"Leaps & Bounds" Art Show Award Winners
Awards presented by curator, Regan Jane Hayward.
1st Place:
Artist Statement
All of us need help at some time or another. Life can be hard. We never know what’s going to be thrown our way. Curve balls can hit us at any time. The struggle is real. Help reveals us when we’re at one of our lowest point, rock-bottom, empty and alone. And, it is at these times when only the kindnesses of another can help pick us up so we can move on. Sculpted out of laminated wood and stained with a blend of black, white and greys, Help symbolized the story of human struggle. It is through these struggles, at various phases of our life, where we undergo a metamorphosis from the low that Help portrays into a better place in our life – stronger by the experience and glad for the help.
“Help”
Pat Tadier
2.5 feet x 3.5 feet
$1,700.00
2nd Place:
Artist Statement
My art has focused on drawing the beauty of the nature and environments around me. I have seen beauty not only in fresh blooms but also in drying vines, wilting flowers, cracked concrete or fading wooden fences. Exploring the hardy qualities of an Orchid has allowed me to focus on representing the rough conditions endured by Orchids.
More recently, I have begun to question how my formative years growing up in Iran and my family, culture and education have shaped my love of nature as seen in ‘Paisley Cut’, the first in a personal project. This project is an exploration of leaves and branches I have found on walks in my North York neighborhood of Underhill. I use my detailed drawings to interpret their beauty and meaning through links to my personal history. My work melds and transforms realistic botanical drawings into traditional Persian symbols, calligraphy, art and childhood memories as I look at how my personal embodied knowledge of my ancestral land helps me makes sense of nature in my chosen home.
"Paisley Cut”
Sayeh Dastgheib-Beheshti
24" x 36”
NFS
3rd Place:
Artist Statement
I am artist Vineeshkumar Vidhyadharan ,From very young age I was interested in life forms around me.I documented my feelings in work of an art through black and white lines, painting with oil and other mediums ,And also creates sculpture in clay, metal, concrete .
As an artist I have always been in close approximate with the nature. All my art reflects the nature and their interactions. I have used various ways to put my thoughts into art, so that my thoughts easily reach my audiences.I mostly like to do pen drawing that is black and white to address some issues in the environment ,man made disasters and damages in nature by civilizations. For example ,In one of my work called “ Thirsting for freedom”,I expressed how a man try’s to limit life forms in enclosures but plant roots thirst for freedom.And in an another work “Abandoning development for sustaining Life”,Development work was stopped by the ruler of a middle east country when a nest with birds eggs was seen .
As an artist ,I work hard to develop my art works that speak both to me and others.I try with every finished work to breathe life into a long forgotten things in our past. My work speaks, not for me but for people who were long ago silenced.
“Thirsting for Freedom”
Vineeshkumar Vidhyadharan
27" x 33”
$500.00
Honourable Mention:
Artist Statement
Last October I visited Italy for the first time with my Family
We stayed in a beautiful apartment 20 minutes walk from the Vatican.
Every morning we would start our day with a cappuccino and a cornetto
then explore the city starting with our walk down Via Gregorio VII.
We visited the Vatican Museum, The Sistine Chapel, The Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and The Spanish Steps.
Every day was a new adventure, our tired feet would bring us back to our cozy little apartment where we would usually rest before dinner.
Many nights we would take the smallest ancient elevator to the rooftop to look over the city as the sun was setting. I was fortunate to do a few paintings while up there but was never satisfied I could capture as much as I wanted, the sun was usually going down as we got up there and was lucky to have 30 minutes to paint.
This view from the rooftop always fascinated me, there is lyrical quality to the jumble of buildings
antennas, clotheslines and satellite dishes, a bit like life can be at times, hectic, messy, stressful
but when we look past all that we always find a serene and vast horizon of potential waiting for us.
