Let’s create room to welcome emerging artists into the spotlight. No matter what profession you are in, and no matter how distinguished you may be in your career, you didn’t start off there. You have a unique gifting that inspired you to strive and grow.
Artists are a special class of people. They have so much creativity that it propels them forward into a sea of possibilities and unknowns. There is no formula to getting discovered. It’s one piece of work at a time, one exhibition at a time. They do the grind not knowing how it will play out out or who will appreciate their work. They do it because it’s who they are, it aligns with their passion.
In Kitchener’s Civic Area on Roy Street you can stop into Studio 27 (home to Holly’s cafe) where you can explore some of the areas hidden talent. The walls are adorned with hanging art and the shelves with gorgeous pottery, knitted items and poetry books.
I couldn’t help but linger with this watercolour piece by Hashveenah Manoharan. The title, ‘We Stumble in The September Swamp’ captures a treasured moment in nature. The subject, a Blanding’s Turtle with the shell of a scored mango, appears to glow with a mystical and nonsensical presence. Manoharan is an ecologist and arborist, who creates artwork relating to the flora and fauna she encounters. Check out her website https://hashveenah.com/
My recent visit to the Homer Watson Gallery was to see the annual juried exhibition. The artwork selection was spectacular. The theme, Hiding in Plain Sight/Site encouraged local artists to embrace their relationships with our physical, natural, and artistic surroundings.
It was easy to fall in love with the work of the first prize winner, Frances Gregory. She is known for her spontaneity of the unknown, rooted in the beauty and wonder of nature. Gregory captured the exhibition theme perfectly by hiding at least five fuzzy forest animals into her birch trees. She is a wildly talented emerging artist.
If you decide to dabble in art collecting in 2026 try looking close to home. The Region is so full of dedicated, talented artists who have been inspired by the world around them. These people are looking for an outlet to share that beauty and passion with you.
Helen Fidler seeks to create beautiful spaces that evoke strong emotions in her audience. Her bold and unique visual vocabulary observes her favourite artists and architects, such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Jackson Pollock. She free-flows from surrealism into an unrestrained abstract style when she paints, which carries over into her interiors when decorating clients’ homes. “My art is an expression of how I work through the troublesome realities of this world in a way that hopes to bring beauty to everything I touch,” she explains. For her, designing gorgeous interiors and creating stimulating paintings are essential to making the world around her a more beautiful space.
