.
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Title: The ShiftDate: 2013
Medium: Acrylics On Canvas Dimension: 16" x 24" Category: Environmental DescriptionA doe on campus saunters through the trees. This painting was designed to bring attention to nature's movements. One moment a wild animal appears and the next they're gone. I wanted to make the doe appear ghost-like and fading to replicate her natural movement. The purpose of this painting was to teach audiences about wildlife's illusive nature and enhance society's understanding of it.
Exhibited:
Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2013. Award: Lakehead Alumni Association Award (Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2013) Public Collection: Lakehead Alumni Collection |
Title: SuffocationDate: 2013
Medium: Mixed Media Sculpture (Cast Plaster, Acrylic Paint, Felt Flocking And Gloss Medium) Dimension: 4' x 7' (20 Perch) Category: Environmental DescriptionThis sculpture of a school of perch is demonstrating the toxic effect of blue green algae to our aquatic ecosystem. Blue green algae blooms and spreads when organic matter leaching from agricultural lands reach our water bodies. Warmer temperatures and poor runoff can help spread this trend. Once in bloom, algae suck out enough oxygen from the water to suffocate underwater life. The perch is a local Northern fish that is well known to the public in Thunder Bay. Canadians value our native fish so I decided to create a work that takes advantage of our local community's interest. Although more common South of the border, blue green algae can reach Canadian water bodies and affect our wildlife too. I used felt flocking (fuzzy texture) on the perch on the right to represent the blue green algae in a more obvious form. As the viewer looks up at the school of perch, they can see the fish turning greener, fuzzier and then at the top, flipping belly-up.
Exhibited:
Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2013. |
Title: Dark WinterDate: 2013
Medium: Acrylics On Canvas Dimensions: (x4) 16" x 20" Category: Environmental Description:This series demonstrates nature is unkind and yet beautiful in character. Each painting was painted to stimulate distrust, mystery and wonder in the eyes of viewers. The photograph references I used were taken on campus and along Lakehead University's streams. I chose to create winter scenes because winter historically has been symbolized as death. However, many Canadians like myself believe snow is quiet beautiful, together with the strong symbol of death, makes this series get interpreted with an overall sense of wonderment. I chose to depict a red fox in two of the paintings because as a species, the red fox is sly, a predator and quick on its paws. By including the same animal in half of the series, also makes the two without, look as if the fox could just be out of view in the others (adding more mystery and fear). The more times society interacts with nature-based topics such as this, the more our society can take this knowledge with them and be prepared to interact with nature again.
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Title: Self PortraitDate: 2013
Medium: Acrylics On Canvas Dimension: 36" x 48" Category: Portraiture DescriptionIn paint, this is who I am as an individual. I am gazing out into the greenery as wildlife passes me by.
Exhibited:
Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2013. Awards:
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Title: Night StudiesDate: 2013
Medium: Acrylics On Canvas Dimensions: (x2) 16" x 20" Category: Study DescriptionFor this assignment, we were asked to paint in the dark and replicate the colors we see from-life. These paintings did not take very long to produce, but my eyes really had to adjust to the darkness to see the colours in front of me. I did not care to recreate fine details; my main mission was to replicate colour and practice general proportions.
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Title: Disappearance Of The Paper Mache BirdsDate: 2013
Medium: Mixed Media Sculpture (Paper Mache, Acrylic Paint, Air-dry Clay, Faux Eyes And Fishing Line) Dimensions: Life-size birds Category: Environmental DescriptionThe Disappearance of the Paper Mache Birds is about the real-life disappearance of our North American birds. Only with the help of birders, can populations of birds can be counted and studied in the hopes of solving why they are in decline. At the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, the Paper Mache birds I made were hung up around the ceiling of the room, some even twenty feet away from one another. The Canadian bird species I made are currently in a population decline. On top of a booth, a pad of paper and a pen are on display. On the pad of paper, there is a brief description regarding the need to bird in order to save birds from declining in population. The audience, if they chose to participate, could write down on this pad of paper, the birds they could see in the room. Some participants knew their birds very well, while others did not. Every bird had a piece of identification in the shape of a bird or wing band (This was also asked from the participants to record down). For a short time, the audience became birders and grew to learn more about this contemporary environmental issue. Some might have also learned more about how little they knew about the bird species in Canada.
Exhibited:
Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2013. |
Title: Cruel GiftsDate: 2013
Medium: Mixed Media (Taxidermy Form, LED Lights, Wood, Paper, String And Acrylic Paint) Dimension: 2.5' x 3.5' x 4' Category: Environmental DescriptionThe sculpture professor wanted their class to learn all four saws in the room. Each student had to create a wooden box and had the concept they chose to represent was open. My box is a box trap, which was and still is traditionally used by hunters to capture wildlife dead or alive. Although this box trap would not actually work in real-life, its design was inspired by references online. A taxidermy fox is standing inside the box. The inside walls of the box are glowed red and covered in red brown paint. Scattered dry leaves are spread out across the floor. I hoped that when viewers peered down into the box trap they would be surprised to what they saw inside and feel helpless for the creature's well-being. In general, I am demonstrating the cruelty of hunting practices. The arrows on the outside of the box were added to symbolize the fox's limited space to feel safe to roam. In summary, this project allowed me to learn new artist techniques and demonstrate more visually unappealing content.
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Title: Cats Out Of TimeDate: 2013
Medium: Fabric Sculpture Dimension: 3' x 2.5' Category: Environmental DescriptionNeutering your pets has been reminded on TV, the news and from word and mouth for years, yet North America still suffers from exploding populations of feral and domestic house cats. Any true environmentalist would say, "Cats should stay indoors and be neutered". It is a known fact that cats devastate wildlife populations. Small bird populations drop in areas wherever cats are left to roam. The root of the cause is not the cats, but their owners and the societies living around them and doing nothing to stop the overabundant cat population.
This sculpture shows a single mother cat with all of the babies she can reproduce over her single lifetime. I hope viewers, after reading this statement and viewing the artwork on the right can now understand why this environmental issue is shared through the media so repetitively. |
Title: Self PortraitDate: 2012
Medium: Mixed Media (Paper Mache, Ink, Acrylic Paint, 3D Gel Pen And Gloss Medium) Dimension: 36" x 48" Category: Portraiture DescriptionMy first self portrait at Lakehead University's art program. This artwork was made for my drawing studio and our class was asked to use multiple mediums to create it.
Exhibited:
Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2012. Awards:
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Title: Box ProjectDate: 2012
Medium: Mixed Media (Wood Box, Acrylic Paint, Faux fur, Egg Shell, Acorn, Wire, Tissue Paper, Air-dry Clay, Stones) Dimension: 12" x 18" Category: Environmental |
Title: Printmaking TilesDate: 2012
Medium: Carved Printmaking Tiles Dimension: 6" x 9" Category: Environmental/Portraiture |
Title: Mr. Raccoon FishermanDate: 2012
Medium: Mixed Media Ceramic (Ceramic, Wood, Thread, Air-dry Clay, Fishing Line, Acrylic Paint, Gloss Medium) Dimension: 5" x 12" Category: Environmental DescriptionInspired by Beatrix potter's Petter Rabbit style, Mr.Raccoon Fisherman is portrayed right. In our contemporary age, raccoons are one of the few species able to live alongside humankind in cities, taking advantage of our garbage and habitable environment. I decided to personify a raccoon to bring light to our contemporary and Canadian species that appears more human like in it's behavior compared to its other wilder neighbors. Raccoons are very intelligent and observant of humankind’s habits. Mr. Raccoon Fisherman is about to go fishing using man-made technology and wisdom. This work questions the definition of "wild" animals and shines interest towards the raccoon's human-like intelligence.
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Exhibited:
Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2012.
Award:
Thunder Bay Potters Guild Award (Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2012)
Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2012.
Award:
Thunder Bay Potters Guild Award (Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2012)
Title: Invasive WarDate: 2012
Medium: Ceramic Dimension: 8" x 8" x 2' Category: Environmental DescriptionThe invasive house sparrow (native to Europe) will steal nests, destroy eggs and even kill native Canadian birds. The vase on the right depicts a 360-degree view of the invasive house sparrow out-competing Canadian songbirds. The Ceramic assignment was intended to have first year students learn hand-building and basic ceramic techniques, such as glazing. The class was asked to individually make a Chinese inspired vase and apply a concept of interest into it. This work was simply meant to teach viewers about the invasive house sparrow and how it has affected Canadian birds.
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Title: Selfish GameDate: 2011
Medium: Mixed Media Sculpture (Chicken Wire, Plastic Forks/Knives/Spoons and Water Bottle Lids) Dimension: 10" x 30" Category: Environmental DescriptionWith a skeleton of chicken wire, this life-size woodland caribou mount is displayed right. Selfish game has a skin of plastic to reflect the disposable and environmental practice of hunting.
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Exhibited:
Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2012.
Award:
The Keg Award (Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2012)
Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2012.
Award:
The Keg Award (Lakehead University's Juried Student Art Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2012)
My Overall Experience
My experience attending Lakehead University's HBFA program was a very positive and inspiring one. I would recommend Lakehead's outstanding art program to any art fanatic or high school student who's interested in pursuing the fine arts. In year one, we took many studio-based art courses including ceramics, painting, sculpture, printmaking, and basic design. As the years progressed and as our interests matured, we narrowed down our studio courses to two per year. The class sizes at LU were very nice and small. Our art professors were very eager to help us on an individual basis. For the most part, most assignments that were given to us were very open to an individual's tastes and artistic style. Like all art programs, it was not easy to pass; you have to work at it! You have to train yourself to research, construct and design your own works of art on a timely basis! This means hours and hours of tedious planning and learning on your own at times. Anyone can do it, as long as you try your best. Having already graduated from an art institution, the nice reward in the end is your enhanced capability to express yourself as an independent and professional artist. If you are serious about the arts, an undergraduate program is a good starting point for you to explore.