Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition - All Things Encaustic

50 years of Art!
July 8,9,10 2011
Nathan Phillips Square
Toronto

The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition is a juried art showcase that takes place every July at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square. This weekend approximately 300 artists are exhibiting their work in the following categories: painting, watercolour, drawing, digital media, printmaking, sculpture, photography, ceramics, jewellery, fibre, glass, metal, wood and mixed media.

Coincidentally we started and ended our wander through the exhibits with encaustic! When we arrived at the first booth I recognized the work of Artist Laura Culic. We saw Laura’s work back in March at The Artist Project where I picked up one of her bookmarks. Her name and her art has been kept in front of me ever since. Bookmarks are a brilliant marketing tool.

The last booth we stopped at was that of Paul Karkas. This was Paul’s inaugural art show. We had a great chat about encaustic. I told him I buy my supplies from Waxworks Encaustics and take workshops with Andrea Bird at the Alton Mill.

In between we saw a wide variety of art and we had some great conversations with artists. We made a point of tracking down my web design client Brock Irwin. I spoke to painter Britt Randle about his mixed media art and photographer Maureen O’Connor about her series of photos of an abandoned children’s hospital in the States.

I was totally blown away by the embroidered gampi paper art of Noelle Hamlyn. Noelle machine sews intricate patterns on the gampi paper and then in some cases burns holes in the paper creating a burnt lace pattern. Her work was mounted between two layers of plexiglass and floated in the frame. In an outdoor show it was difficult see, but when a light shines on the artwork intricate shadows reflect on the plexiglass behind forming an added dimension and depth. In another piece, Noelle had cut up words from books and sewn them back together in random patterns. Again the work was floated between plexiglass. It was inspiring to see Noelle’s work just a month after the Encaustic Conference and Lorraine Glessner’s demo on Branding with Heat and Fire. It would be interesting to see Noelle’s techniques combined with encaustic!

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About Ruth Maude

I enjoy experimenting with a variety of encaustic materials, techniques and tools. Everything I learn pushes my creative journey in new directions. I share what I've learned with other artists through my blog All Things Encaustic.

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