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Portfolio 2021 Online

Exhibition

Portfolio 2021 Online

Youth Exhibition

The MacLaren Art Centre is pleased to highlight the creative talents of youth in Simcoe County through the Portfolio program. 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of this yearly showcase.

artwork

Featured Work

Content warning: some of the following artworks contain depictions of self-harm and reference topics such as depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation, which may be triggering to some audiences.

True Me
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

In this piece, I made myself into a work of art. It was my goal to express my inner, abstract, colourful self through exploration of intuitive, unconscious painting methods…

Frustration
Banting Memorial High School

In terms of theme in my artwork, it really depends if I want there to be a meaning or if I just want to draw something that comes to my mind…

Tongue-Tied
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

The concept behind this drawing began with my goal to represent a person who struggles with mental health, specifically anxiety and lack of self-confidence…

A Blue Pinecone
Banting Memorial High School

My inspiration for my work comes from a lot of different places. When I do pen and ink, I prefer almost messy sketching and trying to make cross-hatching realistic…

Blood Related
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

Blood Related (2020) is a mixed media painting that uses acrylic and digital media to express both unity and diversity. It was through these themes and materials that I was…

Head in the Clouds
Banting Memorial High School

As an artist, I enjoy painting with acrylics, drawing different characters (whether it be my own or from a cartoon/novel), and creating different things (like sculptures or using recycled things)…

A Closer Perspective
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

I’ve been taking pictures for a long time now and I gather inspiration for pictures everywhere. The inspiration for these particular pieces came from my grandfather who…

Escape
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

The stack of books represents and symbolizes my love for reading. I have used reading as a form of escapism, which is a theme that I wanted to present in my design…

The Place we were Made
Banting Memorial High School

For me, art is a way to visually express and represent myself. Through my art, you can see my views on life, my personality and things that I am passionate about…

The Beauty of Natire: Lake Leaves
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

I love taking photographs and most of the photos I take capture the beauty of nature and the earth that surrounds us. Most of the photos I take are just from my phone and I am constantly capturing the beauty of nature from sunsets to lakes to flowers…

Night Market
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

The process of this piece began with the memories of my first visit to my parents’ home country, where I was welcomed by a familiar language, an unrecognizable environment, and strangers that resembled my family…

Alone
Banting Memorial High School

For photography, the subject matter that inspires me is street photography. I like putting what is happening in the world or my life into my photography…

Country Fields
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

The farmland across from my house has been bought by developers, they are planning on farming for 10 more years but after that it will probably become a big complex with large houses…

Conversations With A Ghost
Innisdale Secondary School

This juxtaposition puts me at an odd place, both succumbing to nostalgia yet needlessly pining for the future. Being able to put this feeling and all of its discrepancies into the story of a familiar girl…Everchanging
Banting Memorial High School

Creating art is my way to express myself and let my creativity roam free. I try to send messages and convey emotions through my artworks, whether it be my emotions, or something I want the viewer to feel. …

Mind Maze
Innisdale Secondary School

Painting brings out a different side of me that I don’t tend to reveal to others. Painting lets me play around with my ideas and helps me explore a whole world of creativity…

Shielded from Harsh Reality
Innisdale Secondary School

Through the medium that is prop making, I can use my art to merge fictional worlds with reality, in a way, escaping this world along with its struggles, intricacies, conflicts…

Between Two Sides
Orillia Secondary School

The painting is meant to represent how my parents divorce affected me. The doll represents me being pulled from two sides…

Bound to the String
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

Obsession can feel like this at many times. Growing up as a teenage girl, this feeling is very prevalent in adolescent culture. From being judged for every small thing…

In a Trance
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

I had wanted to express the feeling after you realize where this mindset has gotten you. How do you feel when you realize you were irrational? When you’re exhausted…

The Beauty of Nature: Sunset and Cars
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

My photos are very important to me because it’s very hard for me to see the world so beautiful, I get very stressed and I have bad social anxiety so being able to be alone in nature taking a deep breath…

Who Am Eye?
Innisdale Secondary School

Shards of broken glass depict a set of eyes, studied and painted from different angles and perspectives. A single feature is obsessed over, picked apart until…

Behind My Closed Door
Innisdale Secondary School

My paintings and photographs establish a link between my individual reality and the one thought of by my own imagination. These works focus on concrete experiences that…

The Place Where the Ice Never Melts
Innisdale Secondary School

I have been experimenting with new themes, such as nature and humanity. I use my platform at school to create numerous paintings that display humanity’s environmental impact…

Looking Fear in the Eye: Entomophobia
Innisdale Secondary School

Fear and anxiety can take over people’s lives and even affect their mental health. The way that people react to their fears and the psychology behind it has always been interesting to me…

Tottenham United Church
Banting Memorial High School

Tottenham United Church is a painting of a church where I spent many years doing girl guides as a kid, painted entirely from soy sauce…

Carnage of War
Innisdale Secondary School

Inspired by my earliest childhood daydreams of dinosaurs, dragons and daring deeds, history and the world around me, I create images that are a hybrid of reality and fantasy, a sympathetic world that borders on the surreal…

Portfolio provides an exceptional opportunity to showcase the creative talent of youth in Simcoe County. 2021 marks the 30th year of Portfolio! Due to the pandemic, Portfolio 2021 Online is a virtual exhibition accessible on our website. The MacLaren Art Centre is committed to celebrating students’ accomplishments and publicly affirm the high caliber of visual arts education in Simcoe County.

 

This year, the MacLaren received artworks from across the region. Twenty-seven artworks have been selected for this virtual exhibition.

Portfolio is an opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of these aspiring artists, and to draw attention to the strong visual arts programs in Simcoe County high schools. Participating schools include: Banting Memorial High School (Alliston), Innisdale Secondary School (Barrie), Nantyr Shores Secondary School (Innisfil) and Orillia Secondary School.

The jurors for Portfolio 2021 Online are MacLaren Senior Curator Emily McKibbon and Education Officer, Christina Mancuso.

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True Me by Alexys Smalling, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

In this piece, I made myself into a work of art. It was my goal to express my inner, abstract, colourful self through exploration of intuitive, unconscious painting methods. I felt that to display how I felt about art as a practice, I would communicate my feelings in a way that is very unconventional and exclusive to me. Art, to me, is any form of self-expression one may partake in. There is no proper method, no real objective, and no means of meaningfully judging art. It is a path with no destination, where the goal is not to produce something to be observed, but to observe the act of producing. As such, I have always enjoyed the medium of makeup, and feel that it is a good method of self expression in a casual way. To use makeup and costuming on my own body as a means of art, I produced something that no other single human being on earth could have – something that is truly and originally mine, never to be reproduced again. There is no overt symbolism, as I simply let my subconscious take over the process, painting by feeling and not by skill. The process was cathartic in a way, and I felt as if I was releasing emotion in my painting with every splash of colour.

Frustration by Natasha Larmond, Banting Memorial High School

In terms of theme in my artwork, it really depends if I want there to be a meaning or if I just want to draw something that comes to my mind. Although there are people who would probably get a meaning from something that I didn’t mean to have, I draw what I feel and if that particular feeling happens to have a theme, I go with it. The subject matter that inspires me is usually people, mostly because it’s easier to draw than animals, but emotion can be noticed more in people. I can display more things with people than I can with a T-Rex, dog or a cat, so I stick with individuals. I would describe my style as a mix between graphic and realistic and also abstract, so I wouldn’t really hold myself down to one.

A Blue Pinecone by Ethan Kennedy-Munsterman, Banting Memorial High School

My inspiration for my work comes from a lot of different places. When I do pen and ink, I prefer almost messy sketching and trying to make cross-hatching realistic through how I shade and show value in my pen and ink. I also focus on dark and contrasting images: I like having a lot of dark spots and then putting in small white spots for highlights. For photography, the subject matter that inspires me is street photography. I like putting what is happening in the world or my life into my photography because that is what it is all about. When I went out and photographed these photos, I wanted it to be in a city because with all the buildings around you feel small and overwhelmed. I strive to be able to accurately depict emotions in photography. Overall, I would describe my personal artistic style as messy and dark and moody. It’s messy because of the crosshatching I do, I think it gives it a unique look. Dark and moody is mostly in my photography, I love that look because it shows a lot of emotion and feelings.

Alone by Ethan Kennedy-Munsterman, Banting Memorial High School

My inspiration for my work comes from a lot of different places. When I do pen and ink, I prefer almost messy sketching and trying to make cross-hatching realistic through how I shade and show value in my pen and ink. I also focus on dark and contrasting images: I like having a lot of dark spots and then putting in small white spots for highlights. For photography, the subject matter that inspires me is street photography. I like putting what is happening in the world or my life into my photography because that is what it is all about. When I went out and photographed these photos, I wanted it to be in a city because with all the buildings around you feel small and overwhelmed. I strive to be able to accurately depict emotions in photography. Overall, I would describe my personal artistic style as messy and dark and moody. It’s messy because of the crosshatching I do, I think it gives it a unique look. Dark and moody is mostly in my photography, I love that look because it shows a lot of emotion and feelings.

Tongue-Tied by Vanessa Namseang, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

Tongue-Tied is a digital portrait drawn with Procreate, an intuitive drawing program for the iPad. The concept behind this drawing began with my goal to represent a person who struggles with mental health, specifically anxiety and lack of self-confidence. The entangling lines suffocating this character symbolize the barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential, while the confidence and ambition in their eyes represent their inner strength and desire to become better than their current state. The fear of the unexpected is an extremely valid feeling that many can relate to, therefore I wanted to portray that emotion in the form of art so that viewers would be able to feel a sense of relatability and comfort along with this piece.

Blood Related by Vanessa Namseang, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

Blood Related (2020) is a mixed media painting that uses acrylic and digital media to express both unity and diversity. It was through these themes and materials that I was able to depict a collage of characters looking in the same direction, symbolizing the connection yet distinction between one another. I began this painting by sketching out the faces onto a canvas, laying my flat colours with acrylic paint, adding details with acrylic and marker, and processing the final image through Photoshop to draw in the blue, yellow, and red designs. The concept behind this painting began from the idea of “family” and how this group of people can have the same blood flowing through their veins, similar features, and yet each person can be a completely independent individual. In my own experience, my mother was born into a family of seven children who each pursued a different goal, such as five of them deciding to move to countries around the globe. However, despite having different goals, personalities, or demeanors, these people are still bound to one another through their ancestral history. As a result, I was able to paint these portraits given my fascination with the thought of being born from the same bloodline yet having a completely unique story

Head in the Clouds by Giulia Caruso, Banting Memorial High School

As an artist, I enjoy painting with acrylics, drawing different characters (whether it be my own or from a cartoon/novel), and creating different things (like sculptures or using recycled things). Most of my works relate to my interests, and other times they’re just random things I improvise or think of at the moment. I mostly go for a humorous or positive root, probably because I usually make art when I’m in a good mood, or because I enjoy creating things that make me smile. With “Head in The Clouds” the theme I was going with was me. The message behind Head in The Clouds is part of the reason why I like it so much. I’m never really grounded with my thoughts and usually think things differently than the majority, and I’ve always felt overwhelmed by it. Carving this out and stamping it down really made me feel a sort of relief because this “my head is everywhere but nowhere” kind of feeling is hard to explain in words.Good vibes are mostly what I like my art to give, and it could be funny, calming, cute, or anything around that, as long as the viewer smiles, I’m proud.

A Closer Perspective by Carson Bath, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

I’ve been taking pictures for a long time now and I gather inspiration for pictures everywhere. The inspiration for these particular pieces came from my grandfather who got me into photography in the first place. He got me trying out macro techniques which I believe is my best field of photography. He deeply rooted a passion for photography that I carry throughout all my work. The pieces I’ve submitted show off some different styles of my work from different places all across Ontario. I like to pay close attention to the details and capture as many as I can. Weather that’s a macro shot or a landscape as seen in my submissions. I take great attention to detail while creating all my work. When I look around I see the world as everyone else, except I see pictures. What I mean by this is I can look around and visualize pictures before I take them. These pieces are all created because of the visualization of the possibilities around me.

Escape by Zoe Fink, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

This art piece is titled Escape and is a mixture of sharpie and acrylic paint on a 24 x 24″ masonite board. The stack of books represents and symbolizes my love for reading. I have used reading as a form of escapism, which is a theme that I wanted to present in my design. I used hatching to create depth within the pages of the book. There are vines, letters, and butterflies coming out from the book, representing that books are my roots and are intertwined with my lifestyle. They also represent how they have guided me to pick my career path, which was a major change from sciences to the arts. The girl represents me and I decided to use a stippling technique to create depth within the facial structure. On her chest, there are three flowers, that represent my mom, grandma, and sister who have all had influence over my life. The hair consists of a variety of line sizes, as I wanted to give the illusion of flowing hair. On the top, there are mountains with an old tree, which I tend to use in multiple art pieces and it symbolizes my grandpa’s house in Quebec. The stars leak into the letters from the book that is coming off the pages, connecting the entire piece together through movement. The multiple butterflies that are seen in my design can symbolize change and hope, connecting back to the sudden realization that pursuing a science career is not for me.

The Place we were Made by Gwen Elmhirst, Banting Memorial High School

For me, art is a way to visually express and represent myself. Through my art, you can see my views on life, my personality and things that I am passionate about. I believe that emotion is a very important thing to convey in artwork. If the artist is feeling something while they are creating the artwork, this will likely translate to the piece. I think of my art pieces as pieces of me, and feel as though after seeing a couple of my artworks you can understand me more. Throughout my pieces you can see themes of the outdoors, people, and youth. I have loved many pieces that I’ve created in the past. In particular, three art pieces I created this year have been my favourites: Tottenham United Church, a painting of a church where I spent many years doing girl guides as a kid, painted entirely from soy sauce, Take me Home, Country Roads, a rural landscape made from glass, and The Place we were Made, an acrylic painting of friends glowing by the streetlights as they bike down a road at dusk. Personally, I am inspired by topics that I relate to, and am passionate about. This includes things that other people my age struggle with like mental health, insecurities, and social media. I hope to make more pieces on these topics in the future. These topics also include being outdoors and adventuring. Each summer, I go on a month-long canoe trip with peers through the Canadian wilderness. This activity has become a big part of who I am, and as something that I am very passionate about, is visible in my artwork.

Tottenham United Church by Gwen Elmhirst, Banting Memorial High School

For me, art is a way to visually express and represent myself. Through my art, you can see my views on life, my personality and things that I am passionate about. I believe that emotion is a very important thing to convey in artwork. If the artist is feeling something while they are creating the artwork, this will likely translate to the piece. I think of my art pieces as pieces of me, and feel as though after seeing a couple of my artworks you can understand me more. Throughout my pieces you can see themes of the outdoors, people, and youth. I have loved many pieces that I’ve created in the past. In particular, three art pieces I created this year have been my favourites: Tottenham United Church, a painting of a church where I spent many years doing girl guides as a kid, painted entirely from soy sauce, Take me Home, Country Roads, a rural landscape made from glass, and The Place we were Made, an acrylic painting of friends glowing by the streetlights as they bike down a road at dusk. Personally, I am inspired by topics that I relate to, and am passionate about. This includes things that other people my age struggle with like mental health, insecurities, and social media. I hope to make more pieces on these topics in the future. These topics also include being outdoors and adventuring. Each summer, I go on a month-long canoe trip with peers through the Canadian wilderness. This activity has become a big part of who I am, and as something that I am very passionate about, is visible in my artwork.

The Beauty of Nature: Lake Leaves by Madison Dwyer, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

I don’t have an appropriate title for this work other than The Beauty of Nature. This portfolio just shows people how I see the world through my eyes, beautiful.

I love taking photographs and most of the photos I take capture the beauty of nature and the earth that surrounds us. Most of the photos I take are just from my phone and I am constantly capturing the beauty of nature from sunsets to lakes to flowers. Photography is probably one of my favourite things to do in my spare time.

I chose to use the photos that I did simply because they are my favourite photos I have ever taken and I feel they show what I am trying to say. The world can be very cruel but if you just stop what you’re doing and look around you and listen to the birds sing, the waves splash and watch the stars or the sunset go down, you will actually notice how beautiful the world can be and that it’s the people who make it cruel.

My photos are very important to me because it’s very hard for me to see the world so beautiful, I get very stressed and I have bad social anxiety so being able to be alone in nature taking a deep breath and examining my surroundings gives me a sense of clarity and knowing I can look back on that photo to feel a sense of happiness whenever I feel down is a good feeling.

The Beauty of Nature: Sunset and Cars by Madison Dwyer, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

I don’t have an appropriate title for this work other than The Beauty of Nature. This portfolio just shows people how I see the world through my eyes, beautiful.

I love taking photographs and most of the photos I take capture the beauty of nature and the earth that surrounds us. Most of the photos I take are just from my phone and I am constantly capturing the beauty of nature from sunsets to lakes to flowers. Photography is probably one of my favourite things to do in my spare time.

I chose to use the photos that I did simply because they are my favourite photos I have ever taken and I feel they show what I am trying to say. The world can be very cruel but if you just stop what you’re doing and look around you and listen to the birds sing, the waves splash and watch the stars or the sunset go down, you will actually notice how beautiful the world can be and that it’s the people who make it cruel.

My photos are very important to me because it’s very hard for me to see the world so beautiful, I get very stressed and I have bad social anxiety so being able to be alone in nature taking a deep breath and examining my surroundings gives me a sense of clarity and knowing I can look back on that photo to feel a sense of happiness whenever I feel down is a good feeling.

Night Market by Vanessa Namseang, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

Night Market is a traditional 48” x 32” mixed-media painting about unfamiliarity and discovery. The process of this piece began with the memories of my first visit to my parents’ home country, where I was welcomed by a familiar language, an unrecognizable environment, and strangers that resembled my family. Using these thoughts, I wanted to use art to capture the first impression of being exposed to a heavily significant unknown place. To accomplish this, I combined several media including acrylic paint, markers, ink, and gold leaf to paint the scene of a night market in the bright and lively city of Bangkok, Thailand. The hand in the foreground is emphasized to represent me reaching towards the expectant signs that are willing to give me the answers to my past curiosities. Through this painting, I was able to express my relief and excitement when finally discovering a part of my ethnicity as a first generation child in Canada.

Country Fields by Rea Mhlongo, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

The kind of photography that I am interested in creating captures the beauty of the nature around us. I live in a rural area surrounded by magnificent scenery that inspires me to photograph and document its artistry. I want my photographs to showcase the environment and different landscapes. The farmland across from my house has been bought by developers, they are planning on farming for 10 more years but after that it will probably become a big complex with large houses. Before that happens I want to make the most of the scenic views and wildlife. I want to archive what it looks like now so that in 50 years I can look back at the photos and reminisce about the beauty of the area, about this time in my life. It has been said over and over again that a picture is worth a thousand words and that is why I love photography so much, it can be interpreted in different ways by different people and the emotions that a photograph can evoke is truly beautiful. When someone is viewing my photos I want them to feel at ease and peaceful, I want them to feel the warmth of the sun and the cool breeze as if they are inside of the picture itself.

Conversations With A Ghost by Vivian Zhang, Innisdale Secondary School

My art installation, a short film called Conversations with a Ghost, was inspired by my internal turmoil. The themes of the fear of change, a yearning for the future, and the general confusion of “ what-do-I-do-now? / how-do-I-move-forward? ” are all hand-plucked from my own life. Change to me has always been a very scary word; it meant having to leave all that is comfortable, familiar, and safe. Change meant having to reconstruct everything about my life and myself in order to adapt to a new environment. I wanted to be able to remain in my own stable and secure world forever.  However, at the same time, I longed for the moment in my life where everything was different; a future where I am able to lead my own life and make my own decisions — that once I have this freedom, I would be the happiest I will ever be. That I will truly become my own person. This juxtaposition puts me at an odd place, both succumbing to nostalgia yet needlessly pining for the future. Being able to put this feeling and all of its discrepancies into the story of a familiar girl, going through the same thing was like finding catharsis. As an aspiring filmmaker, it was really important to me to turn these genuine and personal experiences into something permanent and tangible. I use screenwriting and filmmaking as a way of sharing my life in hope that others can see themselves in this story.

Everchanging by Rachel Enright, Banting Memorial High School

Creating art is my way to express myself and let my creativity roam free. I try to send messages and convey emotions through my artworks, whether it be my emotions, or something I want the viewer to feel. This year I have focused mainly on trying new things and pushing myself out of my artistic comfort zone. I plan on applying to an arts program in university next year and want to take this as an opportunity to experiment with new mediums and subject matter in order to expand my artistic abilities and also develop my own unique style. For my self-directed digital painting Ever-Changing, the concept shows a range of emotions conveyed. My favourite piece that I have created is my digital painting Ever-Changing. I really like the concept and how the colours create variety while still looking unified. I am interested in digital artwork, and while digital painting is not my strong-suit I am really happy with how this piece turned out and it encourages me to continue with this medium.

Between Two Sides by Julianna Richardson, Orillia Secondary School

This piece is titled, Between Two Sides, and was painted by Julianna Richardson with acrylic paint. The painting shows two big and sturdy looking hands holding the head of a doll at the top, and two smaller female hands at the bottom. The doll is ripping in two in the middle and has pieces of its stuffing falling out towards the sides. Then the whole thing is being viewed through a keyhole with the light shining through.

I used a lot of different colours in the hands to represent different things. The top hands are more of a blue colour to show that they are calm and sturdy. But the bottom hands have a reddish hue to them to show that they are more stubborn and angry. I made the background a dark red colour to show that this was a dark time in my life.

The painting is meant to represent how my parents divorce affected me. The doll represents me being pulled from two sides (my parents). The big sturdy hands are my dad’s, not really pulling but just holding me loosely. Then the smaller feminine hands are my mom’s pulling, but also losing grip on me the more she pulls. The whole thing is then viewed through a keyhole to represent how a child goes into their room when they are upset.

Behind My Closed Door by Lauren Bidmead, Innisdale Secondary School

Art is my way of expressing the feelings I can’t put into words.

I try to approach a wide scale of subjects in a multi-layered way, like involving the viewer in a way that is sometimes physical, and believe in the idea of function following the form in an artwork.

My paintings and photographs establish a link between my individual reality and the one thought of by my own imagination. These works focus on concrete experiences that have affected my life throughout the last two years, mostly due to a toxic ex-boyfriend and his harassment. By contesting the division between the realm of what others heard and the realm of my experiences, I can bring forward the truth from that period of my life including the manipulation I suffered caused by himself or his friends and how the experiences affected the limits of my own mental wellbeing. Rather than still presenting a false reality to those around me, I can bring the truth to light using the realm of my reality during that time.

My work directly responds to my surrounding environment and uses everyday experiences from a dark time period as my starting point. Often these instances would go unnoticed by bystanders in the halls or on the street in their original context, or others would simply ignore the harassment. By exploring the concept of my hidden feelings in a nostalgic way, this personal follow-up and revival of past experiences is important as an act of clearing the truth.

Behind My Closed Door by Lauren Bidmead, installation – Innisdale Secondary School

Graphite is the interpreter of my imagination.

My work explores the world seen through the naked eye and the unseen world of my innermost heart. Inspired by my earliest childhood daydreams of dinosaurs, dragons and daring deeds, history and the world around me, I create images that are a hybrid of reality and fantasy, a sympathetic world that borders on the surreal.

When I first begin to create a new piece of art, I don’t think. I simply see the image in my mind’s eye and start by picking up a pencil and casting it over the canvas. The image appears organically, sometimes beginning with a figure at the centre of the page, followed by the environment, which spreads to its corners. The tenderness or harshness of my subject matter dictates the materials I use to complete the artwork: gesso for its textures, graphite for its grit and rage.

Currently I am examining sequential art. Sequential art is the accepted worldwide term for comic book art. It is an often-misunderstood storytelling language that uses words, pictures and symbols, as well as space, time and rhythm to tell a story through a series of panels that unfold a sequence of events over a moment, an hour, a day or a year.

Expressionism and post-impressionism inspire the look and feel of my illustrations. Modigliani, Schiele, Kadinsky, Munch, Lautrec and van Gogh have influenced many of the European sequential artists I draw inspiration from: Tardi, Loustal, Bilal, Prado, Moebius and Mattotti. These artists, past and present, capture life not as they see it, but as they feel it. That is the essence of sequential art – an emotional response to the story you’re telling, expressed through a variety of techniques that merge into one cohesive message that engages and provokes your audience.

Shielded from Harsh Reality by Kaya Dalyan, Innisdale Secondary School

Being able to express different ideas, emotions, messages, or any statement through the form of freedom that is art is a concept that is not important in general but important to someone who finds it important. I don’t find it important because what comes first in human nature is survival, that is the basic necessities such as plumbing or a sound home life, physically or mentally. What art gives is a reason to thrive. In a way, I think of art as a selfish means of expression and communication, whether the piece is abstract or representational. So even though it is not important in the way I used the word “important”, I find it as something that is integral to my personal being. Specifically, through the medium that is prop making, I can use my art to merge fictional worlds with reality, in a way, escaping this world along with its struggles, intricacies, conflicts, or minute daily activities, to garner a sense of escapism to a different world that is unrelated to what is possible in reality. At the very least, it’s just a sense of feeling, especially to the extent that I’m currently capable of, but that feeling is enough to do many things. For me, it was to ease the pain of hard realities, specifically while I was dealing with my mother’s cancer. Having something to hide behind and get lost in may have been a habit at times, but also a genuinely healthy coping mechanism at others.

Bound to the String by Kaitlyn Fasano, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

Obsession is a dominating desire or feeling, a feeling many have experienced. Within my art, I wanted to express the dread that is obsession whatever it’s hold may be, and ask the question: How does obsession breed inspiration? My art was in hope of representing the psychological aspects as well as the consequences when in a state of obsession. Through my first piece, the red strings along the fingers constrain the figure to minimum use, almost as is if something holds them from peace. Obsession can feel like this at many times. Growing up as a teenage girl, this feeling is very prevalent in adolescent culture. From being judged for every small thing, or even presenting your body a certain way, I’ve found myself in this need to succeed. Within my second piece, I had wanted to express the feeling after you realize where this mindset has gotten you. How do you feel when you realize you were irrational? When you’re exhausted? It almost feels like a trance, as when the skin is pulled back, a hypnotic swirl is revealed. My creations were born out of realization of these obsessions, and makes me wonder if these feelings have played a part in the art that I create.

In a Trance by Kaitlyn Fasano, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

Obsession is a dominating desire or feeling, a feeling many have experienced. Within my art, I wanted to express the dread that is obsession whatever it’s hold may be, and ask the question: How does obsession breed inspiration? My art was in hope of representing the psychological aspects as well as the consequences when in a state of obsession. Through my first piece, the red strings along the fingers constrain the figure to minimum use, almost as is if something holds them from peace. Obsession can feel like this at many times. Growing up as a teenage girl, this feeling is very prevalent in adolescent culture. From being judged for every small thing, or even presenting your body a certain way, I’ve found myself in this need to succeed. Within my second piece, I had wanted to express the feeling after you realize where this mindset has gotten you. How do you feel when you realize you were irrational? When you’re exhausted? It almost feels like a trance, as when the skin is pulled back, a hypnotic swirl is revealed. My creations were born out of realization of these obsessions, and makes me wonder if these feelings have played a part in the art that I create.

Who Am I? by Breanna McDonald, Innisdale Secondary School

Who Am Eye? is an acrylic painting about obsessiveness, self-improvement, and insecurities. Shards of broken glass depict a set of eyes, studied and painted from different angles and perspectives. A single feature is obsessed over, picked apart until it takes over the reflection, shattering the mirror and destroying one’s self-image. When you look at the painting, you don’t see a nose, or lips, or ears. There is only a set of eyes, waiting for you to examine each crease and flaw.

Perhaps when you first see this painting, you don’t notice that the eyes are asymmetrical, that the creases don’t line up, or that many of the eyes are not painted as realistically as they could be. All you see is a painting of eyes, surrounded by other artworks. Perhaps you glance at it for a moment and move on. Or maybe you do notice these imperfections but don’t think much of them. To be flawed is to be human, and other people’s errors never seem so crucial as our own. But what if this was your painting or your own reflection? What if you had poured hours and hours into examining every detail?

For every “mistake” that is fixed, another emerges, and it becomes an endless cycle of self-discovery and self-improvement, but also of insecurity, obsessiveness, and dissatisfaction. Maybe the objective image is improving, but it seems more broken now that you have noticed things. Every improvement you make increases the standard of perfection until being “good enough” seems impossible.

Mind Maze by Eduardo Dizon Jr., Innisdale Secondary School

Painting brings out a different side of me that I don’t tend to reveal to others. Painting lets me play around with my ideas and helps me explore a whole world of creativity and self-expression in the best way possible. I’m constantly being inspired by the world around me, and I never stop thinking of the endless concepts that I can produce. I find it fascinating that I’m able to transfer my ideas onto a canvas and make it into my own work of art that I am proud of.

Creating art takes time and patience, and I find it best to always remind myself to stay devoted and determined to complete a piece, even if I struggle with difficulty. Painting is a process, and brainstorming ideas beforehand gets me thinking about how I want to display and set up the artwork, and what I will need for it to be completed and be successful.

As of now, I’m very intrigued and drawn towards landscape paintings as nature is a very beautiful thing and having it around us motivates me to produce a picture of how I view the world, and to show others the beauty that I find within it. Also, I find interests in darker concepts that follow a very creepy and eerie theme or vibe, which I personally love as it reflects my preferred style as an artist. Bringing these two concepts together helped me create pieces that best reflect my artistry and skills.

The Place Where the Ice Never Melts by Fifunmi Ogundipe, Innisdale Secondary School

I have always been fascinated by how immensely influential humans are to themselves and their environment, in both positive and negative aspects. Stemming from my interest in psychology, I question how and why perception varies on numerous topics. This curiosity is reflected in my artwork, as I feel motivated to create works unique to me, which let me delve into others’ mindsets when they view each piece. Witnessing the different connections and meanings made by others makes me feel satisfied with my art. I strive to create works that compel viewers to search within themselves and discover an interpretation they genuinely believe in. I begin each piece with an idea of an envisioned layout and search for references to fulfill my vision. Once I have a concept I feel confident with, I select whatever medium I think will manifest my idea entirely. I have time-honoured techniques that I have acquired over the years for each medium I am familiar with. My methods have me constructing works with similar themes and messages, as I believe the techniques I use depict them the best. I have been experimenting with new themes, such as nature and humanity, and in doing so, I use my platform at school to create numerous paintings that display humanity’s environmental impact.

Looking Fear in the Eye: Entomophobia by Kalista Odegaard, Innisdale Secondary School

Fear and anxiety can take over people’s lives and even affect their mental health. The way that people react to their fears and the psychology behind it has always been interesting to me. I am a special effects makeup artist that focuses on the gore and horror genre. With my art I want to try and get people to really understand where their fear is coming from by seeing some of their biggest fears face to face. I want to scare people, but in a good way! A lot of the looks I create are based on my own fears and imagination. I am using my art in a way of not only expressing myself, but as a way to try and cope with my own fears. I have never been a very social person and often find it hard to talk to people about how I’m feeling, then I just bottle up all my emotions until I finally break. However, by creating such intense and outgoing makeup looks, it’s a healthier way for me to show people what’s really going on inside my head. For my showcase, I will be creating different special effects makeup looks based on my own fears and some other common fears that others struggle with. I will be creating a short horror clip including all the looks which will be shown in the room. I will also take photographs of each look and have them printed off, framed, and hung from the ceiling.

Exhibition

Portfolio 2021 Online

Youth Exhibition

The MacLaren Art Centre is pleased to highlight the creative talents of youth in Simcoe County through the Portfolio program. 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of this yearly showcase.

artwork

Featured Work

Content warning: some of the following artworks contain depictions of self-harm and reference topics such as depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation, which may be triggering to some audiences.

True Me
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

In this piece, I made myself into a work of art. It was my goal to express my inner, abstract, colourful self through exploration of intuitive, unconscious painting methods…

Frustration
Banting Memorial High School

In terms of theme in my artwork, it really depends if I want there to be a meaning or if I just want to draw something that comes to my mind…

Tongue-Tied
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

The concept behind this drawing began with my goal to represent a person who struggles with mental health, specifically anxiety and lack of self-confidence…

A Blue Pinecone
Banting Memorial High School

My inspiration for my work comes from a lot of different places. When I do pen and ink, I prefer almost messy sketching and trying to make cross-hatching realistic…

Blood Related
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

Blood Related (2020) is a mixed media painting that uses acrylic and digital media to express both unity and diversity. It was through these themes and materials that I was…

Head in the Clouds
Banting Memorial High School

As an artist, I enjoy painting with acrylics, drawing different characters (whether it be my own or from a cartoon/novel), and creating different things (like sculptures or using recycled things)…

A Closer Perspective
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

I’ve been taking pictures for a long time now and I gather inspiration for pictures everywhere. The inspiration for these particular pieces came from my grandfather who…

Escape
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

The stack of books represents and symbolizes my love for reading. I have used reading as a form of escapism, which is a theme that I wanted to present in my design…

The Place we were Made
Banting Memorial High School

For me, art is a way to visually express and represent myself. Through my art, you can see my views on life, my personality and things that I am passionate about…

The Beauty of Natire: Lake Leaves
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

I love taking photographs and most of the photos I take capture the beauty of nature and the earth that surrounds us. Most of the photos I take are just from my phone and I am constantly capturing the beauty of nature from sunsets to lakes to flowers…

Night Market
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

The process of this piece began with the memories of my first visit to my parents’ home country, where I was welcomed by a familiar language, an unrecognizable environment, and strangers that resembled my family…

Alone
Banting Memorial High School

For photography, the subject matter that inspires me is street photography. I like putting what is happening in the world or my life into my photography…

Country Fields
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

The farmland across from my house has been bought by developers, they are planning on farming for 10 more years but after that it will probably become a big complex with large houses…

Conversations With A Ghost
Innisdale Secondary School

This juxtaposition puts me at an odd place, both succumbing to nostalgia yet needlessly pining for the future. Being able to put this feeling and all of its discrepancies into the story of a familiar girl…Everchanging
Banting Memorial High School

Creating art is my way to express myself and let my creativity roam free. I try to send messages and convey emotions through my artworks, whether it be my emotions, or something I want the viewer to feel. …

Mind Maze
Innisdale Secondary School

Painting brings out a different side of me that I don’t tend to reveal to others. Painting lets me play around with my ideas and helps me explore a whole world of creativity…

Shielded from Harsh Reality
Innisdale Secondary School

Through the medium that is prop making, I can use my art to merge fictional worlds with reality, in a way, escaping this world along with its struggles, intricacies, conflicts…

Between Two Sides
Orillia Secondary School

The painting is meant to represent how my parents divorce affected me. The doll represents me being pulled from two sides…

Bound to the String
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

Obsession can feel like this at many times. Growing up as a teenage girl, this feeling is very prevalent in adolescent culture. From being judged for every small thing…

In a Trance
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

I had wanted to express the feeling after you realize where this mindset has gotten you. How do you feel when you realize you were irrational? When you’re exhausted…

The Beauty of Nature: Sunset and Cars
Nantyr Shores Secondary School

My photos are very important to me because it’s very hard for me to see the world so beautiful, I get very stressed and I have bad social anxiety so being able to be alone in nature taking a deep breath…

Who Am Eye?
Innisdale Secondary School

Shards of broken glass depict a set of eyes, studied and painted from different angles and perspectives. A single feature is obsessed over, picked apart until…

Behind My Closed Door
Innisdale Secondary School

My paintings and photographs establish a link between my individual reality and the one thought of by my own imagination. These works focus on concrete experiences that…

The Place Where the Ice Never Melts
Innisdale Secondary School

I have been experimenting with new themes, such as nature and humanity. I use my platform at school to create numerous paintings that display humanity’s environmental impact…

Looking Fear in the Eye: Entomophobia
Innisdale Secondary School

Fear and anxiety can take over people’s lives and even affect their mental health. The way that people react to their fears and the psychology behind it has always been interesting to me…

Tottenham United Church
Banting Memorial High School

Tottenham United Church is a painting of a church where I spent many years doing girl guides as a kid, painted entirely from soy sauce…

Carnage of War
Innisdale Secondary School

Inspired by my earliest childhood daydreams of dinosaurs, dragons and daring deeds, history and the world around me, I create images that are a hybrid of reality and fantasy, a sympathetic world that borders on the surreal…

Portfolio provides an exceptional opportunity to showcase the creative talent of youth in Simcoe County. 2021 marks the 30th year of Portfolio! Due to the pandemic, Portfolio 2021 Online is a virtual exhibition accessible on our website. The MacLaren Art Centre is committed to celebrating students’ accomplishments and publicly affirm the high caliber of visual arts education in Simcoe County.

 

This year, the MacLaren received artworks from across the region. Twenty-seven artworks have been selected for this virtual exhibition.

Portfolio is an opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of these aspiring artists, and to draw attention to the strong visual arts programs in Simcoe County high schools. Participating schools include: Banting Memorial High School (Alliston), Innisdale Secondary School (Barrie), Nantyr Shores Secondary School (Innisfil) and Orillia Secondary School.

The jurors for Portfolio 2021 Online are MacLaren Senior Curator Emily McKibbon and Education Officer, Christina Mancuso.

sponsors

Supported by

True Me by Alexys Smalling, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

In this piece, I made myself into a work of art. It was my goal to express my inner, abstract, colourful self through exploration of intuitive, unconscious painting methods. I felt that to display how I felt about art as a practice, I would communicate my feelings in a way that is very unconventional and exclusive to me. Art, to me, is any form of self-expression one may partake in. There is no proper method, no real objective, and no means of meaningfully judging art. It is a path with no destination, where the goal is not to produce something to be observed, but to observe the act of producing. As such, I have always enjoyed the medium of makeup, and feel that it is a good method of self expression in a casual way. To use makeup and costuming on my own body as a means of art, I produced something that no other single human being on earth could have – something that is truly and originally mine, never to be reproduced again. There is no overt symbolism, as I simply let my subconscious take over the process, painting by feeling and not by skill. The process was cathartic in a way, and I felt as if I was releasing emotion in my painting with every splash of colour.

Frustration by Natasha Larmond, Banting Memorial High School

In terms of theme in my artwork, it really depends if I want there to be a meaning or if I just want to draw something that comes to my mind. Although there are people who would probably get a meaning from something that I didn’t mean to have, I draw what I feel and if that particular feeling happens to have a theme, I go with it. The subject matter that inspires me is usually people, mostly because it’s easier to draw than animals, but emotion can be noticed more in people. I can display more things with people than I can with a T-Rex, dog or a cat, so I stick with individuals. I would describe my style as a mix between graphic and realistic and also abstract, so I wouldn’t really hold myself down to one.

A Blue Pinecone by Ethan Kennedy-Munsterman, Banting Memorial High School

My inspiration for my work comes from a lot of different places. When I do pen and ink, I prefer almost messy sketching and trying to make cross-hatching realistic through how I shade and show value in my pen and ink. I also focus on dark and contrasting images: I like having a lot of dark spots and then putting in small white spots for highlights. For photography, the subject matter that inspires me is street photography. I like putting what is happening in the world or my life into my photography because that is what it is all about. When I went out and photographed these photos, I wanted it to be in a city because with all the buildings around you feel small and overwhelmed. I strive to be able to accurately depict emotions in photography. Overall, I would describe my personal artistic style as messy and dark and moody. It’s messy because of the crosshatching I do, I think it gives it a unique look. Dark and moody is mostly in my photography, I love that look because it shows a lot of emotion and feelings.

Alone by Ethan Kennedy-Munsterman, Banting Memorial High School

My inspiration for my work comes from a lot of different places. When I do pen and ink, I prefer almost messy sketching and trying to make cross-hatching realistic through how I shade and show value in my pen and ink. I also focus on dark and contrasting images: I like having a lot of dark spots and then putting in small white spots for highlights. For photography, the subject matter that inspires me is street photography. I like putting what is happening in the world or my life into my photography because that is what it is all about. When I went out and photographed these photos, I wanted it to be in a city because with all the buildings around you feel small and overwhelmed. I strive to be able to accurately depict emotions in photography. Overall, I would describe my personal artistic style as messy and dark and moody. It’s messy because of the crosshatching I do, I think it gives it a unique look. Dark and moody is mostly in my photography, I love that look because it shows a lot of emotion and feelings.

Tongue-Tied by Vanessa Namseang, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

Tongue-Tied is a digital portrait drawn with Procreate, an intuitive drawing program for the iPad. The concept behind this drawing began with my goal to represent a person who struggles with mental health, specifically anxiety and lack of self-confidence. The entangling lines suffocating this character symbolize the barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential, while the confidence and ambition in their eyes represent their inner strength and desire to become better than their current state. The fear of the unexpected is an extremely valid feeling that many can relate to, therefore I wanted to portray that emotion in the form of art so that viewers would be able to feel a sense of relatability and comfort along with this piece.

Blood Related by Vanessa Namseang, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

Blood Related (2020) is a mixed media painting that uses acrylic and digital media to express both unity and diversity. It was through these themes and materials that I was able to depict a collage of characters looking in the same direction, symbolizing the connection yet distinction between one another. I began this painting by sketching out the faces onto a canvas, laying my flat colours with acrylic paint, adding details with acrylic and marker, and processing the final image through Photoshop to draw in the blue, yellow, and red designs. The concept behind this painting began from the idea of “family” and how this group of people can have the same blood flowing through their veins, similar features, and yet each person can be a completely independent individual. In my own experience, my mother was born into a family of seven children who each pursued a different goal, such as five of them deciding to move to countries around the globe. However, despite having different goals, personalities, or demeanors, these people are still bound to one another through their ancestral history. As a result, I was able to paint these portraits given my fascination with the thought of being born from the same bloodline yet having a completely unique story

Head in the Clouds by Giulia Caruso, Banting Memorial High School

As an artist, I enjoy painting with acrylics, drawing different characters (whether it be my own or from a cartoon/novel), and creating different things (like sculptures or using recycled things). Most of my works relate to my interests, and other times they’re just random things I improvise or think of at the moment. I mostly go for a humorous or positive root, probably because I usually make art when I’m in a good mood, or because I enjoy creating things that make me smile. With “Head in The Clouds” the theme I was going with was me. The message behind Head in The Clouds is part of the reason why I like it so much. I’m never really grounded with my thoughts and usually think things differently than the majority, and I’ve always felt overwhelmed by it. Carving this out and stamping it down really made me feel a sort of relief because this “my head is everywhere but nowhere” kind of feeling is hard to explain in words.Good vibes are mostly what I like my art to give, and it could be funny, calming, cute, or anything around that, as long as the viewer smiles, I’m proud.

A Closer Perspective by Carson Bath, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

I’ve been taking pictures for a long time now and I gather inspiration for pictures everywhere. The inspiration for these particular pieces came from my grandfather who got me into photography in the first place. He got me trying out macro techniques which I believe is my best field of photography. He deeply rooted a passion for photography that I carry throughout all my work. The pieces I’ve submitted show off some different styles of my work from different places all across Ontario. I like to pay close attention to the details and capture as many as I can. Weather that’s a macro shot or a landscape as seen in my submissions. I take great attention to detail while creating all my work. When I look around I see the world as everyone else, except I see pictures. What I mean by this is I can look around and visualize pictures before I take them. These pieces are all created because of the visualization of the possibilities around me.

Escape by Zoe Fink, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

This art piece is titled Escape and is a mixture of sharpie and acrylic paint on a 24 x 24″ masonite board. The stack of books represents and symbolizes my love for reading. I have used reading as a form of escapism, which is a theme that I wanted to present in my design. I used hatching to create depth within the pages of the book. There are vines, letters, and butterflies coming out from the book, representing that books are my roots and are intertwined with my lifestyle. They also represent how they have guided me to pick my career path, which was a major change from sciences to the arts. The girl represents me and I decided to use a stippling technique to create depth within the facial structure. On her chest, there are three flowers, that represent my mom, grandma, and sister who have all had influence over my life. The hair consists of a variety of line sizes, as I wanted to give the illusion of flowing hair. On the top, there are mountains with an old tree, which I tend to use in multiple art pieces and it symbolizes my grandpa’s house in Quebec. The stars leak into the letters from the book that is coming off the pages, connecting the entire piece together through movement. The multiple butterflies that are seen in my design can symbolize change and hope, connecting back to the sudden realization that pursuing a science career is not for me.

The Place we were Made by Gwen Elmhirst, Banting Memorial High School

For me, art is a way to visually express and represent myself. Through my art, you can see my views on life, my personality and things that I am passionate about. I believe that emotion is a very important thing to convey in artwork. If the artist is feeling something while they are creating the artwork, this will likely translate to the piece. I think of my art pieces as pieces of me, and feel as though after seeing a couple of my artworks you can understand me more. Throughout my pieces you can see themes of the outdoors, people, and youth. I have loved many pieces that I’ve created in the past. In particular, three art pieces I created this year have been my favourites: Tottenham United Church, a painting of a church where I spent many years doing girl guides as a kid, painted entirely from soy sauce, Take me Home, Country Roads, a rural landscape made from glass, and The Place we were Made, an acrylic painting of friends glowing by the streetlights as they bike down a road at dusk. Personally, I am inspired by topics that I relate to, and am passionate about. This includes things that other people my age struggle with like mental health, insecurities, and social media. I hope to make more pieces on these topics in the future. These topics also include being outdoors and adventuring. Each summer, I go on a month-long canoe trip with peers through the Canadian wilderness. This activity has become a big part of who I am, and as something that I am very passionate about, is visible in my artwork.

Tottenham United Church by Gwen Elmhirst, Banting Memorial High School

For me, art is a way to visually express and represent myself. Through my art, you can see my views on life, my personality and things that I am passionate about. I believe that emotion is a very important thing to convey in artwork. If the artist is feeling something while they are creating the artwork, this will likely translate to the piece. I think of my art pieces as pieces of me, and feel as though after seeing a couple of my artworks you can understand me more. Throughout my pieces you can see themes of the outdoors, people, and youth. I have loved many pieces that I’ve created in the past. In particular, three art pieces I created this year have been my favourites: Tottenham United Church, a painting of a church where I spent many years doing girl guides as a kid, painted entirely from soy sauce, Take me Home, Country Roads, a rural landscape made from glass, and The Place we were Made, an acrylic painting of friends glowing by the streetlights as they bike down a road at dusk. Personally, I am inspired by topics that I relate to, and am passionate about. This includes things that other people my age struggle with like mental health, insecurities, and social media. I hope to make more pieces on these topics in the future. These topics also include being outdoors and adventuring. Each summer, I go on a month-long canoe trip with peers through the Canadian wilderness. This activity has become a big part of who I am, and as something that I am very passionate about, is visible in my artwork.

The Beauty of Nature: Lake Leaves by Madison Dwyer, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

I don’t have an appropriate title for this work other than The Beauty of Nature. This portfolio just shows people how I see the world through my eyes, beautiful.

I love taking photographs and most of the photos I take capture the beauty of nature and the earth that surrounds us. Most of the photos I take are just from my phone and I am constantly capturing the beauty of nature from sunsets to lakes to flowers. Photography is probably one of my favourite things to do in my spare time.

I chose to use the photos that I did simply because they are my favourite photos I have ever taken and I feel they show what I am trying to say. The world can be very cruel but if you just stop what you’re doing and look around you and listen to the birds sing, the waves splash and watch the stars or the sunset go down, you will actually notice how beautiful the world can be and that it’s the people who make it cruel.

My photos are very important to me because it’s very hard for me to see the world so beautiful, I get very stressed and I have bad social anxiety so being able to be alone in nature taking a deep breath and examining my surroundings gives me a sense of clarity and knowing I can look back on that photo to feel a sense of happiness whenever I feel down is a good feeling.

The Beauty of Nature: Sunset and Cars by Madison Dwyer, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

I don’t have an appropriate title for this work other than The Beauty of Nature. This portfolio just shows people how I see the world through my eyes, beautiful.

I love taking photographs and most of the photos I take capture the beauty of nature and the earth that surrounds us. Most of the photos I take are just from my phone and I am constantly capturing the beauty of nature from sunsets to lakes to flowers. Photography is probably one of my favourite things to do in my spare time.

I chose to use the photos that I did simply because they are my favourite photos I have ever taken and I feel they show what I am trying to say. The world can be very cruel but if you just stop what you’re doing and look around you and listen to the birds sing, the waves splash and watch the stars or the sunset go down, you will actually notice how beautiful the world can be and that it’s the people who make it cruel.

My photos are very important to me because it’s very hard for me to see the world so beautiful, I get very stressed and I have bad social anxiety so being able to be alone in nature taking a deep breath and examining my surroundings gives me a sense of clarity and knowing I can look back on that photo to feel a sense of happiness whenever I feel down is a good feeling.

Night Market by Vanessa Namseang, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

Night Market is a traditional 48” x 32” mixed-media painting about unfamiliarity and discovery. The process of this piece began with the memories of my first visit to my parents’ home country, where I was welcomed by a familiar language, an unrecognizable environment, and strangers that resembled my family. Using these thoughts, I wanted to use art to capture the first impression of being exposed to a heavily significant unknown place. To accomplish this, I combined several media including acrylic paint, markers, ink, and gold leaf to paint the scene of a night market in the bright and lively city of Bangkok, Thailand. The hand in the foreground is emphasized to represent me reaching towards the expectant signs that are willing to give me the answers to my past curiosities. Through this painting, I was able to express my relief and excitement when finally discovering a part of my ethnicity as a first generation child in Canada.

Country Fields by Rea Mhlongo, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

The kind of photography that I am interested in creating captures the beauty of the nature around us. I live in a rural area surrounded by magnificent scenery that inspires me to photograph and document its artistry. I want my photographs to showcase the environment and different landscapes. The farmland across from my house has been bought by developers, they are planning on farming for 10 more years but after that it will probably become a big complex with large houses. Before that happens I want to make the most of the scenic views and wildlife. I want to archive what it looks like now so that in 50 years I can look back at the photos and reminisce about the beauty of the area, about this time in my life. It has been said over and over again that a picture is worth a thousand words and that is why I love photography so much, it can be interpreted in different ways by different people and the emotions that a photograph can evoke is truly beautiful. When someone is viewing my photos I want them to feel at ease and peaceful, I want them to feel the warmth of the sun and the cool breeze as if they are inside of the picture itself.

Conversations With A Ghost by Vivian Zhang, Innisdale Secondary School

My art installation, a short film called Conversations with a Ghost, was inspired by my internal turmoil. The themes of the fear of change, a yearning for the future, and the general confusion of “ what-do-I-do-now? / how-do-I-move-forward? ” are all hand-plucked from my own life. Change to me has always been a very scary word; it meant having to leave all that is comfortable, familiar, and safe. Change meant having to reconstruct everything about my life and myself in order to adapt to a new environment. I wanted to be able to remain in my own stable and secure world forever.  However, at the same time, I longed for the moment in my life where everything was different; a future where I am able to lead my own life and make my own decisions — that once I have this freedom, I would be the happiest I will ever be. That I will truly become my own person. This juxtaposition puts me at an odd place, both succumbing to nostalgia yet needlessly pining for the future. Being able to put this feeling and all of its discrepancies into the story of a familiar girl, going through the same thing was like finding catharsis. As an aspiring filmmaker, it was really important to me to turn these genuine and personal experiences into something permanent and tangible. I use screenwriting and filmmaking as a way of sharing my life in hope that others can see themselves in this story.

Everchanging by Rachel Enright, Banting Memorial High School

Creating art is my way to express myself and let my creativity roam free. I try to send messages and convey emotions through my artworks, whether it be my emotions, or something I want the viewer to feel. This year I have focused mainly on trying new things and pushing myself out of my artistic comfort zone. I plan on applying to an arts program in university next year and want to take this as an opportunity to experiment with new mediums and subject matter in order to expand my artistic abilities and also develop my own unique style. For my self-directed digital painting Ever-Changing, the concept shows a range of emotions conveyed. My favourite piece that I have created is my digital painting Ever-Changing. I really like the concept and how the colours create variety while still looking unified. I am interested in digital artwork, and while digital painting is not my strong-suit I am really happy with how this piece turned out and it encourages me to continue with this medium.

Between Two Sides by Julianna Richardson, Orillia Secondary School

This piece is titled, Between Two Sides, and was painted by Julianna Richardson with acrylic paint. The painting shows two big and sturdy looking hands holding the head of a doll at the top, and two smaller female hands at the bottom. The doll is ripping in two in the middle and has pieces of its stuffing falling out towards the sides. Then the whole thing is being viewed through a keyhole with the light shining through.

I used a lot of different colours in the hands to represent different things. The top hands are more of a blue colour to show that they are calm and sturdy. But the bottom hands have a reddish hue to them to show that they are more stubborn and angry. I made the background a dark red colour to show that this was a dark time in my life.

The painting is meant to represent how my parents divorce affected me. The doll represents me being pulled from two sides (my parents). The big sturdy hands are my dad’s, not really pulling but just holding me loosely. Then the smaller feminine hands are my mom’s pulling, but also losing grip on me the more she pulls. The whole thing is then viewed through a keyhole to represent how a child goes into their room when they are upset.

Behind My Closed Door by Lauren Bidmead, Innisdale Secondary School

Art is my way of expressing the feelings I can’t put into words.

I try to approach a wide scale of subjects in a multi-layered way, like involving the viewer in a way that is sometimes physical, and believe in the idea of function following the form in an artwork.

My paintings and photographs establish a link between my individual reality and the one thought of by my own imagination. These works focus on concrete experiences that have affected my life throughout the last two years, mostly due to a toxic ex-boyfriend and his harassment. By contesting the division between the realm of what others heard and the realm of my experiences, I can bring forward the truth from that period of my life including the manipulation I suffered caused by himself or his friends and how the experiences affected the limits of my own mental wellbeing. Rather than still presenting a false reality to those around me, I can bring the truth to light using the realm of my reality during that time.

My work directly responds to my surrounding environment and uses everyday experiences from a dark time period as my starting point. Often these instances would go unnoticed by bystanders in the halls or on the street in their original context, or others would simply ignore the harassment. By exploring the concept of my hidden feelings in a nostalgic way, this personal follow-up and revival of past experiences is important as an act of clearing the truth.

Behind My Closed Door by Lauren Bidmead, installation – Innisdale Secondary School

Graphite is the interpreter of my imagination.

My work explores the world seen through the naked eye and the unseen world of my innermost heart. Inspired by my earliest childhood daydreams of dinosaurs, dragons and daring deeds, history and the world around me, I create images that are a hybrid of reality and fantasy, a sympathetic world that borders on the surreal.

When I first begin to create a new piece of art, I don’t think. I simply see the image in my mind’s eye and start by picking up a pencil and casting it over the canvas. The image appears organically, sometimes beginning with a figure at the centre of the page, followed by the environment, which spreads to its corners. The tenderness or harshness of my subject matter dictates the materials I use to complete the artwork: gesso for its textures, graphite for its grit and rage.

Currently I am examining sequential art. Sequential art is the accepted worldwide term for comic book art. It is an often-misunderstood storytelling language that uses words, pictures and symbols, as well as space, time and rhythm to tell a story through a series of panels that unfold a sequence of events over a moment, an hour, a day or a year.

Expressionism and post-impressionism inspire the look and feel of my illustrations. Modigliani, Schiele, Kadinsky, Munch, Lautrec and van Gogh have influenced many of the European sequential artists I draw inspiration from: Tardi, Loustal, Bilal, Prado, Moebius and Mattotti. These artists, past and present, capture life not as they see it, but as they feel it. That is the essence of sequential art – an emotional response to the story you’re telling, expressed through a variety of techniques that merge into one cohesive message that engages and provokes your audience.

Shielded from Harsh Reality by Kaya Dalyan, Innisdale Secondary School

Being able to express different ideas, emotions, messages, or any statement through the form of freedom that is art is a concept that is not important in general but important to someone who finds it important. I don’t find it important because what comes first in human nature is survival, that is the basic necessities such as plumbing or a sound home life, physically or mentally. What art gives is a reason to thrive. In a way, I think of art as a selfish means of expression and communication, whether the piece is abstract or representational. So even though it is not important in the way I used the word “important”, I find it as something that is integral to my personal being. Specifically, through the medium that is prop making, I can use my art to merge fictional worlds with reality, in a way, escaping this world along with its struggles, intricacies, conflicts, or minute daily activities, to garner a sense of escapism to a different world that is unrelated to what is possible in reality. At the very least, it’s just a sense of feeling, especially to the extent that I’m currently capable of, but that feeling is enough to do many things. For me, it was to ease the pain of hard realities, specifically while I was dealing with my mother’s cancer. Having something to hide behind and get lost in may have been a habit at times, but also a genuinely healthy coping mechanism at others.

Bound to the String by Kaitlyn Fasano, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

Obsession is a dominating desire or feeling, a feeling many have experienced. Within my art, I wanted to express the dread that is obsession whatever it’s hold may be, and ask the question: How does obsession breed inspiration? My art was in hope of representing the psychological aspects as well as the consequences when in a state of obsession. Through my first piece, the red strings along the fingers constrain the figure to minimum use, almost as is if something holds them from peace. Obsession can feel like this at many times. Growing up as a teenage girl, this feeling is very prevalent in adolescent culture. From being judged for every small thing, or even presenting your body a certain way, I’ve found myself in this need to succeed. Within my second piece, I had wanted to express the feeling after you realize where this mindset has gotten you. How do you feel when you realize you were irrational? When you’re exhausted? It almost feels like a trance, as when the skin is pulled back, a hypnotic swirl is revealed. My creations were born out of realization of these obsessions, and makes me wonder if these feelings have played a part in the art that I create.

In a Trance by Kaitlyn Fasano, Nantyr Shores Secondary School

Obsession is a dominating desire or feeling, a feeling many have experienced. Within my art, I wanted to express the dread that is obsession whatever it’s hold may be, and ask the question: How does obsession breed inspiration? My art was in hope of representing the psychological aspects as well as the consequences when in a state of obsession. Through my first piece, the red strings along the fingers constrain the figure to minimum use, almost as is if something holds them from peace. Obsession can feel like this at many times. Growing up as a teenage girl, this feeling is very prevalent in adolescent culture. From being judged for every small thing, or even presenting your body a certain way, I’ve found myself in this need to succeed. Within my second piece, I had wanted to express the feeling after you realize where this mindset has gotten you. How do you feel when you realize you were irrational? When you’re exhausted? It almost feels like a trance, as when the skin is pulled back, a hypnotic swirl is revealed. My creations were born out of realization of these obsessions, and makes me wonder if these feelings have played a part in the art that I create.

Who Am I? by Breanna McDonald, Innisdale Secondary School

Who Am Eye? is an acrylic painting about obsessiveness, self-improvement, and insecurities. Shards of broken glass depict a set of eyes, studied and painted from different angles and perspectives. A single feature is obsessed over, picked apart until it takes over the reflection, shattering the mirror and destroying one’s self-image. When you look at the painting, you don’t see a nose, or lips, or ears. There is only a set of eyes, waiting for you to examine each crease and flaw.

Perhaps when you first see this painting, you don’t notice that the eyes are asymmetrical, that the creases don’t line up, or that many of the eyes are not painted as realistically as they could be. All you see is a painting of eyes, surrounded by other artworks. Perhaps you glance at it for a moment and move on. Or maybe you do notice these imperfections but don’t think much of them. To be flawed is to be human, and other people’s errors never seem so crucial as our own. But what if this was your painting or your own reflection? What if you had poured hours and hours into examining every detail?

For every “mistake” that is fixed, another emerges, and it becomes an endless cycle of self-discovery and self-improvement, but also of insecurity, obsessiveness, and dissatisfaction. Maybe the objective image is improving, but it seems more broken now that you have noticed things. Every improvement you make increases the standard of perfection until being “good enough” seems impossible.

Mind Maze by Eduardo Dizon Jr., Innisdale Secondary School

Painting brings out a different side of me that I don’t tend to reveal to others. Painting lets me play around with my ideas and helps me explore a whole world of creativity and self-expression in the best way possible. I’m constantly being inspired by the world around me, and I never stop thinking of the endless concepts that I can produce. I find it fascinating that I’m able to transfer my ideas onto a canvas and make it into my own work of art that I am proud of.

Creating art takes time and patience, and I find it best to always remind myself to stay devoted and determined to complete a piece, even if I struggle with difficulty. Painting is a process, and brainstorming ideas beforehand gets me thinking about how I want to display and set up the artwork, and what I will need for it to be completed and be successful.

As of now, I’m very intrigued and drawn towards landscape paintings as nature is a very beautiful thing and having it around us motivates me to produce a picture of how I view the world, and to show others the beauty that I find within it. Also, I find interests in darker concepts that follow a very creepy and eerie theme or vibe, which I personally love as it reflects my preferred style as an artist. Bringing these two concepts together helped me create pieces that best reflect my artistry and skills.

The Place Where the Ice Never Melts by Fifunmi Ogundipe, Innisdale Secondary School

I have always been fascinated by how immensely influential humans are to themselves and their environment, in both positive and negative aspects. Stemming from my interest in psychology, I question how and why perception varies on numerous topics. This curiosity is reflected in my artwork, as I feel motivated to create works unique to me, which let me delve into others’ mindsets when they view each piece. Witnessing the different connections and meanings made by others makes me feel satisfied with my art. I strive to create works that compel viewers to search within themselves and discover an interpretation they genuinely believe in. I begin each piece with an idea of an envisioned layout and search for references to fulfill my vision. Once I have a concept I feel confident with, I select whatever medium I think will manifest my idea entirely. I have time-honoured techniques that I have acquired over the years for each medium I am familiar with. My methods have me constructing works with similar themes and messages, as I believe the techniques I use depict them the best. I have been experimenting with new themes, such as nature and humanity, and in doing so, I use my platform at school to create numerous paintings that display humanity’s environmental impact.

Looking Fear in the Eye: Entomophobia by Kalista Odegaard, Innisdale Secondary School

Fear and anxiety can take over people’s lives and even affect their mental health. The way that people react to their fears and the psychology behind it has always been interesting to me. I am a special effects makeup artist that focuses on the gore and horror genre. With my art I want to try and get people to really understand where their fear is coming from by seeing some of their biggest fears face to face. I want to scare people, but in a good way! A lot of the looks I create are based on my own fears and imagination. I am using my art in a way of not only expressing myself, but as a way to try and cope with my own fears. I have never been a very social person and often find it hard to talk to people about how I’m feeling, then I just bottle up all my emotions until I finally break. However, by creating such intense and outgoing makeup looks, it’s a healthier way for me to show people what’s really going on inside my head. For my showcase, I will be creating different special effects makeup looks based on my own fears and some other common fears that others struggle with. I will be creating a short horror clip including all the looks which will be shown in the room. I will also take photographs of each look and have them printed off, framed, and hung from the ceiling.

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