I was more than honoured to have had the opportunity of displaying my work as a student exhibitor at the 50th Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition this year. Up until that point the show garnered a considerable reputation among my art teachers and peers in the visual arts field, but I had only ever attended once. The weekend of July 8-10 was ushered in with a great deal of stress, but to much avail. Never had I seen art glorified on such a scale. I spoke with a variety of people from the arts background, gallery owners, authors and collectors, many of whom took enthusiastic interest in my subject matter and endeavoured to help me find new folk tales to illustrate. Unbeknownst to me, more than a few of the tales I painted represented an important era in the lives of those who witnessed them at the show. Show-goers from areas of Eastern Europe especially noted that the stories of their nation’s childhood have long been buried in the graveyard of oral storytelling, but they were once used as subliminal weapons of freedom. More than once a person would thank me for delighting modern eyes and ears with them. Two people signed my guestbook with the comments, “Glory to Slavic Ariyen Culture!“ and “Thank you for bringing them to life again”. This experience reaffirmed what the brilliant Joe Morse noted in one of his lectures, that you never know where stories are going to travel or how and who they will affect. Maybe children’s literature will be my destined path. I want to thank everyone who attended and took the time to visit and assist at my booth area. Your support and thoughtfulness are much appreciated.
I’d like to give a shout-out to a few outstanding student artists I met while at the exhibition. Both are incredibly admirable and talented individuals. Annyen Lam debuted her intricate paper creations at TOAE this year, and I cannot begin to express how meticulous her cut-outs of cultural architecture are. A single artwork would consume nearly a box of exacto blades.
http://www.annyenlam.com/
Adrienne Dagg won the student category for Painting at the 50th Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. Her understanding of the human body’s form and colour is impeccable.
http://www.adriennedagg.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adriennedagg/
The weather was excessively hooottt!! Thank you to all you caring benefactors who brought me cold beverages (and my cherished coffee) during the weekend.
Kim and Lindsay dropping pennies into City Hall's interactive wall sculpture :)
On the third day, we experienced our first bout of rain after pure sunshine.
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