Catherine Beaudette is a Canadian artist based in Toronto, Ontario and Duntara, Newfoundland & Labrador. She is the founder of 2 Rooms Contemporary Art Projects and Bonavista Biennale which had its inaugural exhibition in 2017 on the Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland & Labrador.  In Toronto she is director of Howard Park Institute, a window gallery on Dundas West, and founder of Loop Gallery, a collective gallery in the arts district. We spoke with her about her experience launching creative initiatives, living in multiple locations, and how these impact her painting practice.

To watch a short video from our conversation with Catherine, please click here! 

Where did you grow up and when did you move to Toronto?

I grew up Quebec City and Montreal.  When I decided to become an artist I went to Champlain College in the Eastern Townships and the...

Carson Teal is a multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto. His work features audio and visuals that create immersive environments in physical and virtual spaces. He shared with us how changing his discipline helped him discover his path as an artist. Teal is represented by Pari Nadimi Gallery. 

What does an average day in the studio look like? Do you have a set routine, a preferred time to work, or anything that helps you get in the zone?

I would say that everyday is different. I'm kind of all over the place, even physically because I have two separate rooms to work in. Music is an easy way to get something going and to get into the mood. Sometimes I'll listen to ambient music or classical, or something more high energy, whatever strikes my mood. If I'm feeling an emotion that I need to get out or so...

 A Place of Silence

Mike Gough is a painter currently based in St. John's. His minimal, mixed media work explores the ephemerality of love and relationships and the consistency of landscape and the natural world.

What does an average day in the studio look like? Do you have a set routine, a preferred time to work, or anything that helps you get in the zone?

I’ve always been an artist who works at night.  It’s a time when I feel most focused; it’s quiet and I am undisturbed. Often I’ll begin with drawing because it’s delicate and intimate.  From there I introduce paint and pastel. I guess I’m a physical painter, and by that I mean I’ll sometimes use my fingers to apply paint and create smudges with graphite. I like to see evidence of my hand and I’ll sometimes leave fingerprints on the surface.  Painting has always been therapeutic. As soon a...

Miel and D'Ari of the musical duo VILLAS invited us into their Prince Edward County farmhouse to discuss their music, their transition out of the city, and their non-profit program Dark Spark.  

How did you guys meet?

M: Long answer. I was travelling in Northern Africa and I had a one-way ticket to a placement in Rwanda after graduating from school. I had basically written a couple of songs on my guitar. This was years ago, when I was doing more of a singer song-writer focus. I was always in this cafe in the middle of the Sahara desert and I get this email from a tour manager at the time who had heard some of my music online. He said I would love to introduce you to this person D’Ari from this other band, are you going to be in Toronto on September the 10th. I was in the Sahara desert and this is September the 5th! I was compelled to...

Bonavista based artist Jane Walker speaks about her current exhibition, her time in Glasgow, and her exciting collaborative project! 

In your practice, you use unusual materials in a traditional technique. What draws you to steel wool as a rug hooking material, and what is the significance of it for you? Are you drawn to any other unusual materials?

When I think about the history of rug hooking -- as a textile practice that comes from using whatever is available -- I often consider using materials that put ideas about resourcefulness into question.  I've worked with some other unusual materials, primarily old man's beard lichen that I have preserved with glycerin. I first started experimenting with steel wool rug hooking because found some extra extra fine steel wool at a hardware store nearby where I was living. It was so soft. Using a mat...

Who is organizing HOLD FAST festival this year? Meet the wonderful Hannah Morgan! 

Where are you from? What brought you to St. John's and Eastern Edge? 

I'm from Prince Edward Island! I grew up in a little community, Marshfield,  in an old farm house and my family still lives there today! It's home. Coming to St. John's was a bit of a quick decision. While doing grad studies at Concordia I was apart of the Indigenous Art Research Group and started a research contract with Dr. Heather Igloliorte for the iNuit Blanche festival. iNuit Blanche took place in St. John's last October and when asked if I wanted to be 'on the ground' in St. John's before the festival - I jumped at the opportunity to come back to the Atlantic Provinces. Eastern Edge was a bit of a hub for iNuit Blanche and it pulled me in -- Artist-run centres are so important and th...

When you're not making art, what are three things you might be found doing?

Summer answer: swimming, watching tv/reading, taking my cat to the park

Do you have any secret talents?

I’m quite good at sleeping in, I know the script to all Hollywood romantic comedies, I can remember numbers and number combinations quite well, I can clean my bedroom and make it messy again in less than two hours, budgeting…

If you could choose any artist to collaborate on a project with - alive or dead - who would you choose?

I choose St. John's based artist Kailey Bryan! We have collaborated before on a project where Kailey filmed me in my bath tub while I smashed eggs on my body and we have more ideas and maybe more eggs to smash.

What are you looking forward to most about participating in HOLD FAST festival?

I am excited to see how people respond to my piece. I ho...

Woven Wires is a collaboration between Vanessa Dion Fletcher and Pearl Marie Salas. 

Where are you visiting St. John's from? 

V: Toronto Ontario 

P: Denver, Colorado 

When you're not making art, what are three things you might be found doing? 

V: Riding my bike.  Spending time with friends and family, 

P: Attending local music events, catching up any overly dramatic tv shows (guilty pleasure), and playing with with my dog Michelle!

Do you have any secret talents?

V: No,  to Use most of my talents and my performance art so there not secrets for long. 

P: Great cook of authentic southwestern united states style food, I can sing fairly well...I'd kill at karaoke if I was ever brave enough (I'm not, shower singer forever), and I can make a great music playlist for anybody or occasion, just give me a theme!...

Where are you visiting St. John's from? Where is your home base?

Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

When you're not making art, what are three things you might be found doing?

This summer it would be: 1) Hanging out with my two young children, Cooper and Freja, (probably at the wading pool) 2) Skateboarding bowls with other not-young, easily hurt friends 3) Working at a local Artist Run Centre called PLATFORM.  

Do you have any secret talents?

Well, because of my daughter I’ve gotten pretty good at singing slow lullaby versions of Disney songs? 

If you could choose any artist to collaborate on a project with - alive or dead - who would you choose?

This is a potentially annoying answer to this question but: nobody? I’m lucky in that I already get to collaborate with an artist I love dearly, my friend Mitchell Wiebe. We’ve had a longstanding project together ca...

At The Reception is a collaboration between Kiersten Holden-Ada, Michael McCormack and Zak Miller-Ada.

Where are you visiting St. John's from? Where is your home base?

K’jipuktuk/Halifax, NS.  

When you're not making art, what are three things you might be found doing? 

M: thinking about dancing, forgetting to practice piano, and trying to play basketball.

K: ruckussing about with kiddos, showing up, processing big feels while putting fire to metal.

Z: building, looking at my phone while sitting on the toilet, spending time with my friends (most of whom are under 8)

Do you have any secret talents?

Between the three of us (you'll have to guess which is whose): there's a dance move called "the rowboat" that I invented with my sibling, I am particularly skilled at nit-picking (literally), and I may have some headstand/headstand prowess to boast...