Artist Bio:

Émile Sopkowe (they/them) has been planting gardens and ambling around in nature
since they could walk. A resident of St. John’s since 2021, their rural upbringing in cold
and sparsely habited places made Newfoundland a natural fit.

Émile is an educator who has created collaborative projects with hundreds of
primary/elementary school children over the last decade and facilitated low-barrier art
clubs for students who may not otherwise have had access to multi-media art instruction
and exploration.

Émile has been juried by the NL Craft Council and is a member of the Rug Hooking
Guild. They have sold hooked pieces in a variety of gallery and retail spaces.

Émile’s work frequently depicts the fabric of the natural world, using primarily reclaimed
materials, which creates pieces that are environmentally sustainable and rich in texture
and depth.

View more examples of their art on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/hooked_rugs_by_emile/

 

Artist Statement:
“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect.” - Alice Walker

Looking at the natural world, we are drawn to beautiful and colourful blooms, dramatic scenery, or majestic landscapes, and we don’t always look at the microcosms beneath
our feet. Wherever you are out in the natural world, stop, sit down and take a close look at one square foot of the surface of the earth. You will have a little window into nature’s garden of tiny plants that all contribute in important ways to our environment. Wherever you plonk your bones down, you can be almost certain that lichen is not far
away. Lichen, a symbiotic relationship between algae and fungi, are found on every continent. Maybe where you sit you can see the pink polka dots of fairy puke lichen. Or
maybe you go to brush away a tickle at your neck, and you see that the ethereal wisps of old man’s beard, used for centuries as medicine, are enfolding you in a timeless
embrace.

In this textile piece, viewers can immerse themselves in a representation of the richness found in a square foot of nature. Rug hooking is an environmentally sound art form born of the necessity to waste nothing. In the tradition of low-waste, this hooked piece uses reclaimed post-consumer fabric, yarn, and other materials to depict the texture and richness of the ground that we often trod upon without a second glance, much like the hooked rugs of yesteryear on the floors of chilly houses. In addition to the human made materials, I have incorporated old man's beard lichen and birch bark into the hooking. Viewers who look into this window will see a rug hooked microcosm of lichens
and other low-growing plants that live on the barrens and in the forests in Newfoundland and Labrador.

 

Available for purchase: $345

Artist Bio
Emma Bishop (Emmy) is a contemporary painter who focuses on expressing emotion through her work. Born and raised in the bay of Newfoundland, Emma's early fascination
with the natural world served as inspiration for her artistic journey. She focuses on taking inspiration from nature and combining these images with vivid colours and surreal details to convey themes. The key themes that Emma explores in her art are feelings embracing one’s true nature and self acceptance. Many paintings are representations of her own turmoils in hopes other people can find comfort in them. Although the themes can be more depressing, the work is always vibrant in colour.

Emma is mostly self taught but throughout her life, art has always been a passion. She is currently enrolled in MUN and taking art courses at Grenfell in hopes of
becoming an art teacher in the future. She is always searching for ways to expand her skills. Emma’s work has mainly been shared among friends and sold at markets, but she is aiming to get her paintings into galleries and into the community.

Artist Statement:
The theme provided was one to encourage artists to share our experience with nature in Newfoundland. Instantly when I read that, I remembered back to when I first encountered the famous pitcher plant. I was just a little girl, exploring the forest behind my Aunt’s house with my older brother. My brother loved to tease me, and I was very oblivious. When we stumbled upon them, he told me they were “picture plants” because they look like you. He then picked one out that seemed to mimic my pigtails and I was convinced. It wasn't until years later that I realised he made it all up. It's such a fun memory for me to look back on and I wanted to share that first experience I've had with my favourite flower.

I plan to use acrylic paints to make a painting that looks like stained glass. I want the audience to feel as though they are watching the scene unfold from the tree line. It will
illustrate the moment of finding the pitcher plant with my brother. I plan to use a variety of colours and a thicker black paint to really mimic the stained glass look. I will seal it with paint seal to ensure it holds up in our weather. I plan to call it “Picture” Plant, after the trick my brother played on me.

Available for purchase: $100

Artist Bio:
Emma Dooley was born in Newfoundland and has been a resident ever since. The town of Conception Bay South is where she calls home and where she has lived for most of her life. Her small studio space is her happy place and where she tries to go everyday to create something, even if it's just a quick doodle. She loves making art a part of her every day. Her work is inspired by nature, and she enjoys painting things that make her happy, like bees. Don't get her started on bees!

She takes her own photos for her references and likes to add her own spin, or a dash of whimsy, when she creates her paintings or drawings. She is self-taught and enjoys exploring the world of art and is constantly learning, although she primarily works in acrylic paint these days! She creates pieces for fun, she hosts paint nights to share the fun with others, and she also volunteers her time, bringing art to seniors by painting with them, and painting the windows inside their homes. Art is a huge part of her life, and she loves to create to hopefully connect with others who enjoy her work.

Artist Statement:
I would like to create an illusion on the glass to look like the viewer is looking directly into a beehive. As if the hive has a window. The first thing that I think of when I think
of nature is our little buzzing friends, and everything that bees do for us. They are so important, and I try to shine light on them whenever I have the opportunity. For the window, I would like to paint bees doing their work inside of the hive on one side of the glass, and then create 3D sculptures of bees to be adhered to the outside of the glass, and on the frame. My hope is to create a 3D piece with many details to keep people looking for more.

 

Available to Purchase: $100

Artist Bio:
My name is Fay Prince,
I am a Free Spirited heARTist living my BEST life in Newfoundland with my cat Nylah, off grid in the woods & near the ocean.
I love to create! Especially in collaboration with Mother Nature! I am also a dot artist & paint with acrylics on canvas, rocks & other materials recycling old things & bringing them new life. I also do mosaic work with tile & glass. I call my creations Energy Art!

Artist Statement:
My refurbished window displays a combination of 6 of my mandala images printed for each of the 6 sections of the window. The printing has been done by a professional signage company in my area. I feel that my unique creations show the beauty & diversity of our Lovely Province's flora. There’s nothing better than connecting to Nature through Art & creativity! These landscape, transient installations that I do are an active meditation with Nature that allows me to connect deeply with it. They also eventually go right back to nature, only lasting a few weeks or days at most. I’m hoping that the viewer will catch a glimpse of how I Envision Nature & also feel the energy in which these heARTworks were created!

 

Available to purchase: $1500

 

Artist Bio:
I have drawn nature as my subject of choice for many years. I began using oils in 1975 and painted mainly landscapes. For three years, beginning in 1978, I worked as an illustrator for BCFS creating field guides for foresters and agricultural businesses. I have used pastel, coloured pencil, and watercolours to create my views of nature, always seeking out that rare plant, lichen, or mushroom subject that I haven't seen before. I like to paint images of nature that most people would overlook. My view of nature has moved from far away hillsides to the ground at my feet.

I am presently president of the Botanical Art Society of NL. As a member of BASNL, I host zoom sessions every second week for members to get together and paint and chat. I choose a different subject each time. I have also been a member of FORAY NL since 2010, was treasurer for 2 years, and give a watercolour workshop each year at their annual foray. I am a born Newfoundlander and am currently living in Paradise, NL.

Artist Statement:
I have painted a rotted softwood stump covered in small orange mushrooms with the bright green moss substrate nurturing them, while the shadows of the forest conceal unknown discoveries. The frame of the window is adorned with painted images of moss and lichens of different colours and types. All things alive today must die and be the beginning of new life.

 

Available to purchase: $500

 

Artist Bio:
Hilary is a graphic designer and illustrator living in St. John's, NL. Her art mediums, including digital illustration, needle felting, and painting, draw a lot of inspiration from nature and her hometown of Trinity East. She also enjoys using humor in her art to connect with people and bring them joy.

Artist Statement:
My interest in gardening and painting started when I was just a young girl. My mother would spend her days out in the garden, pulling weeds, watering the plants, and pouring her soul into the vegetables and flowers we had planted. In the evenings she would come inside and paint at our dining room table. My late Mom was a great source of inspiration for me, and I now tend to my own garden and paint at my own dining room table because of her. My mom’s favourite flower was the pansy, and I wanted to honor her with this piece in the exhibit, Andrea’s Pansies. In this piece I have purple and pink pansies reaching skyward as they’re bathed in strips of warm sunlight

Faux stained glass, made with acrylic paint and glue, and sealed with a polyurethane sealant.

 

Not for sale

 

Artist Bio:
I am an artist and art educator living in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador. I have participated in many exhibitions. I have nine large paintings on display in the CBS Townhall, and I have painted all 14 traffic control boxes in Conception Bay South. I was a featured artist in the 2023 Authors in Art. As a set painter I have painted backdrops and props for over eight productions at the Arts and Culture Centre and Holy Heart Theatre. I am a board member of the “Art Association of Newfoundland and Labrador” and “Art at the Gate”, a visual arts festival in Twillingate. I have had work on the television shows “Hudson and Rex” and “Rock Solid Builds.” I am the founder of the CBS Library Art group that was founded to give artists a chance to meet, exchange ideas, and share work.

Artist Bio:
Julie’s positive, sparkly disposition was a natural fit for teaching art lessons to children and adults across Canada and beautiful Italy. In 2002, Julie started SassyTuna Studio. Understanding the need for quality, having studied at top art colleges such as Grenfell, Sheridan, and Algonquin, as well as Dalhousie University, Julie invests a variety of art techniques to create a well-rounded creative experience. She completes thousands of art pieces every year, from digital art to murals to portraiture, in graphite, pastel, watercolour, and acrylic paint. Ms. Lewis completed a Diploma from Algonquin College in Ottawa (Animation) in 2002, completed Art Studies at Sheridan College (2000), and studied Fine Arts at Grenfell College (1999). She worked at such television studios as Spumco, Amberwood, and Boomstone (for The Family Channel), and in computer game design with Dalhousie University.

 

Artist Statement:
To use shape, colour, texture, and shine with a macro view on the lovely partridgeberry. The inviting round shape of the berry, matched with the vivid red and waxy-fresh green colour, smooth texture, and candy-like shine are the appeals of this proposed piece. I have added a thick layer of resin, prepared ahead and then adhered/added on TOP, “post painting."

Partridgeberries have always been a favourite of mine, and are often overlooked as they are not ‘ready to pick’ as early as the blueberry. (Foraging in the wild is encouraged AFTER the first frost.)

 

Available to purchase: $1600

Artist Bio:
Katie Vautour is a visual artist and writer who has participated in art residencies in Oaxaca, Mexico, and the Banff Centre. She has exhibited her mixed media work and paintings in Newfoundland at Eastern Edge, the Craft Council, and the Baccalieu Gallery, as well as in galleries throughout Atlantic Canada. At separate times, Katie has been both a juror for, and a recipient of, multiple Arts & Letters awards. Katie has painted traffic boxes and murals for the City of St. John's for ten years, and a piece of her work is on permanent display in the Wildlife Discovery Centre at the Salmonier Nature Park. Her first book of poetry was published by Breakwater in Spring 2019, and she is a frequent contributor to Newfoundland Quarterly.

Artist Statement:
This artwork for Envisioning Nature is my attempt to capture the complexity and variety of the natural world in Newfoundland and Labrador, with a focus on the flora and fauna found within the boundaries of the Botanical Garden. While no actual location could contain all the species depicted, the composition is designed to create a natural-looking image that captures our precious and unique environment. The piece offers an artistic interpretation of recognizable flora and fauna. These include hostas, Japanese wood poppies, golden chain trees, and the pitcher plant, as well as dragonflies, honeybees, and trout. It also features a variety of diverse terrains common in the province, such as rocky shorelines and cliffs, forests, ponds, and bogs.

 

Available to purchase: $400

Artist Bio:
Kristen Piercey is a Newfoundland-based fibre artist and studied at Concordia University in Montreal to obtain a degree in Fibres and Material Practices. Within her work she explores the self and how the body and mind adapt depending on circumstances they are put in. This means she approaches a broad spectrum of ideas including things like fat bodies and chronic pain conditions. She works largely with crochet and embroidery, but explores many varieties of fibre-based practices. As of late, Piercey has been particularly interested in doilies and their perceived value and how that may translate to living with an invisible disability.

Artist Statement:
Fibre arts have been a pivotal part of Newfoundland and Labrador culture and aesthetics for quite some time - from quilts hung on a clothesline on a summer day, to a crocheted granny square blanket from Nan on Christmas morning; fibre arts are essential to Newfoundland both in terms of culture and necessity. I believe these craft-based practices should be brought to contemporary art as often as possible, as we have used these methods to tell stories for decades. They belong in art settings just as much as they belong in a home. I have a deeply rooted love for doilies, as they give me a nostalgic feeling of home and spending time at my grandparents house. I believe making doilies, above all craft-based practices, is the most underappreciated and undervalued process there is. I have been using doilies in my work as of late to not only tell my own stories but to elevate such a well known and familiar object to allow it a moment to be appreciated as it so deserves.

This project showcases the beauty in doilies in a non-conventional format, while also having the opportunity to showcase various types of flora found in the province. The fibres are white, as to allow for natural staining from the plants and nature that surround the piece while installed. This way the plants can tell their own story and have their own influence on the piece - instead of having an invasive object in their space, it would be more of a collaboration between the work and nature as cohabitant beings. Additionally, the natural staining process may mimic stained glass windows, another element often found in Newfoundland culture and aesthetics as an alternative format of storytelling.

 

Not for sale

Artist Bio:
Noah is an artist who is dedicated to uncovering the essence of life through the creative process. Through film photography, print-making, and collage, Noah explores the process of image making by seeking to capture the sublime through visual imagery. Much of their inspiration for images comes from nature; most of the subjects of their photos involve flowers, fauna, the ocean, the clouds, and the sky. It is personal experiences of the Beautiful that Noah seeks to express in their finished work. Their work is a reflection of deep introspection and observation; in their compositions, they attempt to reveal hidden details of the natural world and express them in tangible forms. Much like a window, their works offer themselves as portal into a world of natural textures and colours, allowing the viewer to get lost in the lush compositions.

Artist Statement:
For my project, I am proposing to complete a work from my ongoing series called “Images from My Garden.” This work consists of many different photos of flowers and fauna, collaged together as one harmonious whole. Many of these photos were taken in my backyard in St John’s, Newfoundland; these photos are a result of trying to look at the natural landscapes around me in a novel way. This makes this piece a great fit for this group exhibition as it is a result of my own personal explorations of our province’s natural world.

 

Available to purchase: $2000

Artist Bio:
Rachel Anstey (she/her) is a trained visual artist and designer from Torbay, Newfoundland & Labrador. She graduated with a BFA from Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in 2009, and Graphic Design with Honours in 2015 from the College of the North Atlantic. Rachel focuses on alternative landscapes and elements of nature, while incorporating traditional methods of making such as textiles and surface design. Working primarily in small formats, she aims to offer a glimpse into her relationship with her work, while encouraging the viewer to create their own.

Artist Statement:
My intent for my window piece for the Botanical Garden’s Windows on the Garden Exhibition is to use my work with miniature floral paintings to create a window frame that highlights what is there but may not be seen. Insects, fairies, sprites, small animals, and birds will all make an appearance in miniature format. I want to evoke a sense of wonder when looking through the window. To see the details of the woods that we wouldn’t see while we’re walking on a trail. I will use acrylic paint and vinyl to create the work, ensuring the longevity of the piece for the duration of the show.

Artist Bio:
Primarily a self-taught artist, I cannot remember a time when I did not love drawing and later painting. I have been fortunate to study under many talented local and international artists. As a multi-disciplinary artist, I initially was drawn to watercolors but have moved onto other mediums including oil, acrylic, pen & ink, and continue to try new techniques and mediums. I truly find inspiration in daily life and trying to capture the interplay of light and shadow. Whether botanical, urban landscape, or snapshots of everyday life, I simply paint what speaks to me. I am a member of, and have exhibited with, local art groups including BASNL, Nightwatch Group with artist Gerald Vaandering, and the Art Association of NL. In 2020 I received the Provincial Arts & Letters Award in the Senior Visual Division, and I am pleased to have my work in private collections.

Artist Statement:
While the Newfoundland landscape is rich and diverse, its flora and fauna must be resilient to our sometimes harsh, challenging climate. With long dreary winters, gardens bursting with colorful blooms are a welcome change in the spring & summer. As gardeners tend to their cultivated gardens, an array of colour emerges. And this is what I envision for this project. A view from a window of a favorite - the oriental poppy. A favorite of many, the Oriental Poppy blooms in NL gardens for such a short time, its delicate petals succumbing all too quickly to our frequent wind. Perhaps this is what makes it all the more precious - like Christmas in July.

The array of poppies will be painted and sealed on the window pane using acrylic paint, in a semi-translucent manner, mimicking the view through your own window. The vision is that the window will extend the colourful bloom of poppies in the garden, perhaps allowing one to imagine the re-emergence of poppies next year.

 

SOLD

Artist Bio:
Shan Leigh Pomeroy (she/they) is a multidisciplinary artist and designer currently based out of St. John’s, Newfoundland. She holds a BFA with distinction in Studio Art & Art History from Concordia University and a diploma in Graphic Design from CNA, for which she won the President’s Medal of Academic Excellence. Shan currently sits on the Eastern Edge ARC Board of Directors as Secretary and chairs the EE Main Gallery Committee.

Shan is primarily an illustrator but also works in a variety of media, including painting, graphic design, stop-motion animation, electronic music, photography, and textiles. Their output deals with themes of identity, body politics, the zeitgeist, folklore, and the human relationship to sickness, health, and space. Their creative interests incorporate archival imagery, gender, anatomy, geography, kitsch, dada, and the contrast between different media and stylistic tropes.

Shan has won several awards and grants and has contributed creative projects to exhibitions, screenings, markets, residencies, and publications across Canada, Italy, Germany, Hong Kong, Greece, Czechia, Spain, Portugal, and the US. Shan lives and works in downtown St. John’s with their partner and two cats, Bluey and Goon.

Artist Statement:
My plan for this project is to utilize the surrealist imagery I've been using in my current body of work to allude to a sense of euphoria one can experience on a hazy summer day in nature. The warm months here are fleeting, and when they arrive, the sudden heat and humidity can feel out of place in this often chilly, foggy coastal area of the world.

My illustration, rendered in waterproof ink and black pencil on wood, will channel the theme of "Envisioning Nature" by offering a monochrome, dreamlike take on the natural world, using flora and fauna to emphasize how our observance of nature, such an alive thing, can sometimes generate the feeling of being watched ourselves. Spending time in the natural environment helps us to step outside of the every day and can so often seem alien when we look close enough, even if what we are looking at is right in our backyard.

Artist Bio:
Vanessa Iddon is a multi-disciplinary artist, illustrator, and designer living in St. John’s, NL. Born in Ontario, she graduated with a BA in Art History from Queen’s University in 2011, and a diploma in Graphic Design from CNA in 2014. She has worked professionally as a graphic designer at Newfoundland and Labrador studio Perfect Day for ten years. Her current creative practice focuses on whimsical, absurd representations of self through flora.

Artist Statement:
The idea of grounding ourselves in our natural environment is present in our daily lives in relation to improving our mental health, so I want to visually represent this with a portrait of a figure lying asleep and peaceful in a field of flowers. Newfoundland and Labrador has an incredible natural landscape so the figure will be completely surrounded by flowers commonly found in NL: lupins, aster, butter cups, crackerberry, Labrador tea, etc. I would like to leave some negative space through some of the petals so the viewer can see the Botanical Garden through the window, which reinforces the intent of the artwork. I like to explore modern and bold visual imagery with graphic shapes and lines, and will use acrylic paint on all parts of the window frame.

Available to Purchase: $400