Artists

Benjamin Hettinga
Shape-based objects such as pentagons, pyramids, and obelisks have been worshiped by humans throughout history. In my work I examine shapes and patterns hands-on through the process of drawing in hopes of coming into communion with the spirits of the past.

The motifs and forms in my work are consciously and subconsciously pulled from everything around me— be it forms and patterns in nature, Persian rugs, or the books I read. Lately, I have been appreciating Navajo and Mexican motifs. In my more recent pieces my interest in southwestern patterns has been more apparent. I hope you enjoy my work as much as I have enjoyed creating it. May peace be with you.

Luke Siemens
I am interested in creating images that have both a sense of chaos and order. The idea that chaotic images can be used to frighten people into relinquishing authority leads me to depict scenes of pseudo-catastrophe that remove the sense of menace associated with disasters, and replace it with one of curiosity. My work is an attempt to connect with a childhood state where one took pleasure in running a model train off its tracks, stomping on a Lego tower, or directing Godzilla towards SimCity. The film-set like construction, simple colors and illustrative lines decrease the threat of the disasters making them manageable, even delightful. In many of the drawings, the viewer is placed in a position of dominance in relation to the image, looking down on the subjects, heightening the sense of control over the action of the drawings.

The depiction of architectural structures in my work is a reference to the mapping, planning, and construction involved in the process of creating fears and phobias. In architecture, plans are used to give a sense of structure, direction, an idea of what’s to come. My drawings, unlike most plans, have structural flaws, deterioration, and catastrophe built in. They acknowledge the transitory nature of planning and seek to show that total security is a phantasm. Accepting the possibility of disaster lessens the symbolic weight that ultimate destruction holds.

Roberta Ross Photography
Roberta's photography spans continents. These photos were taken while she was volunteering in an orphanage in Africa. After splitting the commission with the Gallery Roberta will donate the rest to charities like CHEP.

Patrick Bulas
The phenomena studied in the fields of physics and astronomy continues to be a strong influence in my work. Images found in scientific journals and books as well as those found on the Internet still hold my interest, but recently I have also begun to take a closer look at the world around me in the context of the principles and theories developed by physicists.

These principles and theories do not just apply to interstellar forces that seem so far removed from our everyday lives nor do they just describe the subatomic world unseen by the unaided eye. The laws and theories of physics are fundamental and physicists strive to develop theories and ideas that can explain everything from minute subatomic particles being smashed apart in a lab to the piece of paper you are reading right now to a distant star light years away. I like the idea that I can have a print based on images of something like solar flares beside a print that is based on something I can directly observe such as light shining through the branches of a tree that I noticed on the way to work. Of course I could take this idea of fundamental laws too far and use any image I wanted without any sort of consideration, but this is where my role as an artist steps in.

Light continues to be important in my work. I continue to work largely through a reductive process, meaning I print the lightest color first, work back into the plate, print the next color and repeat the process until I reach the final image. It is interesting to see the light of each image develop as I rework the plate.

The images I develop are abstracted to some extent. I don’t want the viewer to get caught up in pinning down exactly what the image is. Instead, the images, regardless of where they come from, are intended to be observations of light and energy.

Malaika Zbesheski Charbonneau
Malaika Zbesheski Charbonneau, BFA uses paint and canvas as documentation of the ephemeral concept of Time and Space. Whether she paints her memories of cities in which she has lived or visited, or of conversations she’s been a part of or eavesdropped upon, the emphasizing of disassociated Space and overlapping Time make tangible the intangible. Repeatedly recalled, the memories and conversations become embellished, and the repetitive layers of paint become the elaborate fabric of Time and Space. The relationship between the canvas and the viewer develops into the viewer’s personal memories in an ever evolving dialogue, allowing them to time-travel between colliding realities and melding brush strokes on canvas.

Bevin Bradley
Bevin Bradley is a Saskatoon based visual artist. Bevin has a Bachelors in Fine Arts, with Distinction, from the University of Saskatchewan. She has exhibited throughout Canada and her art can be found in Russia, South Africa, and across Canada. Bevin has been employed as the Art Director at the Saskatoon Community Youth Arts Programming, SCYAP Incorporated, since 2002. Through SCYAP's Art Centre, she has been using her talent to address the social, educational, and economic needs of youth who face multiple barriers to employment. She has coordinated numerous public art projects, including her most recent project at SCYAP, a 144 X 20 foot mural under the Circle Drive Bridge. Bevin has spoken at numerous events, including the national Human Rights (CASHRA) Conference and the Saskatchewan Youth Summit. Bevin finds her inspiration from nature.

Dee Lowe
Dee Lowe is a self-taught painter. Her paintings have been purchased by public, corporate and private collectors. She currently resides in Saskatoon as well as on her farm near Meacham. An exhibition of new work will be shown at the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon in 2008.

Karen Pask-Thompson
Karen Pask-Thompson is a Saskatoon artist who received her Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Art degrees at the University of Saskatchewan studying with Otto Rogers, Bob Christie, George Glenn and Stan Day. She has attended numerous workshops and was involved with a mentorship program with CARFAC.

When she is not painting or spending time with family she is teaching art to high school students with the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Division. She has had a number of solo and group shows locally and has work in a number of collections in the province.

Her work incorporates symbols and images from her rural roots which transfer a message to the viewer. She works in both acrylic and oil paints.

Laurel McCormick
Since graduating with a BFA Laurel has gone on to complete her training in art therapy. Laurel maintains an active studio practice as well as working as a professional art therapist and art teacher. She is currently exploring in her art what she has learned in these two roles, as active participant in the creative process and guide for others. Through her work in the studio and with clients she explores the interplay between our inner reality and the physical world. The organic forms contrasted with the geometric shapes speak to the search to understand ourselves through comparison with the world around us.

Roberta Ross
Roberta Ross is a Saskatoon-based artist whose work is inspired by the environments and cultures she experiences while traveling. With a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Studio Art and a Bachelor of Education (with distinction), also majoring in art, from the University of Saskatchewan as well as The Curtain University of Technology in Perth, Australia.

Roberta has exhibited her work locally and internationally. She is currently a high school art teacher for the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School System. As a teacher, Roberta finds great enjoyment inspiring young artists to tap into their creative potential, to expand on their art skills and to get involved in their community. She works hard to inspire creativity by facilitating youth art opportunities such as grants, exhibitions, fundraisers and auctions to promote youth art education. Apart from full-time teaching Roberta has a strong interest in her community, working with organizations like The Saskatoon Community Foundation, S.C.Y.A.P. Inc. and other local non-profit organizations.

Vijay Kachru
Vijay (VJ) was born in Kashmir, India and became a Canadian citizen in the early 70’s. She has worked as a business consultant to large and mid size corporation for over 25 years . She moved her residence to Saskatoon from Montreal three years ago to live closer to her father. "My interest in Art grew as a result of my travels as a business consultant in Americas and Europe. Art was something to get quiet with. Now I have chosen Painting as an expression besides writing. Landscapes / outdoors have an emotion that I would like to explore through my Paintings. For now I want to play with watercolor."

Leah Taylor
Leah Taylor is a Saskatoon based artist. Her lithographic prints combine photography, clothing patterns and mark-making, exploring the relationships between fashion, media and the misconceptions placed on the female figure. Taylor’s more recent practice has shifted to mixed media collage, which further investigates fashion and design through a less narrative and a more intuitive approach combining the use of colored and patterned paper, magazines, and layered vellum.

Leah Taylor received her BFA in studio art, graduating with distinction in 2004 from the University of Saskatchewan. Taylor’s curatorial work includes Pushing Ink, exhibited in 2005 at the Kenderdine Art Gallery and Grit & Grace, which is on exhibit at the Kenderdine Art Gallery until August 2008. Taylor currently works for the Kenderdine Art Gallery & College Building Galleries at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.