Artists In Residence
The Summerville Art Festival is proud to host a talented group of Artists in Residence from across Canada. These artists are experts in a wide range of mediums, including painting, sculpture, ceramics, and photography. They have been invited to spend a week in Summerville, enjoying the beautiful surroundings and creating new art. In addition, several of the visiting artists will offer workshops, demos, and artist talks in the week leading up to the festival. This group of visiting artists will join a talented group of East Coast artists, providing an exciting opportunity to experience the best of Canada's contemporary art scene. Visitors can expect to engage with the artists, view their works, and learn about the techniques and processes behind their art.
Andrea Simmonds - Victoria, BC
Artist Statement
I like to paint as though the wind is rushing through me, raindrops are pouring out of my brush, and sunshine is cracking me open. Andrea Simmonds is an artist who focuses on local ecology to inform her work.
Using fieldwork, reference guides, and experience, her work is focused on the intersection of ecology and abstraction. She studies plant relationships with complementary species and then translates that into paintings. Much of her work is focused on the Garry Oak Ecosystem, capturing some of the rare and unique plants it encompasses. Andrea aims to help people better understand this rare ecosystem through the plants that define it.
https://andreasimmonds.com
Christopher Griffin - Ottawa, ON
Artist Statement
I have come across patches on sidewalks that express everything I strive for in my work. Colour, texture, pattern, line quality. They also contain a quality of randomness, freeness and freshness. These are visually complete moments. My challenge is to capture this mixture of time and weathering in my own work. Mixing oil paint to imitate the colour and texture of asphalt didn’t make sense, so I now incorporate real asphalt in my work. This has led to a variety of different explorations and discoveries to mesh asphalt with various other mediums. It is exciting for me to apply a coat of wet asphalt to a sidewalk and then collect a print onto a primed canvas. I can never be certain what image will be produced. By giving the initial markings to chance – either a child’s scribbling or a surface of a city sidewalk, I leave myself the task of completing the picture.
The preciousness of a blank canvas is removed from the equation and I am allowed to create an image to my own ideals. Playing and being in the moment are important components of my work. Also important is the variety of situations and environment . Working on a 50′ concrete mural up on scaffolding affects the way I approach a concrete sculpture, which informs the way I create a painting which helps me to create a piece of participatory art which again alters my workings on the concrete mural. Everything I do, informs my other practices and in turn makes them resonate deeper. The contrast in scale and purpose keep me interested and curious.
https://christophergriffin.ca
Joejene C. Santos - Ottawa, ON
Artist Statement
My creative process is very intuitive, consciously engaging, and enjoying the moment of creation. When I work, I love the idea that I do not worry about what it is about, where it is going or how it is going to be put together. I just want to be in my present and feel alive. And yet, I know that within me there is already an image - I just have to bring it out by feeling it.
www.joejeneartstudio.com
Josée Hurteau - Montréal, QC
Artist Statement
I am a painter without paint. Felt is my paint. I love the physical process, the explosion of colours and textures when working with felt and watching my art come to life. Everything that my eyes capture becomes a source of inspiration that influences my felting. I hope my murals bring peace, joy and happiness to those who contemplate them. Women are my favourite subject. It is through their eyes, their energy, their different cultures and their battles that my inspiration finds its source.
https://www.joseehurteau.com