East End Arts is pleased to introduce, Seniors in the East: A Storybook Program. This is our fourth season of senior-specific programming, which takes place over 7 months and is presented in a hybrid way to our participants. Please note that registration for this program has now passed, and the program is underway!
Seniors in the East: A Storybook Program
August 2024 – March 2025
Taking Place Online through Zoom, and In-Person at our Clubhouse!
ABOUT THE PROGRAM, SENIORS IN THE EAST:
Seniors in the East: A Storybook Program is a paper-based art program that engages 35 seniors from the east end of Toronto to try new paper-based art skills, learn basic digital literacy skills, and connect and get creative with other seniors online and in-person at our Clubhouse! Participants of this program also played a key role in choosing the workshops of this program: a jury of senior members reviewed the artist applications and decided together which ones they wanted to include!
Seniors in the East takes place over seven months – September 2024 to March 2025 – and features six monthly art workshops on Zoom, and two in-person guest speaker talks, all led by different artist facilitators who teach a new paper-based art skill. The goal of these workshops and artist talks is to teach new art skills and techniques that can be executed on mixed-use paper in a bound notebook. All of our senior participants will receive a large oversized storybook filled with mixed-use paper at the beginning of the season, and the hope is for them to fill the pages of these books with their own stories during the course of the program.
Throughout the season participating seniors will also receive a combination of creative prompts through a shared Facebook group to help keep inspiration and creativity high, plus the opportunity to enjoy monthly in-person tea & networking sessions at our Clubhouse for those who are interested and able. This program will culminate with an in-person exhibition at St. Matthew’s Clubhouse where all of the storybooks from all of our senior participants will come together, and their artwork and stories will be shared with the community.
WHAT OUR PARTICIPANTS RECEIVE:
All of our Senior in the East Participants receive:
- A large 9×12″ storybook full with mixed media paper;
- All the art materials required to engage in each of the monthly arts workshops;
- 6 arts workshops (Online using Zoom) with our talented artist facilitators to learn new creative techniques to apply to their storybooks;
- 2 in-person guest speaker talks about specific paper-based techniques;
- Bi-weekly art prompts sent to their email inbox and to our Facebook Group to spark creativity and give inspiration;
- Monthly tea afternoon sessions at St. Matthew’s Clubhouse to make and network with the other seniors;
- An opportunity to sit on the internal jury panel and choose which workshops are included in the program;
- Support on using online technology like Zoom and social media platforms, as well as one on one tech support throughout the course of the program;
- A special in-person exhibition to show off the final storybooks at St. Matthew’s Clubhouse;
- And a unique opportunity to be a part of a vibrant community of creative elders!
ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS & ARTISTS:
Serafima Zibnitskaya
Oil Pastels Workshop,
September 6th, 2024
- Workshop Description: Participants will join Serafima for an oil pastel workshop. Oil pastels are robust exploratory medium as there are many techniques to try, including blending colours, gradient shading, texture application, hard and soft line work, and more! With a focus on storytelling, participants will create their own metaphors and symbolism to create narrative artworks. Participants will be encouraged to connect their stories to nature, plants, animals, and other subject matter in an effort to explore self-expression, as well as explore the potential of a rich colour palette to express mood and emotion or their story.
- Artist Bio: Serafima is a fine artist who works in a variety of media and has been teaching art for over 8 years. She graduated OCAD University majoring in Illustration, which she references in her approach that any artwork tells a story, whether through character expressions, or abstract elements like colour and shape. Serafima is passionate about the human experience, our feelings and souls, and in her art practice seeks to always connect to the hearts of her audience and her students. She believes art enriches our experience and any person has the ability to express their creative side.
Katia Engell
Imaginative Collage Workshop,
October 18th, 2024
- Workshop Description: Participants will join Katia for an Imaginative Collage workshop with materials like magazine clippings, vintage ephemera, and paper. Collage is an accessible art form that allows for lots of play, experimentation, and the joy of surprise. Katia’s workshop will begin with a relevant poem that encourages reflection on a specific theme chosen by our seniors, and participants are offered one or two more explicit prompts to work from. Throughout the workshop, participants are gently guided with collaging tips and tricks, as well as encouragement to explore elements of design such as repetition, colour theory, composition, etc.
- Artist Bio: Katia Engell is a multidisciplinary artist & firm believer in the power of art to connect us! She has over 10 years of experience running art programs & workshops for all different ages/audiences, but primarily with older adults. Katia is the Director at The Bitove Method: an arts-based not-for-profit for people living with dementia, and is passionate about challenging ageism in our society, largely with the help of the arts! Katia’s workshops are a safe space to get creative, experimental, and playful, while in community.
Jasmine Vanstone
Linocut Storytelling Workshop,
November 8th, 2024
- Workshop Description: Participants will join Jasmine Vanstone for a beginner-friendly linocut storytelling workshop! Linocut prints are a powerful medium for telling stories due to its accessible nature, creative possibilities, and the depth of personal meaning that can be infused into each print. Participants of this workshop will create a design inspired by memories of joy, transfer the design onto the linoleum block, carve the design, and then ink and stamp it onto paper. The designs can feature elements representing significant life events, personal beliefs, or emotional states through single or sequential narrative prints.
- Artist Bio: Jasmine Vanstone is a Jamaican-Canadian multidisciplinary artist, arts facilitator, and arts administrator who inspires, impacts, and amplifies marginalized voices through community arts and her creative practice. Jasmine’s artistic journey began with a BFA in Visual Art and a Certificate in Cultural and Artistic Practice for Social and Environmental Justice from York University. After interning at North York Arts, she pursued Arts Management at Centennial College. Her talent and passion to inspire, along with the power of arts mentorship, has earned her awards and features at events and festivals such as Nuit Blanche, KUUMBA, DesignTO, Finch Station, and Pearson Airport. Most recently, Jasmine was awarded the JAYU Arts For Human Rights iAM Award and continues to grow through opportunities and experiences that align with her mission.
Andrew Huot
Pochoir: Printing Without a Press Workshop,
December 13th, 2024
- Workshop Description: Participants will join Andrew for Pochoir: Printing without a press. In this workshop, participants will make pochoir prints, a stencil technique to make imagery and to build up layers of color. Pochoir was popular in the 1920s and 30s as a color illustration technique for books and magazines. Participants will make their own stencils then apply the color with simple brushes and sponges. Pochoir can be used loosely as a drawing technique or to add complicated illustrations and imagery. Pochoir is an amazing printmaking technique as it’s immediate and easy to pick up. For those who struggle with using the right words, pochoir can create images or atmospheric backgrounds for the writing.
- Artist Bio: Andrew Huot is a book artist and bookbinder in Toronto, ON, Canada, where he operates Big River Bindery. He teaches bookbinding and book arts in his Scarborough studio, for the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild, and at arts centers around Toronto. He holds a Masters in Book Arts from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and his artists’ books use photographs, linoleum cuts, and text to share the patterns of everyday life. His artists’ books are in collections including the Art Institute of Chicago, Yale University, Emory University, and Ontario College of Art & Design.
Megan Warren
Mixed-Media Art Journaling Workshop,
January 10th, 2025
- Workshop Description: Participants will join Megan Warren for a Mixed-Media Art Journaling workshop where they will explore beloved memories of “Home” through art. Participants will follow along with prompts and activities, and use various materials and techniques including paper and mixed media collage, drawing, creative writing, and more. Participants of this workshop will be asked to reflect on questions like, “Where is Home? Now or Before?”, “What is Home?”, “Who is Home?”, “What does Home feel / smell / sound / taste / look like?”, and “What parts of Home can you include on this page to touch / smell / see /etc.?”. This workshop is all about providing an outlet to both write out and visually map out parts of our memories.
- Artist Bio: Megan Warren is an interdisciplinary craft artist, gardener, and community facilitator. Her workshops invite participants to engage in art-making as a personal practice in experimentation, continued learning and self-expression. Megan has been working with seniors since 2017 as a creative home care companion and community facilitator; assisting seniors with their personal hobby projects, facilitating group activities and helping them to find and engage with the community through volunteer gardening.
Nora MacPhail
Snowscape in Watercolour Workshop,
February 7th, 2025
- Workshop Description: Participants will join Nora MacPhail for a Snowscape in Watercolour Workshop. Let’s paint snow! Winter is a big part of our lives and one of the best ways to enjoy the cold season is to paint it. Since the snow visits us every year, let’s take the opportunity to explore how it contributes to our lives. Perhaps it’s a subject you haven’t considered painting, or one that you’ve always wanted to paint. Either way, it’s a perfect subject for watercolour. In this workshop we’ll discuss how the white of the paper works in watercolour, and in doing so, we’ll see how this makes room for using a lot of colour! Second we’ll investigate how to create contracts in our art in order to make the snow “pop”. Third, we’ll talk about shape and how important it is when creating a snowscape. Fourth, and finally, we’ll try different techniques to represent falling snow on our colourful scene as we go step-by-step together through our piece!
- Artist Bio: Nora MacPhail is a professional artist living in the awesome city of Toronto. She has been drawing and painting with watercolour for over 27 years now, and teaching art to adults for over a decade. She embraced watercolours right away. They are considered a difficult medium so people shy away from them, but over the years, the pleasure of exploring their capabilities has enabled her to discover an approachable and fun style. She enjoys sharing this style with others! She paints watercolours with strong gestural lines and lots (and lots) of bright colour! These contour lines make the drawing aspect of watercolours (and she thinks the intimidating part) very achievable, and her use of lots of colour is still manageable in application. The end result is very pleasing to the viewers. Nora also works with oil, carving out strong colourful shapes with big flat brushes. She jumps back and forth between the two mediums since both have so many different things to offer. For the last seven years she has favoured portraiture as her primary subject. She is grateful to have art in her life and to share it with you!
ABOUT THE GUEST SPEAKERS:
Wandy Cheng
Paper 2D Bouquet Making
August 8th, 2024
- Event Description: Participants of the Seniors in the East Welcome Party are invited to create their own flower bouquets on mixed-media paper with Wandy Cheng. The idea is that this paper will serve as the first page in their storybooks, and will act as a personalized title page. Wandy will pre-make templates of already painted textured papers to make this drop-in activity a “pick your bouquet” experience where anyone dropping in can pick different floral shapes + stems + vases to glue down.
- Artist Bio: Wandy Cheng is an artist from Hong Kong whose work is expressed through illustration, ceramics, paper-cut and public art. She finds inspiration through memories of lived experiences & eclectic environments, and is delighted by expressive lineworks and bold patterns. In recent years, her illustration can be seen on the streets of Toronto and within pages of international publications.
Heidi Breier
Learning about Paper-Making,
September 27th and October 4th, 2024
- Event Description: Participants will join Heidi Breier to learn the history of papermaking, the science behind forming paper, and what makes recycled paper an environmentally friendly material! Participants will be guided through the steps to make their own 4 x 5 sheets of paper. Basic techniques include selecting the right kind of scrap paper, the ratio of paper to water, blending pulp, forming the paper, transferring it to another surface, and pressing water out of the sheets. Once the basics have been learned, Heidi will introduce a few creative twists like using stencil shapes, laminating, inclusions (additions such as dried leaves or contrasting colours), and embossing to create even more interesting and unique sheets! Participants will leave with several sheets of their own homemade paper, which they will dry at home.
- Artist Bio: Performer, educator, and public presenter Heidi Breier has taken various turns in her professional life – as an operatic soprano, a music teacher, and a science facilitator, to name a few. She was first introduced to the ancient craft of handmade papermaking through her work with Todmorden Mills Museum, a historic Toronto paper mill site, and further developed her skills presenting the iconic papermaking demo at the Ontario Science Centre. In 2015, Heidi started Paper Powered as a side business, which combines her love of creating, beautiful things, curiosity about science, her passion for the environment, and her joy in sharing it with others, into one fun and easy craft that just about anyone can learn. Since then, she has taught hundreds of people of all ages across the GTA how to make their own beautiful, recycled sheets in workshops at public libraries, schools, churches, community centres, conferences, and through private events. Her workshops will introduce you to the history, basic skills, sustainability, and creative scope that encompass handmade paper, as she teaches you how to make your own unique sheets to take home. Her audacious (and somewhat cheeky motto? Make paper. Save the world.
Allie Brenner
Learning about Paper Marbling
November 1st, 2024
- Event Description: Participants will join Allie Brenner to explore the art of Paper Marbling through demonstration, conversation and a hands on studio session. Paper marbling is a technique in which inks are manipulated on the surface of water in order to create unique swirling patterns. This design can then be “pulled” to create a print on various surfaces. In this program, participants will use this technique to create multiple prints on paper which can be bound in books, used for further printmaking, collage, or mixed media applications or displayed as artworks in their own right.
- Artist Bio: Allie Brenner (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Waterloo, Ontario. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ontario College of Art and Design and is completing a post degree Professional Specialization Certificate program in Visitor & Community Engagement with University of Victoria. Brenner’s work focuses on memory, time, place, materiality, community building and cultural development work.
PHOTO UPDATES FROM OUR SENIORS IN THE EAST PROGRAM:
Come back to this webpage often, as we will update with new photos as the program progresses!
FUNDER OF SENIORS IN THE EAST: A STORYBOOK PROGRAM
Seniors in the East is funded by the Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program!
