Birches by Canadian Painter Brian Wilson

In surfing the net today I found a couple of quotes that add some substance to the earlier post about redecorating for spring. I thought I would share them with my readers as fodder for the coming spring season which often acts as impetus for redecorating a room or rooms in your home:

1. Albert Hadley: ”The one thing I never get involved with is selecting art or pictures for a client. This is a very personal thing. If the clients have pictures, I will hang them. When they do not own pictures I leave the walls blank. ”

This quote sends a very strong message about the individuality of art. Never ever let your designer choose your art. You have to spend a great deal of time looking at it and being surrounded by it — make sure you really love it.

2.  ’No, your art should not coordinate with your home. Your home should coordinate with your art.’ Answer to a blog post from anonymous.

Personal experience causes this quote to resonate in my mind. Having redecorated a room and then realized I needed some additional art I ended up settling for art I did not love and was reminded of this on a daily basis when I entered the room and was not “wowed” by the art.

This is not to say that you have to redecorate every time you find a piece of art that you love. You will most certainly stumble upon art that fits with your current decor and can replace existing artwork with it. When you are not looking for something it will often just appear — on the other hand when pressured to find suitable art, by needing to feel your decorating is finished, you will likely settle for less than the perfect match.

Marie Gage — http://www.MadeInHaliburton.ca

The Arts Council~Haliburton Highlands is Celebrating!

The Artists in the Schools Program Is Celebrating!

The Arts Council~Haliburton Highlands is very pleased to announce that their most recent grant application to the Ontario Arts Council has been successful and as a result they have received a grant of $9000. for their Artists in the Schools project: Pendants and Pottery – Grades 4 & 7

The Pendants and Pottery Project will provide all grade 4 and grade 7 students in Haliburton County elementary schools with four 100-minute in-class arts education experiences with four Artists in the School: stone carving with Elise Muller; jewellery making with Erin Lynch; pottery with Lisa Barry; and, pottery with April Gates. This exciting project will take place between April and December 2013. It will enable students to learn from talented professional artists and experience visual arts materials that are not normally provided in the classroom: stone, clay and wire and beads. In addition, the grant will provide funds for the development of 4 study guides and will address the administration costs for the project.

The Education Committee of the Arts Council~Haliburton Highlands, led by chair Stella Voisin, in collaboration with Artists in the Schools Education Coordinator, Gail Stelter will review and administer the grant and the project will be managed by Gail.

Congratulations to the Arts Council, involved artists and all the lucky students who will be exposed to this amazing educational activity.

This year’s program is an exciting blend of perennial favourites and fresh new offerings. The schedule can be viewed online at hsta.ca and calendars are in the mail.

Paint, carve, dance, play, sew, make, sculpt, throw, fence, or sing. At the Haliburton School of The Arts landscapes, shoes, guitars, quilts, bronze, arrows, and hot iron combine with voice, wire, harps, beads, belts, pottery wheels and the written word in an incredibly diverse program of choices.

We’re pleased to be returning to Huntsville this summer. We will be offering weeklong courses at the University of Waterloo Summit Centre for three weeks in July. This program is still being developed but will be ready for registration by March 25th. Watch the website for course details.

There are also opportunities at Fleming College’s Peterborough Campus, OCAD University in Toronto and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg.

Visit hsta.ca for the full listing of courses, workshops and instructors.

Questions? Email createit@hsta.ca or call 1.866.353.6464.

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Canadian Painter Elizabeth Johnson

MadeInHaliburton.ca is proud to announce the addition of Elizabeth Johnson’s work to our online gallery.

Elizabeth began drawing and painting in her childhood farmhouse by the Niagara River.  During her teen years she lived in Europe among the greatest masterpieces of Western art. This fuelled her love for painting. Formal studio courses began at the University of Guelph and continued on at the Haliburton School of the Arts. Over the years, Elizabeth has been taught by Charles Reid, Charles Schultz, Janette Maloy, and, more recently, Ian Roberts.

Harold Point, Kilbear Park by Elizabeth Johnson, Canadian Painter

Today, Elizabeth paints the Ontario landscape in oil, acrylic and watercolour. She works on location in good weather and in her Dorset studio on hwy #35 in the winter. Her loose brushwork and singing colours reveal the joy and dignity of an unpretentious life in rural Ontario and its rugged residents.

Tree Stump in Livingstone Lake by Canadian Painter Elizabeth Johnson