FIRST PRIZE | Fine Woodworking

Award Donor: MARY MARTIN, Member, Cabbagetown Art & Craft

Wood sculpture rooted in function

I’m a self-taught artisan woodworker specializing in bespoke handcrafted pieces. I honed my skills making furniture with architectural bases, in solid hardwoods. While this satisfied the practical side of my nature, it lacked in artistic expression. Thus, I began wood sculpting. Although my work remains rooted in function, more and more my finely crafted pieces venture into the realm of art.

I source Ontario for sustainably harvested woods with unique characteristics that become the focal point of the piece. Using sound joinery principles, I build the mass of wood that becomes the body. I then form the base using power tools and hand tools. Whether the top is geometric or natural edge, the base is designed to flow into it and carry its lines. David Borsellino

davidborsellino.com

SECOND PRIZE | Mixed Media

Award Donor: SUSAN CORRIGAN, Member, Cabbagetown Art & Craft

A natural ancestral journey

I’m a Canadian-Bolivian contemporary artist. My work engages with the immediate response of line, shape and colour. Primarily an oil painter, my practice has extended to drawing as a way to channel my energy. Looking inwards, I found a new vocabulary to express my ancestral journey, creating botanical compositions and abstract figures. Nature is the main inspiration in my work, which provides me a joyful, grounding feeling of being present. My colour palette is bold and intuitive. Using acrylic paint and mixed media on canvas, the work develops over several layers and repetitive lines to create patterns, texture and contrast. Tamara Soto

tamarasoto.com

THIRD PRIZE | Ceramics

Award Donor: VIRGINIA HAMARA, Member, Cabbagetown Art & Craft

The spirit to tell our story

I might’ve found the warmest form of expression when I found clay. I’m intrigued by the spirit the clay carries through centuries of ancestry to find its place in the routine of our daily rituals. With my pieces, I add myself and my voice to the ongoing exercise of creation. I see the clay as a canvas to draw faces, movements, attitudes and, above all, tell our story. In the Daloka; blunt rhythms series, through hand-built forms and strokes of underglaze, I retell the story of my culture, impelled by the strong voices of Sudanese women, ushered by the beats of the drum. I build my shapes by hand, then paint them with underglaze when dry, before bisque-firing them and adding mostly transparent glaze. I often work with white porcelain and am experimenting with a series in raw clay. Enas Satir

RICHARD SILVER AWARD | Glass/Ceramics

Award Donor: Richard Silver, sothebysrealty.ca

Out of the ordinary

I live in Riverdale and have been making glass pieces for about 10 years. While I started out designing and creating for myself and my daughter, I’ve now done dozens of custom orders and sold many original pieces. I love working with customers to create a piece they will really enjoy! I focus on working with a fabulous and interesting piece of art glass and taking it from there. I’m still in a very exploratory design phase. I love nature and incorporating it into pieces. I also love 'whacky' and enjoy trying to stay out of the box. Renee Head

CAROLYN MCINTIRE SMYTH AWARD | Textile/Fibre

Award Donor: Carolyn Mcintire Smyth, chestnutpark.com

A painter without paint

My paintings are made of wool that I felt and stitch. I start with a sketch, which is the hardest part for me. Then, I choose colours and textures. I love the physical process, the explosion of colours and textures when working with felt and watching my art come to life. Everything my eyes capture becomes a source of inspiration and influence. I hope my murals bring peace, joy and happiness to those who contemplate them. Women are my favourite subject. It's through their eyes, their energy, their different cultures and their battles that my inspiration finds its source. Josée Hurteau

joseehurteau.com

MONTCREST SCHOOL AWARD | Drawing/Painting

Award Donor: Montcrest School montcrest.on.ca

Reflections of human emotion

I create artwork to represent the freedom of authenticity that animals so naturally express. I endeavour to give viewers a sense of our own human emotions reflected through the expressions of the animal world. There is, in many of us, a desire to be authentically ourselves, a desire we often conceal in favour of living according to societal expectations. I create my artwork using soft pastel sticks and pencils on pastelmat board. This medium lends a softness, suggesting vulnerability. My style of hyperrealism is designed to give a sense of stepping into the painting and fully experiencing the message within. Laura Kroesbergen

laurachristinefineart.com

SPECIAL MEMBER’S AWARD | Textile/Fibre

Award Donor: Meg Best, Member, Cabbagetown Art & Craft

Sewing beauty with a needle

Silk embroidery, called Chixiu, translates as “sewing beauty with a needle” or “painting with a needle”. The smooth surface of silk thread brings vivid colours and light effects to the finished artwork. As silk thread is durable, it makes the embroidery a long-lasting work of art. As a unique art style, silk embroidery is an ideal choice for home decoration and art collection and its value won’t depreciate with age. Silk embroidery is often referred to as “the pearl of oriental art” or “hidden oriental jewel” for its beautiful design, unique material, varied stitches, superb workmanship and brilliant colours. Yi Liang Dong

susilkart.com

SPECIAL MEMBERS AWARD |Jewellery

Award Donor: Wendy Shingler, Member, Cabbagetown Art & Craft

Shoreline and subway

Originally from Newfoundland, I grew up surrounded by the raw, rugged landscapes of the east coast. After relocating to Toronto, I noticed the similarities between the two provinces. The natural scenery of my home province, combined with the bustling energy of Toronto have deeply informed everything I create. I blend the dynamic shapes of the Atlantic shoreline with the dense, geometric surfaces of a city. It is an incredibly joyful practice translating these observations into wearable pieces of jewellery. Through my work, I aim to connect people with the natural world around them, whether that world is a shoreline or a subway line. Danielle Bartlett

daniellebartlett.ca