Five local artists sharing a love of creative expression have joined forces to present an eclectic range of work. Fusion 5 showcases fibre art wall hangings, mixed media sculptures, and paintings, large and small, abstract and representational, landscape and portraits. This exhibit is a fusion of talent encompassing a wide range of themes and styles.
Featuring Craig Sealy, Heather LaRue, Heather Smiley, Jenny Nemes and Marion Bartlett, the show ran from April 6-May 1.
The Artists
Craig Sealy
Craig Sealy has been exploring his love of textiles, geometry, nature and colour in his fibre art since 2002. Although his work is modern, he is curious about deconstructing and examining more traditional notions of quilting. His work is playful and can reference personal ideas and experiences. Craig is inspired daily by his surrounds and is based in Thornbury Ontario.
Heather LaRue
Heather LaRue is a visual artist who lives in Collingwood, Ontario. As an adult, she decided to pursue her artistic goals and attend art school. She chose the Academy of Realist Art in Toronto for their intensive classical drawing and painting program based on 19th century European atelier techniques. She attended OCAD for courses on illustration and design and watercolour workshops at the Haliburton School of Art. Yearly, she attends workshops at the Plein Air Convention & Expo held in the U.S.
Heather Smiley
Heather considers herself very fortunate that she can call the beautiful regions of Collingwood and the Blue Mountains her home and backyard. She has lived in this area since 2001 when she moved here for work. Now retired, she has devoted her time to her first love - painting. For Heather, the landscape is a vehicle for exploring our emotional relationship with light, colour and location in the natural world. She has exhibited at juried shows and galleries in Ontario and Quebec, and in 2022 received “Best Painting” award at the Newmarket Juried Show.
Jenny Nemes
Jenny Nemes is an abstract, mixed media visual artist. Her work exudes playful energy and spontaneity in its exploration of pattern, texture and mark making. Her experimentation with materials and process, from acrylic and oil painting to collage and printmaking, deliver unexpected moments and layers of interest to the canvas. Collectors comment on the colour and joy her work brings to today’s modern and minimalist spaces. When not painting, you can find Jenny applying this same spontaneity and enthusiasm to her ceramic works.
Marion Bartlett
Marion was born in the Netherlands and immigrated to Canada as a young child, growing up in north Toronto. She was always interested in creating artwork and was chosen to participate in a "school of the arts" initiative at Downsview secondary school where students were introduced to a variety of mediums by experts in their field. Marion continued to study ceramic arts and sculpture at Humber College, then York University, also choosing Sociology as a topic of study.
Learn more about Marion Website
Virtual Sample
