Doug MacDonald

I am inspired by decorative stonework that adorns historical and heritage buildings.  I sculp and cast a myriad of gargoyles, Greenmen, and grotesques.  

Douglas MacDonald has been sculpting and casting for over 25 years using inspiration from stonework that adorns heritage and historical buildings in Europe and North America.  His work has been commissioned by Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

 It all started with my sister giving me a sculpting class for Christmas 2007. It was a two two-day class teaching how to sculpt a caricature's head in polymer clay.  I have been making art dolls for sixteen years now. I work primarily with a blend of 2 polymer clays. The bodies are a wire armature with foil and bating. I try and make as many of the accessories as I can with polymer clay, epoxies sculpt or pretty much anything I can get my hands on. I get a lot of my inspiration for my dolls from many places and things that I see day to day.  All costuming for my dolls are hand tailored to the doll.  Having been bitten by the creative bug I have branched out into other mediums.  I started Needle Felting wool roving into various animals and also wet felting landscapes (like Hobbiton).  I also have been working with Mosaic Stain Glass. I like to use old windows as the frame and I am inspired my some of my photography from Northern Ontario.  I could not tell you which medium I like the most. I just love getting lost in the creative process no matter what I am working on.

I started painting in high school, but I have focused primarily on acrylic painting for the past five years. Although I have enjoyed working with oil paints and pastels, I now almost exclusively use acrylics. I paint to create works that bring joy to others, giving me a sense of peace and fulfillment. For inquiries, please get in touch with me via email at kathymgaskin@gmail.com or by mobile at (519) 761-3314. 

 Look what crawled out of the woodwork …

Ted Stewart’s award-winning wildfowl sculptures feature the Birds of Ontario. Individually carved from wood, sometimes abstracted in natural wood, but often detailed and painted so realistically that they appear to sleepily drowse or to be ready to take flight.  

Ted also paints on canvas, portraying wildlife and/or the environments they inhabit, or sometimes visions and dreams. Ted was on the original Rideau Lakes Studio Tour in 1999, has been Artist in Residence at national parks, and has had his art featured in dozens of newspaper stories, in magazines and on an episode of Regional Contact (CTV Ottawa.) Ted now judges at carving competitions in Eastern Ontario, & recently has become an avid birder with the goal of photographing all of Ontario’s bird species. Woodcarving  demonstrations all weekend! 

John Shea, BFA, B.Ed

John Shea grew up in Montreal and settled in the country north of Kingston. After studying at L’ecole des Beaux Arts in Montreal and Syracuse University, John taught Visual Art for 25 years in Perth, Ontario. His work focuses on the nineteenth-century stone architecture of Eastern Ontario.  John exhibits throughout Ontario, including the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition and the McMichael Gallery in Kleinburg.

Watercolour on paper over canvas -- sealed with an acrylic matte finish.

Maggie Stewart was taught bead working skills by her elders, while growing up along the coast of James Bay, in Northern Ontario. Maggie's beadwork includes a wide variety of traditional Cree and modern designed jewelry: earrings, necklaces, bracelets, as well as framed bead pictures, and Christmas ornaments.

Maggie also uses tanned deer & moose hides to make moccasins, baby booties, handbags & winter mitts.

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Come watch beading demonstrations all weekend!

Originally from Ottawa, Ontario, Claire has settled in beautiful Portland with a view of the Big Rideau, where you may be greeted by her sweet Havanese fur baby, Capone.  Claire's art covers a wide range of subject matter as she is influenced by all that is around her.  Her mediums of choice are oil and watercolour with relaxing exploration in the world of acrylic and resin flow art. Through use of vibrant colour, light and movement, Claire strives to create images that will draw you in, that may evoke feeling, emotion and connection.

With over twenty years art experience, Claire continues to surrender to the visual stimulation, the emotional engagement and the mental challenge experienced when she paints.  Several of her paintings have found permanent homes across Canada, in the US, in Finland and in England and a number of her works have received awards at art shows in Canada and the US. Claire is active in several art groups and associations in and around the Rideau Lakes area.  Claire also embraces every opportunity to cultivate and enhance art appreciation in Rideau Lakes because art so nourishes the soul. 
 

Come follow Claire's ever evolving artistic adventure.   clairejfineart.com  

Andrew is an Ottawa-born artist who was raised on the Rideau Canal. His impressionistic landscape art focuses on interactions with the environment that surrounds and sustains us, using visual media to weave together the chapters or moments of our life story. His inspiration is drawn from iconic scenes near his family cottage at Davis Lock. These scenes are the central theme that allows him to explore his past, present, and future.

"Every summer and most weekends, for as long as I can remember, I have immersed myself in nature along the Rideau Waterway, its parks, and trails—literally planting myself in a scene and waiting for the perfect moment to capture on canvas. This has impacted my life in immeasurable ways, and it will always be central to my artistic expression." ~Andrew

 Inspired by the beauty around her in this lovely part of Ontario, Alison likes to draw and paint wildlife and interesting old buildings. She works mainly in coloured pencil and watercolour. Living rurally on Amherst Island provides a continuous landscape of nature in action. This nourishes a great love of birds and feeds her desire to create. 

 Through the imagery of trees, I strive to portray the sense of tranquility that I feel when I’m by myself in the woods. Early morning is my favourite time for hikes and paddles - the light is soft, the wind is calm, and I am most likely to be alone. The world can be overwhelming and full of chaos, and these solitary excursions provide a respite that I hope to capture in my paintings. I work in watercolour and oils, from my own photographs. Stylistically, the images feature strongly delineated shapes, reminiscent of stained glass, and Art Nouveau. They are created in layers, built up like the rings of a tree, often becoming invisible, yet still contributing to the finished painting. Marc Chagall said “Art picks up where nature leaves off.” It is not my intention to copy nature, but rather to be inspired by it, and to express the essence of the trees that mean so much to me. 

As I was born and raised on the Canadian prairies, my aesthetic is often informed by my early experiences relating to the landscape and the psychological dualities that it throws into relief. I am interested in community and social issues and my studio ceramics practice features a mix of functional and sculptural work with larger community-based projects and initiatives.  My painting practice is expressionistic.  My love of education, history, and language resonates in my work. By looking back  into history and mythologies both written and told, I believe we can highlight many of our present entanglements and continue to find ways to advance ourselves and improve the planet.  I moved to Newboro, ON, into an 1860s manor house in the heart of Rideau Lakes and opened Stone Manor Studios. Here, is where I hope to realize my dream of fashioning a space where creatives can gather, connect, create, and reset.  

Deborah is a retired nurse who has been drawing since childhood.  With some formal training, she has focused on portraits and developing art from her photographs and images.  Moving to the Rideau Lakes area, with its abundant natural beauty of trees, rocks, and water, has significantly influenced her developing style.  Deborah enjoys exploring various media.