Being an artist or designer is not just about acquiring technical skill, it is also about being a strong critical, conceptual and creative thinker. At OCAD University, we teach our students how to be well rounded artists and designers who can talk about their work, write about their work, present themselves, and market themselves. We set out to help them find their place in a larger community of creative makers and thinkers by encouraging them to seek out opportunities to participate, connect and collaborate with one another. We are thrilled to congratulate our workshop artists and designers on this expansive exhibition. (Above: Image by Freya Rothery.) Instructors: Nicholas Aoki, Kazmy Chi, Karen Justl, Jennifer Leo, and Erin Finley.
Ursula Drayton | Pen, marker, dry sharpie and a spray bottle of water | "When me and my cousin were younger, we used to have Star Wars fights and I would get the Blue lightsaber toy every time, and he would get the cooler, red, double-ended one, which is why I'm calling this Double Edged."
Monica Lindop | Picasso's studio space rendered in charcoal | In this drawing, Monica pays homage to the legendary artist's space and the sentiment ("every child is an artist") that inspired this exhibition.
Alexane Houle | "The technique for this exercise was to look at your hand and see how it could morph into something else, for me that was nature. I used pencil and watercolour to complete these pieces."
Sam Sheahan (Video file -- above). Series of ink hand drawings, produced in Sam's sketchbook.
Mihyun Kang | "One of the main focuses of this course, Zines and Surrealism, was to create surrealistic paintings using a hand as the central idea. I morphed the hand into a human-like figure."
Luca-Salomé Sillack | Dynamic Gestural Drawing Exploration on Paper | "I used ink on paper and tried to capture the dynamic movement of the dancer with a few simple strokes."
Karisa Wong | Perspectival Study of Frida Kahlo's Studio | Here, Wong pays tribute to the beautiful space maintained by artist Frida Kahlo, paying attention to the placement of art and personal objects.
Karisa Wong | Study of a Deer | Using pencil and pencil crayon, Wong use delicate mark-making to render this detailed image of a spotted deer.
Freya Rothery | Detailed Peach Studies | Watercolour sketches exploring surface, sheen, texture centred on summertime peaches at the cottage. (Freya's artwork also appears at the top of this webpage.)
Billie Hoffman | Zine Page | "I consciously worked to infuse the pages with humour and oddity as a way to convey and understand our most complex emotions. This page "illustrates a character calling out for an answer and receiving confusing, nearly incomprehensible responses."
Tara Antonen | Pencil crayon study of classmate Melia | Using a palette of fuschia and orange coloured pencils, Tara creates an ephemeral portrait, emulating the soft edges seen on the screen.
Rowan Vezeau (Video, above) | Hand-Drawing Metamorphosis --- featuring sketchbook work.
Ela Meshur | Ballpoint Pen Drawing of Artist's Studio | "I first drew the background and then, because it needed more, I added scary-looking things. I used ballpoint pen to make it more intense and unsettling."
Brian Lo | Digital Figurative Painting | In this cool-coloured painting, Brian plays with mood and reciprocal gaze. (The subject looks at us and, at the same time, we're gazing at the subject).
Elena Aquino | "Portrait of Michaela" | Rendered in ballpoint pen and pencil crayon, this portrait utilizes a range of mark-making, including hatching and cross-hatching.
Colette Santo | Zine-Making Workshop | This image features a hand-made zine starring Colette's cat Oscar. Here, Colette uses delicate line-work and pastel motifs to create a feeling of whimsy.
Melia Tessel | Lover's Dance | A charcoal-on-paper drawing that captures the movement of dancers onscreen. Melia uses repetition to suggest the balletic movements of dancers moving through space.
Vanessa Accardo | Pencil on paper | This dynamic drawing was created in response to a Youtube video by Niv Novak, featuring dancers extending their bodies. Vanessa captured the dancer's mid-air trajectory.
Grace Gorbould | Portrait Study #1 | In this red-palette portrait, Grace uses pencil crayon and gestural mark-making to capture the likeness of classmate Melia, as seen on the screen.
Marta Dojcinovic | "This was inspired by my trip to London. I remember it rained a lot, but the adventures were always fun. The colours here represent a feeling of calm and a sense of mystery."
Michaela Mussimbi | Expressive study of a person dancing | "There's a bunch of colours that represent the vibe and the happy atmosphere that I wanted to convey."
Maria Suzdaleva | Portrait of Michaela | Using ballpoint pen, Maria employs hatching and cross-hatching to create dimension and shadow while drawing Michaela, a workshop classmate.
Daphne Zhu | Zine Workshop | Hand transforming into multiple serpents, made with pencil and collage.
Amy Chaudhry | This was for a "zine page that required us to draw a closeup of something. I love eyes and the amount of emotion that they can express, so I tried to capture that with this."
Rowan Vezeau | Surreal Narrative Zine | This is a "page from my first zine, where as a prompt we were encouraged to use hatching and crosshatching."
Jennifer Gartlemann | Naturalistic perspective drawing | Sketch referenced from a tv show screenshot.
Jennifer Gartelmann | Drawing Explorations: Teeth and mouth studies (complete with Staedtler eraser).
Summer Hotchkiss | Ballpoint pen gesture drawing of a side profile. | "I added highlighter in the background to add contrast in both colour and brightness, and to highlight the face."
Alyssa Lee For my final project, I was given the prompt of creating an object using the spatial verb ‘EXTRACT’. When looking at my ‘EXTRACT’ prototypes and trying to think of them in the context of something I could see in my everyday-life, I immediately thought of a shelf. While I planned to create a shelf/display for retail purposes, this unique piece of furniture developed a mind of its own along the creation process.
Instead of creating the shelf to best fit its function: to hold/display things, with the spatial verb ‘EXTRACT’ I had to do the opposite – I tried to put as much use as I could into the structure I made. Seeing the stretches of blank space prompted me to think of putting a big mirror and a lovely poster on the front faces. The gaps in the structure serve as shelves for small items or trinkets – in this image, it’s perfume and books. The left side of the structure jutted out oddly, so what better to put there than a trash can to make more use of the space underneath? The bottom of the front face is a set of drawers for storing anything you want, making this structure that much more useful! Since this shelf (if you could even call it that – it has so many other purposes) has lots of edges, it’s perfect for adding more decorations such as flowers. To incorporate the other spatial verb ‘FOLD’ I decided to take a small origami piece and turn it into a unique and striking pot for a leafy, housewarming plant.
"Fracture Pyramid Ring" Cierra Miller
July 29th, 2021 I have designed this earring based on a project that was given to me where I had to apply the
verb “fracture” while keeping it as an object. I decided on doing a futuristic-themed ring. My
process included separating a pyramid into two triangles with folds. Thus, showing the
viewers how a complex shape can be transformed into multiple primary forms.
Fracture Cube Design July 29th, 2021
Cierra Miller
This project was based on a 3D modeling workshop task, where I was given the task of
applying the verb “Fracture” towards space. I chose to design a complex cube that broke into
pieces like a puzzle. Sustainable architecture has always been fascinating so I wanted to add
that as well to my work. Overall I enjoyed creating this piece as it is an eco-friendly structure
in the middle of a park for viewers to enjoy.
Mingze- Amy - Zhu
This project is about intersect inscribe and space. So, I decided to put two cubes together to make a
building. The bottom square’s top is partially painted plastic to simulate glass, so that the sun shines into
the building from above. And it is going to be some colour inside. The square on top is made of tin foil
on the inside, no plastic on the top and open to the air. In the middle of the bottom square is a platform
that people can walk up to for sightseeing.
I wanted to put it on the grass of the park, and the building could be a library or just a place for people
to enjoy the scenery and rest.
Mihyun Kang | Throughout this course, we have learned various acrylic painting techniques; For the pear painting, I focused on the contrast and the tone between the colours
Mihyun Kang | For the landscape painting, I focused on details and the overall impression of colour. I am really satisfied with all the work I have done!
Hi, I’m Nandita Kumar and my design proposal is for a restaurant in a theme park. It is based on inscribe + intersects and using space to create a unique structural piece. My design has 6 entrances/exits in total, 2 cylindrical exits, and 4 U-shaped entrances on each side. It is also an eco-friendly structure because it is made up of wood and due to the roof design, it stays pretty cool in the Summer.
Sumaya Ragab.
Using the spatial verbs fracture and fold and fracture, I designed a bookshelf. This bookshelf design belongs in a modern space because of its simple colors and structure. I cut the black material to make a geometric design and then added some interest with white paper and folding it in an accordion style.
Whyishnave Suthagar Onyx Cephalopod Series. Using the techniques learned with reference to the spatial verbs intersect and inscribe, paper based mockups were created and later manipulated in photoshop to create sculptural prototypes. This series is inspired by the rich black colors found in the onyx gemstone and the design itself is inspired by the shape and movement of cephalopods organisms.
Brownwen Feeney | I finished my lighthouse composition!! I like the way it turned out, especially the sky/clouds,
Selina Lang | One of my favorite pictures is this lighthouse. I really enjoy it when I paint this picture.