Dragonflies and Peonies “Peace in the Garden” Acrylic
There’s nothing better than nature to depict a new beginning. I took a couple of my favourite things from nature: dragonflies, peonies, a light breeze and my favourite colour, blue, to show you that when you take a look, new life is all around you. I chose to keep the colour palette simple but bold to emphasize the subject matter and left a lot of open space as to not overwhelm the viewer but perhaps spark an interest or motivation to appreciate nature and the feelings that a natural atmosphere can bring. If you’ve ever watched a garden grow, you can see the life and newness that comes out of the ground, with that inspiration in mind you can begin to envision a new beginning for yourself; as humans we look at everything in a way that is relatable back to us, which is such a great thing because it allows us to learn and grow. Connecting to nature is so important, and hopefully this piece will inspire you to do just that.
Rhonda Bobinski Red Lake
Serendipitous Beginning Mixed Media
It refers to the happenstance of unexpected love and the evolutionary cycle that brings two people to that poignant moment. Finding love at a later stage in adult life ultimately involves a voyage of past influences and actions being done oblivious of each other’s life. Separately, we went through passages of emotional loss, frustration, exhilaration and passion. These are the seeds that create paths that gnarl and swirl like a vine that eventually blooms completely. It is the dying of those blooms that allowed new seeds to drop and become simultaneously planted by my lover and I. The fresh seeds bloomed into a chance beginning; new, unexpected love based on old travels with fresh insight and a zest for new discovery together.
Kristy Cameron Atikokan
In Turn Mixed Media
Three generations are depicted here: my mother, me, and my daughter. Our totem animals appear above us. We are ushering my daughter into her new life as she begins her own spiritual and cultural journey. As a young woman, she will be leaving her home and making her own way in life
Kristy Cameron Atikokan
Voyageur Mixed Media
Becoming a voyageur was the start of an adventurous and grueling career. It was also the start of various Metis families along the way. This voyageur, Laurent Cadotte, was descended from the Huron chief, Nicolas Arendanki, of the Bear clan. The image in his head represents the cultural beliefs that the voyageurs adopted while travelling along the fur route. Also represented are objects synonymous of voyageur life and their emerging Metis cultures.
Harriet Carlson Red Lake
Waffle Boy Photo
Waffle Boy was shot with my friend’s son, Dali, in their kitchen in Sudbury. I was working on a television sitcom at the time, and I was constantly stealing 16mm film waste ends from the garbage can in the camera area. I saved up six garbage bags full and dumped it into their tiny kitchen. The caterpillar costume was Dali’s idea, as were the cold waffles he was eating.
Jeanie Cutts Dryden Oh Happy Day Clay, glazes, grout
Oh What a Night Clay, glazes, grout
Joy and happiness, that’s the feeling I hope to portray with this 20x20 inch expressionistic clay mosaic. It makes me joyful to see nature, such as rolling hills, flowers, sparkling water, blue skies, and the warm sun, as well I chose colours that are happy and bright.
This mosaic was made with low fire clay, rolled out and pieced together with slip until I had the size I wanted. I drew what I wanted on the clay canvas, using a sharp tool. After cutting into pieces, I slowly dried them on metal racks to prevent warpage. When dry, I fired the tiles in my kiln. I then painted the bisque pieces using under glazes, over glaze, and specialty glazes. After firing them again, I glued the clay tiles on a wood base and frame and proceeded to grout the mosaic.
Jeff Faulds Red Lake
The Ferris Wheel Acrylic on canvas
I remember as a kid loving it when the fair would come to town. The Ferris wheel always dominates the skyline and it reminds me of the beginning of a fun and exciting evening.
Lauren Furman Cochenour
Barb Marker and Collage on Paper
I created Barb in high school for an assignment based on the life of a Canadian artist. The inspiration for Barb came from surrealist artist Alfred Pellan’s art style. During this assignment I realized that his style was very similar to mine when it comes to his use of line and designs.
Alfred Pellan used a lot of colour in his work as well as surrealism. I represented this by decorating Barb with vast amounts of colour and design as well as sticking Barbies in her head in order to represent the idea of surrealism.
Lauren Furman Cochenour
Box Marker and Collage on Paper
This art piece is based on the idea of a box and the fact that a box‘s job is to contain. I wanted to represent the idea that it is important for people to have an outlet that lets them release their thoughts. The collaged box is my representation of the mind and all of the random occurrences you may come across in life. All of this imagery is limited to its container, therefore leaving the mind cluttered with little space. The tree emerging from the collaged box represents the idea that it is important to have an outlet that lets you release your thoughts and the ways in which you take in everyday life.
Helen Grymaloski Vermillion Bay
Reflections Photography
Mother Mallard duck was out with her chicks one morning and I could not resist observing and documenting her morning lessons with her ducklings. This image just strikes me as the mother reflecting on her young ones future.
George Johnson Balmertown
Taxi Mixed watercolour, ink, china marker
I was raised in a log cabin just 50 yards from this old vehicle. My sister and I were allowed to play in it in 1949 and 50’s provided we had our dog with us and there weren't any bears around.
Pippi Johnson Kenora
Red Sky at Night Acrylic/Mixed Media
Martin King Thunder Bay
Beginnings Acrylic, pen, glued paper on canvas
This particular piece of art work I made is called Beginnings. I took the science viewpoint on how the earth got its water. Some science documentaries I was watching claim the earth was just a place with lava and volcanoes. Water came to earth from a major impact from an ice comet. I believe earth had the same environment as Venus back then with its metal clouds and volcanoes. As for the cut out paper frame, I drew early symbolic events and evolutionary stages in the human time line. The evolutionary stages that is shown is the walking fish and her eggs, a swimming platypus, which is a cross between a reptile and a mammal, and some shady apes one of them with a bone. The other early events in evolutionary history that is shown is a lot of forest and jungles burning down and a family is trying to find a safe place. The other events are building the pyramids, a cult leader, the invention of the wheel, and a mother holding her baby.
Jean Marshall Fort William First Nation
Red Bird Glass beads
I love birds. This is a simple piece created using glass beads, melton cloth and thread. It was an exploration using hand sewing techniques and machine sewing.
I am a visual artist/crafter. I have had an appreciation for art throughout my life. Being an extremely introverted child, I was attracted to art as a way to communicate and express without words. No questions. Simply create. It has become meditative. I crave to make things because it makes me feel relaxed and connected. It is also a time to be reflective. I am like many artists dabbling in this and that. I am mainly recognized for beadwork. In the last few years I have been drawn towards more traditional art forms, working with natural materials such as birch bark, pine needles and porcupine quills. Presently, I am working on independent projects and working towards upcoming exhibitions.
Stephen Martone Balmertown
Peace Out Photograph
Let’s all just relax and peace out to new beginnings.
Heather Mitchell Thessalon
Winter Blues Acrylic
One of the most beautiful of the songbirds, the blue jay, cannot help but inspire an artist. This is one of many visitors to the bird feeder in winter and I love the way the sunlight plays on their feathers.
Willene Moffat Dryden
First Look Glass mosaic
This piece reflects my first impressions of the pine trees, rocks and lakes when I moved to Northwestern Ontario. Coming from the horizontal prairies, I was awestruck by the verticals, diagonals and triangular shapes around me. This inspired me to create the mosaics which highlight the variety of colours, textures and reflections through the selections of stained glass.
Luc Nicol Thunder Bay
Quetico Red Pine Acrylic on canvas
This painting was started outside, on location, during an artist residency at Quetico Provincial Park and completed later in studio. During the two week residency, I embarked on a weeklong solo canoe journey into the park’s interior with several canvases, an easel, paints, and brushes. This painting is the beginning of a return to studying trees and forest interiors after a prolonged period of painting images of Lake Superior’s North Shore. I believe that the unique postures of trees can be a vehicle to explore individual expression and character.
Linda Paquin Dryden
Home Tweet Home, just living the dream Steel/mixed media
The nest in the tree branch has been "steam-punked"; readied for the new arrivals.
Welcome, it’s a new beginning in the refurbished family nest. Updates and bling added to this cozy space are for comfort along with an important educational tool.
Loving Mother is watching from her perch and teaching her chicks to eat fresh worms off the "food line". Proud Father searches for more worms to feed his new family’s huge appetite!
Chick’s first lessons:
Spread your wings Family values Sing lovingly Share worms Respect Mother Nature
Rihkee Strap Sault Ste Marie
Red Lake Legend Mixed media
Rihkee Strap Sault Ste Marie
Norval’s Shadow Box Mixed media
I am a multi-disciplinary artist; I find creating an expression of devotion and thus the process in making my work is very ritualized. The work I am presenting in Beginnings is about my home town Red Lake; its legends, its artists, and its stories that were passed down from my grandmother. Using a salvaged drawer, or a degrading pair of pants I treat the surfaces endlessly and add the story of our history based in woodlands traditions but also incorporating temporary mnemonic signifiers and new chapters from my own life.
Randy Thomas Thunder Bay
Beginnings
Randy has always practiced his talent through the years with the encouragement from his mother and father. Randy states, “My dad made sure there was art material available for me and my brother.” Randy would watch his father paint, sometimes even painting alongside him. Randy cherishes the teachings and time spent with his father.
“For the past few years it’s been on my mind to get back into my art. I felt a need to be closer to my father.” Randy now spends his time painting and drawing in the traditional styles; following in the Footsteps of his late father.
Randy was recently awarded a commission to produce a series of drawings to be part of a new architectural feature, the Celebration Circle in the Spirit Garden at Prince Arthur's Landing, Thunder Bay's new waterfront development. Randy’s interpretation of the competition theme, which placed emphasis on sharing, peaceful co-existence and regard for the natural world, ultimately won him the award. To honour his father and mentor, Randy chose to include Roy's work "Lifegivers" as part of this work of art.
Gary Worrall Red Lake
South Rim Sunset Photograph on Gatorfoam
Taken on the edge of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, South Rim Sunset is a graphic illustration of the power and beauty of the natural world. The combination of dramatic geology, the layered red sediments of the canyon and the setting sun combine to create the natural drama which prevails in the canyon lands of the American southwest.
Tammy Zebruck Kenora
Aerobus Creek Acrylic
This painting depicts a place not so far from Red Lake. It is the dawn on Aerobus Creek at the point where it enters Waubauskang Lake. The day begins; misty, with the promise of heat and perhaps an evening thunderstorm.
Ahmoo Angeconeb Lac Seul
Sacred Gift of Sage Sacred Gift of Sweetgrass Coloured Pencil
Kathleen Baleja Thunder Bay
Hope Wasp Nest Paper
Working with wasp paper has a beautiful soothing meditative quality. The experience affords time for reflection and contemplation. Two years ago, I created a pregnant torso as a celebration of new life for my friend Heather as she looked forward to beginning a family. This fall, as a way of processing my son’s severe mental illness, I punched through the abdomen to symbolize the chaos he and everyone around him experiences as a result of his psychosis. The result was disheartening. The piece was ruined, so I had no choice but to repair it…and again, this was a symbolic gesture. I realized I must find hope in the destruction around me. I patched the hole by sewing the wasp paper back together. The result resembles skin being sutured. This process helped me find some hope that my son would stay on medications. I am wishing this to be a new beginning for him.
Sonja Boyce Edson, AB
Geostrata – Galena
My interest in rock faces and exposed mineral formations had their beginnings, for me, in Red Lake and the potential to interpret them artistically was a "eureka moment” at a collage/mixed media workshop. With the influence of an endless geological palette of colours and designs, I stain, texture and coat numerous varieties of paper and use various acrylic mediums to represent the minerals I choose to depict. In this piece, the “Galena" is represented by the reflective, dark mid-area band and the tiered base.
Kristy Cameron Atikokan
Dreamcatcher Mixed Media
Dreamcatcher’ is
one of a series of paintings that tell a meaningful story about how the
dreamcatcher first came about.
Grandmother spider is about to spin a dreamcatcher. While she spins, she gives advice to the
troubled youth, who in turn, takes the dreamcatcher back to his people to share
these teachings.
Harriet Carlson Red Lake
Spacexbike Photo 8 x 10
Spacebike was shot in a basement, using a friend’s partially rebuilt Honda motorcycle and an industrial fan. I love motorcycles, and this photo idealizes the feeling you get when you are riding on one at night. It is enjoyable to build a space photo fantasy in someone’s cement furnace room.
Christian Chapman Fort William First Nation
Don’t Worry Be Happy Acrylic, silkscreen
A good storyteller can evoke both tears and laughter with their words. Through the intonations of their voice and their physical gestures, they can also recreate images in our minds. I pay respect to the past by telling stories in my paintings.
The act of storytelling has been an important part of my life: it has informed me of my heritage and has shaped my identity and personal experiences. The oral storytelling tradition is an important part to the preservation and growth of Anishnawbe culture. I hold the highest regard for storytellers and feel that in my own way, my art helps keep stories alive for future generations.
My most recent paintings are visual stories that are both funny and serious. I draw on a range of stories and experiences from my youth, specifically what I was told not to do while I was growing up. Whether it came from my grandmother, my father or from people in my community, I use these ‘don’ts’ to conjure images in my work. I try to capture both the vividness and circumstances of these sayings by layering paint and silkscreen images, with personal stories and those spread in the news. Through these paintings, I hope to provide the viewer with a glimpse into my past.
Jeff Faulds Red Lake
Beginning of Winter Acrylic on canvas
The beginning of winter gets me motivated to head out to my favourite ski spot to hit the trails.
Holly Ann Friesen Kenora
See the light through the trees II Acrylic
This piece is part of a series examining the play of light through the forest. This particular painting began with the focus on light as it played through the trees at daybreak – or the beginning of a typical day in the region. I focus on bold patterns and color, then add several layers of color and texture until the image becomes recognizable again, as an abstraction. This image also plays off of commonly seen patterns in the region - camouflage. The bold image and colours provide a camouflage for the woodland forest.
Lauren Furman Cochenour
Wave Ink and mixed media
Donna Giles & Sherri Martin Dryden
Reclaimed Installation & Photography
The restorative nature of Mother Earth is depicted in this collaborative installation of a forest gently reclaiming abandoned objects over time. A delicately constructed forest suspended from the ceiling suggests the patient yet insistent force of time and entropy quietly exerted on whatever is encountered.
Accompanying the forest is a series of photographs of abandoned vehicles and vehicle parts found in the Northwestern Ontario bush surrounding Sioux Lookout. The photos document the oft-overlooked work of nature, recovering and reclaiming man-made detritus.
Embracing, absorbing, corroding, eroding, growing up, through, around and over until evidence of human existence becomes woven into the fabric of the earth. Reclaimed.
George Johnson Balmertown
Open House Mixed watercolour, ink, china marker
Here at the Jackson Mine site with the roof collapsed, I could still see some wall paper, a table and chair, where a family once worked and lived in the bush.
Pippi Johnson Kenora
Swimmer Series Acrylic/Mixed Media
The six months of stark winter in NWO has led me to choose colour as my primary theme. I see vibrant hues where others see greys and brown. Seeking the unusual, I do not paint light falling on objects but rather light flashing through the trees and floating through water...moving through space with great energy.
My work intends to evoke memories of woodland places and the people who work there. There is great joy in the light between the trees and the people who live here. This is not a portrayal of certain place or person but rather the essence of many experiences, many layers.
I work for six months outside at my island home, Treaty Island, Kenora. I have no walls and no ceiling. Free, with only the sounds of birds, water and wind.
We live with our feet and bodies anchored to the earth…but I am always looking up. Those tall trees form a bridge pulling my thoughts upwards. All those thoughts fill the spaces creating little dramas and poems in my own colour pattern.
Alastair MacKay Thunder Bay
Untitled Digital photograph
Alastair MacKay Thunder Bay
Beginning of the End Digital photograph
I am a hunter. I capture details of the world I inhabit on a digital camera. I bring them back to my Photoshop studio where I undress them, and redress them, until I am pleased with my captured findings, having transformed them into a unique slice of my life. And then I set them free.
Stephen Martone Balmertown
We are Strong Acrylic paint on paper
This painting is not to dwell on the hardships that cancer patients have faced but rather the new beginnings that they have to look forward to. The tree symbolizes the growth of the person’s ability to fight off the debilitating disease. The branches are the different paths that each patient takes to fight the disease and the leaves are to represent growth of new beginnings, a beginning of being cancer free.
Debbie Metzler Thunder Bay
Mother and Child Mixed media collage on canvas
This is the first piece of a series about the relationship between mothers and children. In this collage I have assembled various painted, drawn and collaged canvases. All the drawings are my original work. This first piece in the series is obviously the beginning – life from birth to adolescence.
Heather Mitchell Thessalon
Simple Elegance Acrylic
Canada Geese have a special place in my heart – they were the first birds I drew when I was a child. I discovered this beauty in Sault Ste. Marie, swimming near the lock, and did a field sketch of him doing his very best mute swan impression…from that drawing, this painting was born.
Willene Moffat Dryden
Liquid Lines Fused glass
The colours chosen for this piece represent the earth, water, sun and sky. Glass combing is a new technique that I am experimenting with. Strips of glass that are ½ inch wide are stood vertically together and placed in a kiln. When the glass is at the molten or liquid stage, it is manipulated with a metal rod creating the swirling moving lines throughout the design.
Don Nord Red Lake
Fintown Auto 4 Photograph
Don Nord Red Lake
House in Fintown 2 Photograph
“Beginnings”…the chosen theme for this exposition….would be the word that applies to the moments in time, where events come into being. Photography, my medium of choice, is where I can capture a moment in time of an event which has its beginnings in the distant past. The images show the spectator, the state of condition, and appearance in the present, revealing what was, is now, and what is to come. This experience not only gives us the insight of linear time but also sets in motion the visions of past activities in the lives of people who, are now but memories.
Liane Ross Ear Falls
Winter Sky Acrylic on canvas
When observing a landscape my eye is drawn to the sky, and the interesting pieces of it that peer out in between tree branches or other obstructions. This series of paintings is a study of these interesting "shapes of sky." Using texture and a minimal palette, my objective was to draw attention to the negative shapes, and leave the lines in between as careful, dark silhouettes. Initially the goal was to make the negative shapes the focal point, however, the contrast between the foreground and background has been so complimentary that either may become the focal point, depending on the viewer.
Iris Stunzi Sioux Lookout
Circle, 2009 Etching with chine-colle
This work explores creation and destruction; how they are interconnected and inseparable. There is no life without death, day without night, beginning without end. Negative and positive forces are eternally in balance.
Alice Olsen Williams Curve Lake First Nation
Contradictions Fabric – 100% cotton
I have made 2 other quilted wall hangings with the same message. Red Lake used to celebrate the prosperous economic growth of the town by holding a Norseman’s day weekend in July. It was the Norseman that helped Red Lake open up the Indian lands of North Western Ontario to mining, tourism, pulp and paper and lumbering, in other words, prosperity for the multinationals and for the already well off. For far too many of the original peoples, the trees, the waters, and the plants, the animals and the air of this sacred land, the opening up of the north meant the very opposite.
Gary Worrall Red Lake
Slot Canyon Photograph on Gatorfoam
The narrow slot canyons of north east Arizona and southern Utah are a natural haven for photographers. A special place where water, stone and sand filtered light combine to create a natural kaleidoscope of earthy tones cascading down sculptured sandstone. Shot in Upper Antelope Canyon, this narrow passage is a winding creek bed carved from natural stone no more than 10 meters wide where the light filters from narrow openings a hundred feet above.
Tammy Zebruck Kenora
Poem Acrylic
Water contains the beginnings of life. Myriad creatures, large and microscopic inhabit the world beneath its surface. Plant life lurks below, sometimes, like the pencil reeds, pushing through that surface to interface with the sky and reflecting in a tracery of calligraphy spelling out some poetry in a language at the edge of comprehension.
*All image rights belong to the artist who created them. Reproduction of these images are prohibited.