HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-12-01, Page 31THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2005. PAGE 31.
Local artist captures second place
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BrendaLee Garrett of Goderich
has recently captured second prize in
Huron County’s Marine Heritage
Festival. The theme of the open
exhibit was Fishing in Huron
County.
Her Stone Fish project was carved
from a limestone rock taken from the
Maitland River and her prize was
awarded based on viewers’ choice
for the month of November.
The Goderich Co-op Gallery, on
the Square in Goderich, is very
excited to feature for the month of
December an exhibit of BrendaLee
Garratt’s vibrant and varied art
projects. Garratt is known to create
innovative pieces in acrylics,
watercolour and sculpture, in
keeping with her artistic philosophy.
“Since coming to Goderich with
my family, I continue creating and
exploring the world through my art.
Once my studio is complete, I will
teach and share my passion for art
with others through that venue.”
Garratt’s skills and projects are as
varied as her studies in the field of
art. Born in Sundridge she moved to
Toronto with her husband Lawrence
and while raising her son and
daughter, she became a member of
the Scarborough Art Guild. She
explored a wide range of art media
and began to teach art to children
with special needs.
Garratt said, “While working with
special students, 1 realized that the
approach to art comes from all
directions. If a student is to embrace
art, to believe in his/her abilities and
themselves, then art has to be multi
dimensional and many faceted. I was
changed.”
Accepted by portfolio to study art
at the Ontario College of Art in
1989, Garratt specialized in fine art
and . undertook additional
certification as a drawing and
painting specialist.
Garratt concurrently spent three
summers in En Plein studying
watercolour, acrylic and oil, taking
on extra research and teaching
others.
A passion for traditional Chinese
brush painting was developed about artistic backgrounds,
this time when she studied with
Betty Li in Toronto. Garratt said, “I
gained an appreciation for the brush,
the history and the traditions, as well
as the observational skills required
to create on the thin Chinese paper.
The paper is thinner than the
traditional Japanese paper and the art
piece is laminated when it is
completed. In keeping with Chinese
tradition, upon completion of my
studies, I was presented with a name
and stone symbol to complement my
‘Ancient Soul’ - the White Orchid is
my stone symbol indicating my need
to learn, move out into the world and
share my knowledge with others.”
Sculpture had drawn Garratt's
attention while studying at OCA,
working in bronze and plaster, and
four years ago she began to explore
and build sculptural pieces from
four-inch to six-foot logs of wood.
Since moving to Goderich, she has
studied beginner and advanced stone
carving at the Celtic College.
Exploring chisels and choices of
stone created one-of-a-kind original
items.
As an accomplished artist herself,
Garratt is also a passionate art
teacher, working with special needs
students to adults with varying
“My students attend weekly
classes exploring several mediums,
we idea build and discuss drawing
and painting techniques. By
observing and drawing small
projects from memory each week,
students are encouraged and assisted
with the learning of the use of earth
and bright palettes (East and West
philosophies). We learn to appreciate
our mistakes and our
accomplishments.”
Garratt has passion - for life, for
art, for learning, for teaching, for
family and for becoming a
grandmother in February. She sums
up her life by “Life and art are my
soul, to be explored and then shared
with others.”
Come to the Goderich Co-op
Gallery during December to enjoy
this multi-faceted artist. You may
meet Garrett in person by coming to
the Gallery on the Square on
Saturday, Dec. 3 from 1 p.m. - 3:30
p.m. to discuss her work and watch
her create.
Hours are 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. until
January, when the Gallery will be
open Wednesday - Saturday 10 a.m.
- 3 p.m. until April.
For further info call the Gallery at
440-0523.
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holiday
an annual
ornaments
Keeping in time
The Seaforth and District All-Girls Marching Band
performed at the Brussels Santa Claus parade to the joy of
the Crowd. (Heather Crawford photo)
Get crafty with your
kids this Christmas
If you’re looking for a clever way
to interact with your children,
engage them in a holiday craft
project that they can enjoy.
Making homemade
ornaments can become
family tradition.
An easy way to craft
that will last through the years is to
use a simple recipe for salt dough.
Not only is salt dough inexpensive
and easy to make, you probably
already have all the ingredients, in
your kitchen pantry.
A perfect way to spend a snowy
afternoon or evening in front of the
fireplace, whip up a batch of salt
dough using this simple recipe.
Mold it into favourite holiday
shapes (stars, gingerbread men,
Christmas trees, menorah and more),
and let the kids decorate to their
heart’s content.
Supplies:
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
11/2 cups hot water
Holiday cookie cutters
Decorations: glitter, paint, beads,
ribbon, glue, etc.
Knead the dough and roll it out to
desired thickness to cut out shapes
with cookie cutters (just like if you
were making sugar cookies). Use a
straw to poke a hole in the top of
each ornament to create a spot to
thread ribbon through for hanging.
Place them on a microwave-safe
plate and microwave on high for
about two minutes. Or pre-heat
your oven to 325° F and place
ornaments on a baking sheet lined
with parchment paper.
Let the ornaments dry and harden
in the oven for one hour to 11/2
hours. Paint and decorate as desired.
Most of all, be creative, and have a
lot of fun!
Happy 1st
Birthday
Christopher
John
Pennington
Dec. 6th
Love
Mommy & Daddy
"Christmas in the Country"
Dinner, Dance & Auction
to raise funds for
early literacy materials for
Walton Little School*
Saturday, December 3
Social begins at 6:00 pm
Dinner at 7:00 pm by Cardiff Catering
Live Auction at 9:00 pm
Silent Auction ends at 10:30 pm
Door prize draw for a getaway at one of Ontario's Finest Inns.
Call 887-8440 or 527-0956 for tickets.
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