From February 15-27, 2020 fellow artists Zoraida Anaya, Lisa Fox and I will feature our latest work in an art exhibition entitled Plastic Dreams, Broken Promises at the Cedar Ridge Creative Centre.

As part of the Cedar Ridge Gallery Contemporary Exhibition series, the collaborative installation centers around the themes of a throwaway and wasteful culture in an effort to raise awareness of its impact on the environment.  Ordinary plastic bags, crocheted into sculptures, photography on acrylic sheets and transparency lanterns transform the space to create a visually interesting exhibit.

The exhibition is part of the Women’s Art Project (WAP) Collective initiative, where the artistic intention is to make experimental work in a supportive, inspiring and collaborative environment.

Cedar Ridge Creative Centre is nestled within lush gardens enjoyed by the public and often rented for weddings and special events. Discover Cedar Ridge Gallery, home to contemporary and classic visual, and folk art exhibits. The upper floor of the main house and the adjacent carriage house contain working studio spaces that offer hands-on creative arts programs for visitors of all-ages. The refurbished pottery studio is located in what was the original carriage house.

Exhibition Dates: February 15-27, 2020
Reception: February 23, 1-3pm.

Cedar Ridge Creative Centre
225 Confederation Dr, Scarborough, ON M1G 1B2
Phone: 416-396-7378.

Hours:
Monday to Wednesday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
Thursday to Sunday, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Closed on Statutory Holidays
Entry is free.

For more info visit The Cedar Ridge Creative Centre.

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Sanctum – My current body of work is now posted to the Paintings gallery.

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Sanctum (January 2014 – March 2015) is an interpretation of patterns found in Nature. In this body of work, I use crochet, acrylic and oil sticks,  to create interlocking gestural lines and arrange shapes and colours. These elements serve as metaphors of our own indivisibility and oneness with Nature.

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New works have been added to the Organics Series in the Paintings section. Be sure to check it out!
Here’s a sneak peak of two of my newer paintings. Both are mixed media – Embroidery, acrylic and oil stick:

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Thanks to all those who attended the Microcosm exhibit at Gallery 1313.  I am pleased to say that the show was a success.  The idea for this work started with a series of quick sketches on the subway, using just a notebook and a blue ball-point pen.  This is where I began thinking about the Microcosm series (works on paper) and the Impressions of Kinetic Creation series (paintings).  I wanted to create a body of work that was spontaneous and ever-changing, telling a series of ‘fantastical’ events taking place.

Here are some snapshots of the works installed before the opening on Thursday, February 23rd.  Detailed images of the works from this exhibit are now posted to the site.

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Microcosm (May 2010 – February 2012) In this series, visual queues of story-telling are  used to explore the idea of Nature as an active participant of a micro-universe.  Using gestural lines that overlap, a fantastical world emerges.  Images of strange creature inhabitants try to balance a delicate relationship with their “mother” – Nature.  The work depicts a series of events, where the creatures find themselves in a world where the forces of “mother” are ever so present; they are physically “caught” in the process.  Much like ourselves, the creatures are both loved and scorned by their well-being “mother”. They get jostled about just as we do, like goldfish in a tiny bowl of water. Sometimes they move gracefully, other times clumsily as they attempt to keep in harmony with Nature.  Their world is a place with a veneer of realism, which allows for natural and supernatural elements to take place.

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The Song Never Ends (January 2008 – March 2010) is a compilation of  atmospheric spaces, which I like to revisit every now and then.  This is where I like to play with washes of colour.   Nature is my muse and through my work, I communicate my love for her.  The arrangement of organic structures, heightened colours and artificial skies meld together, rejuvenating life for a new existence. Once transformed, these spaces become timeless monuments, and any historical reference they might have had is just a passing memory. The softness and subtleties of colours in contrast to the harshness of dark lines of various thicknesses are techniques inspired from my drawing practice.

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Trace Elements (October 2006 – November 2006) are a series of sketches in made in various media such as conté, pastel, India ink, charcoal and chalk. This is where I begin to visualize my thoughts before I work on a painting.  Sometimes I will reuse certain elements in these sketches in my final works. These images are the result of several layers, which stems from the theories of alternative science – that all living things operate on various frequencies above or below our level of consciousness but are slightly out of our range of senses. These landscapes were portrayed as spaces that exist above, middle and below our frequency level.

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Details of a New World (October 2006) are sections of a scroll drawing that spans a total of 378 inches (31.5ft) in length. Inspired by alternative science research on genetic manipulation and memory, the scroll is a visual depiction of a reality that is beyond what we create, worlds of higher and lower frequencies some of which are seen while others go unnoticed.

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