Crafted is back for its 5th year at TAP! This annual exhibition and sale of artisan works arrives just in time for the holidays – reflecting a wide range of mediums including textiles, fibre arts, metal work, painting, printmaking and much more.
Taking place November 27 – December 20, 2018 within the TAP gallery, this event is a fabulous opportunity to have your work featured for sale in our vibrant space.
There is no fee to apply. Participating artists will receive 75% of any art sales, with a 25% commission taken by TAP Centre for Creativity. All sales will be paid out within 4 weeks of the conclusion of the event.
Crafted Application Guidelines
All handcrafted items must be priced at $300 or less. Artists who are required to remit HST for tax purposes must have the HST already included in the list price of $300 or less.
Paintings, drawings and framed works must be gallery ready, equipped with a wire on the back or D-ring hooks.
All works require packaging for customer transport (e.g. boxes for sculptures, sleeves for cards or ornaments, gift bags for fabric or fibre works, etc.).
Application Package Requirements
Artists may submit up to 10 photos of work(s)
A current artist CV and biography (250 words or less)
Title, medium, size and price for each item submitted
Applications must be submitted by Friday July 27 at 11:59 p.m.
Mark Czajkowski has been exhibiting his art for over 35 years in juried shows, group shows and through commissioned work. Primarily in oil and watercolour paintings, but also in metal and wood sculptures, Czajkowski’s prolific output reflects a highly individual and spiritual intensity.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
I’m blessed to have good friends that have been with me my whole life.
What is the first memory you have connected to creating art?
Painting my pets as a child with oils on board.
How did you get started in the art world?
I sold my first drawing at Art in the Parkin Stratford with my dad when I was 11 for $1.50 and I was hooked
How would you describe your subject matter or the content of your work?
My surroundings and life experiences.
What is your WHY?
Because I need to….
What are you presently inspired by?
I’m interested in capturing the colours of the sky that reflect on the land.
I’m also dabbling in interior landscapes of home and studio.
What is the most profound experience you’ve had as an artist?
When I was in my 20’s, I won an award in London, Ontario and when I was leaving an old man well into his 80’s came up and said to me that I should be very happy because he’s painted his whole life and never had anything like that happened. I was sad and glad at the same time.
Besides your art practice, are you involved in any other kind of work?
A carpenter by trade.
Is there something you are currently working on, or are excited about starting that you can tell us about?
I am very excited to exhibit some art at theInn of Bay Fortune, Chef Michael Smith’s restaurant overlooking the Fortune River. I have a wonderful group of paintings showing at the flower shop in Sours, Daisy a Day and down the street I have a few showing at Artisans on Main– Souris, Prince Edward Island.
Don’t stop creating, stay focused.
Pay no heed to negative advice.
Dream of the curator from the Guggenheim showing up and begging you for a show, or better yet, the National Gallery of Canada.
Words to live by… a favourite quote or motto?
Keep the faith, Love will conquer all.
‘I believe the world needs more Canada’….Barack Obama
Katelyn Tippin completed her studies at the University of Western Ontario and received a BFA Honours Specialization in Visual Arts in 2011. She works in a wide variety of mediums including; ink, watercolour, oil, acrylic and relief printmaking.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
I grew up in St. Thomas, Ontario in a creative household. My mom was always crafting and my dad had an interest in photography and woodworking. There were always so many creative materials at hand, so I was constantly making…something. As an only child I got to spend lots of time with my grandparents who lived in Shedden and Meaford. I was lucky to be exposed to many different skills, my whole family had some kind of creative hobby they would share. High school I was a bit on the fringes, this was a time where art became more about expression for me rather than technical. I attended the University of Western Ontario for Fine Art and got to create alongside some really great peers and teachers. I am currently living in London with my partner Matt and our bulldog Odin.
What is the first memory you have connected to creating art?
Art was a huge part of my childhood; I was always creating. One of my first memories of painting was with watercolours at my grandparents’ dining table. I also loved to colour, I remember this Ninja Turtles colouring portfolio, I loved! My first “studio” was a reclaimed school desk my dad re-topped and I filled with supplies.
When I was 15 my mom encouraged me to volunteer at the St. Thomas-Elgin Public Art Centre. That was the first time I really started to think about a career in the Arts. Originally I wanted to work in the medical field. I was lucky to be part of a creative work environment and that really encouraged me to continue down that path.
How would you describe your subject matter or the content of your work?
The focus of my work is female portraiture. There are also currents of nostalgia and body art. I feel when painting figures they have a connection to the viewer and me included. Portraits invite in narrative. I love to imagine the figures history, what they would have felt and their story. I often play with time, mixing nostalgic past and contemporary elements to complicate the characters narrative. I also create art to pay the bills too so I often paint commissions and create small acrylic still lives and animals.
Ink and watercolour are currently my most used. I was working on watercolour paper but recently I have been using wood panel because it allows me to work on a larger scale. I also paint in acrylic and sometimes oil. Lino printing is also something I work with but I was spoiled in University with access to a print shop and a technician that had a wealth of knowledge, so now my lino cuts are much smaller due to the practicality. I have also been casting in concrete this year too.
What is your WHY?
I would feel hollow without it, creativity and making is a huge part of my life, a constant for me. I am a bit of a MacGyver by nature, I will make it work with what I have, and that element seems to permeate everything I do. I just have to be working on something from refinishing furniture, painting or re-purposing.
What are you presently inspired by— are there particular things you are reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?
I often create in front of a screen but it acts like a radio for me. I like noise when I work, just seems to get me out of my head space and into a creative work mode. I am inspired by looking at contemporary and historical art. Often after seeing a new exhibition I get a surge of creative energy, I feel inspired by their labour, energy and technique. I watch a lot of Sci-Fi and the limitless creativity of the sets, character and the narrative inspire me. There are no limits. In University I took many gender studies courses so I often reflect readings and they influence my work.
Besides your art practice, are you involved in any other kind of work?
Yes, lots of it. I instruct art classes for youth, I am an Administrative Assistant for the St. Thomas-Elgin Public Art Centre and I work in the Bakery/Deli department in a grocery store in London. Lately I have also been casting concrete to make jewellery to sell.
Is there something you are currently working on, or are excited about starting that you can tell us about?
I am working on a larger piece diluted acrylic on wood panel. It’s a portrait with the portrait occurring twice in the same piece, one is look up at the other. I have been working a lot lately with repetition of the same figure in one piece. I keep reflecting on the idea of the many faces we present and the internal dialog that is unknown to us the viewer.
Are you involved in any upcoming shows or events?
I have work on display in a few local spaces on an ongoing basis at a restaurant in Port Stanley, Art and Soul Café and also in a gallery in Sparta, Gathered.
Keep working, constantly. People often seem to stall after completing their degree, it’s so important to stay active in your art community and to produce new work even if you are burnt out or exhausted… keep making. It’s an adjustment entering the art world after university; things like practicality come in to play. Not everything you make is going to be in an exhibition, or critiqued by peers. Sometimes you need to make art to pay the bills. Artists often need to wear many hats; you need to be a promoter, business person, webpage and social media designer. Utilize your contacts, promote other artists and help each other. No one is going to find you; you need to find them to get things going.
Katelyn Tippin completed her studies at the University of Western Ontar
