The Artist Incubator
Not your ordinary artist studio.
As part of our mandate of nurturing creativity through the arts, Glenhyrst has created an annual eight month Artist Incubator program with limited enrolment. Housed in The Cottage on the grounds of the gallery, the incubator offers both working studio space and a curated professional development program for working artists at all levels.
Meet the Artists:
Nancy Benoy
Nancy Benoy is a self-taught artist and educator in Hamilton, Ontario. Nancy’s practice spans over 20 years. Her art and teaching practices are rooted in self-expression, experimentation, processes, and a craving to breathe life into her work. Materials play an integral role: saturated inks, luminous watercolours, lush pastels, rich acrylics, found objects, and natural resources speak to her and find their voice in her works. Colours, texture, layers, and movement are captured. Nancy is constantly exploring, evolving, and challenging herself to capture a feeling, a mood, a memory, or a yearning. Nancy advocates for art in the community, facilitating accessible, playful, and process-based art workshops at various locations in the Hamilton area, including Dundas Valley School of the Art and Art Gallery of Hamilton. She was nominated for the City of Hamilton Art Educator award and co-recipient of the City of Hamilton Arts Champion for her podcast “ArtToGo.” Among other spaces, her work has been shown at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Assembly Gallery, and Paul Elia Gallery. It can be found in private collections in Canada, the US, and the UK. Nancy is currently at a residency at the Glenhyrst Gallery in Brantford, Ontario.
More recently Nancy has been thinking about sustainability in her art practice. Diverting/salvaging materials from landfills and basements, adding an element of intentionality to her creative drive. Thus, the abstract assemblages have been born.
Connect with Nancy:
David Wierzbicki
David Wierzbicki’s work is quirky and fun and also deeply emotional. He paints as a remedy for his own depressions and anxieties and as a comment on our relationship to ourselves and each other. His paintings refuse to accept a simple response to the question of what is beautiful. His mixed media works ask us to feel each other’s pains and to truly see each other – beyond the scars that have become our shields.
David Wierzbicki is an illustrator and fine artist living in Brantford, Ontario. He studied illustration at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario.
Connect with David:
Kate Wyatt
As a Fibre artist Kate Wyatt specializes in needle felting, the art of using a barbed needle to felt natural fibres together to create an image. Born 1983 in Brantford, Ontario, Kate spent her summers in the Almaguin area north of Barrie which helped her love of nature bloom. She explores the natural world, using it as inspiration for her felted landscapes.
Trained as a graphic designer Kate is a self taught felter. Her use of colour and texture bring a playful realism to her works that draws the viewer into the piece. Before discovering and falling in love with felting Kate focused mainly on acrylic painting, it is this background which gives her feltings a painterly feeling. She loves to felt and sketch, in person, the places that make her stop and “drink it all in”, this personal connection to the subject creates stronger emotion in the final piece. Participating in multiple Plein Air competitions and juried shows she has received awards and honourable mentions. With a focus on sky and water, her art is all about depth and “movement in a frozen moment”.
Connect with Kate:
http://kattail-designs.square.site
Patti Giroux
Patti Giroux, an acrylic artist on canvas, draws inspiration from simple lines, easy colors, nature, and architecture. Exploring new series in her unique style, she has pioneered Pet Pop Art, crafting custom pieces from pet photos. With a background in Art Administration and Art Conservation, Patti is renowned for her ability to recreate textures and designs. Her extensive collection of photos, ranging from cemeteries to flowers and buildings, serves as references for her current art. A fun fact about Patti: she possesses the rare talent of painting with both her left and right hands simultaneously, adding an extra layer of intrigue to her work.
Connect with Patti:
Events:
Visit the Cottage Studio on Fridays from noon - 4:00pm - 20 Ava Road, first small building when you come onto the property.
The door is open and all are welcome!
The culmination! This exhibition features works created in the Cottage Studio throughout an eight month period. Join Nancy, Patti, David and Kate on the following days:
Opening Reception | Thursday May 30th: 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Friday May 31st: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday June 1st: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm