East End Arts is excited to begin the second chapter of Seniors in the East: A Storybook Program. This is our fifth season of senior-specific programming, which takes place over 8 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, Chapter Two
August 2025 – March 2026
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 Chapter Two is a paper-based art program that engages 40 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 eight months – August 2025 to March 2026 – and features monthly art workshops on Zoom and/or in-person, all led by different artist facilitators who teach a new paper-based art skill. The goal of these workshops 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;
- 10 arts workshops (a mix of online and in-person) with talented artist facilitators to learn new creative techniques to apply to their storybooks;
- 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:
Ashley Snook
Mixed-Media Title Page Workshop (Welcome Party),
August 8th, 2025
- Workshop Description: As part of the Welcome Party, participants will join Ashley for a lively and hands-on mixed-media title page workshop to kick off the season! Together, we’ll design the opening page for each participant’s personal art journal, using vibrant colours, playful textures, and bold materials to set the tone for the creative journey ahead. Working on mixed-media paper, participants will use pre-cut felt letters to spell out “SENIORS IN THE EAST”—a collective title that sets the intention for their notebooks as a space for reflection, creativity, and connection. Participants will explore layering techniques with fabric cutouts, tissue paper, and acrylic paint to bring their pages to life. Everyone will leave with a unique and joyful title page—ready to welcome whatever comes next in their creative practice.
- Artist Bio: Ashley Snook is an award winning interdisciplinary artist, researcher and educator. She holds a PhD in Art and Visual Culture from Western University. Informed by biology, scientific research and socio-cultural dynamics, Snook explores the complexities of diverse living networks and the concept of animality. To Snook, exploring ones own unique position in animality has the potential to open perspective on human existence and relationships with one another, human- animal relationships, and relationality to the more-than-human world. It is a rebellious act against hegemonic forces that have enabled things like environmental degradation, capitalism, hate, overworking, and conformity. Her practice explores connections through differences, impermanence, composting, and imaginative reworlding, and therefore, animality is a constant theme of contemplation in Snooks work. Working predominantly in drawing, sculpture and installation, animality is imbued in everything she does. She is fascinated by the micro and macro relationships between human animals, nonhuman animals, bacteria, fungi, and vegetal/ botanical life—this prompts her to blur distinctions as to what is human, animal, plant, living, or nonliving. Within these methods of creating, Snook looks to ways in which she can further engage her audience. This often looks like incorporating viewer participation, encouraging presence, sensory awakening, for example, by incorporating smell, mood lighting, tactility, sound, and playfulness in her work.
- Website: ashleysnook.com
- Instagram: @intraspeciatedasno
Sabbie Narwal
Yarn Painting Workshop,
September 5th, 2025
- Workshop Description: Participants will join Sabbie for a yarn painting workshop. Instead of brushing paint onto canvas, participants will cut and glue yarn onto canvas (in this case, paper). This art form is both accessible and therapeutic. Regardless of ability or experience, participants can easily create beautiful, vibrant finished canvas artworks.
- Artist Bio: Sabbie Narwal is a Brampton-based illustrator specializing in traditional and digital illustration, and multi-media art. Her work is known for its warm, whimsical and inviting nature, as she aims to uplift and comfort people through her art. Sabbie’s works tend to depict the gentle joy of everyday moments, often incorporating food, nature and her South Asian heritage into her designs. Her public art also delves deeper into the vast stories found within her local community. She is the founder of The Paper Narwhal, an art goods brand specializing in stationery and illustrated gifts. Her designs are appreciated for their approachable style and inspirational content. Through this brand, she is on a mission to make quality art accessible, representational and practical. An active member of her local arts communities, Sabbie is also an experienced educator, workshop facilitator and public speaker. She has years of experience as a full-time public school teacher, which has included creating and leading creative learning camps and afterschool programs. Passionate about sharing her love for visual art and what she has learned as a small business owner, she enjoys conducting workshops and participating in artist talks and exhibits. Past experiences include working with the Brampton Arts Organization, the City of Brampton, the Brampton Library, East End Arts, The Bitove Method and more.
- Website: thepapernarwhal.com
- Instagram: @thepapernarwhal
- TikTok: @thepapernarwhal
Carla Sierra Suárez
Collage Self Portrait Workshop,
October 10th, 2025
- Workshop Description: Participants will join Carla for a creative self portrait workshop. Various recycled mixed media, collage & poetry techniques will be used. Throughout this workshop, participants will gain self confidence in sharing their life, identity and story, as well as asserting a strong sense of self and expression to continue beyond the program. The artistic techniques to be used include image transferring , collage, poetry and remixing . Participants will be able to utilize magazine cuttings, personal and or family photographs, newspaper clippings, and various recycled paper materials such as receipts, newspapers, notes, flyers, etc to create a self portrait or portraits to add to their story book.
- Artist Bio: Carla is a multidisciplinary artist and facilitator based in Toronto, born and raised in Mexico. She completed her BFA at OCAD University with distinction, and creates artworks in varying mediums such as Photography, Film/Spoken word, Printmaking and Sculpture. She considers herself a visual storyteller, as all of her works are autobiographical in nature. She has worked as a facilitator and mentor in various art programs, taking a holistic approach to skills development and community building, encouraging participants, regardless of age, language barriers or abilities, to express themselves through art-making and find their voice.
- Website: carlasierras.wixsite.com/portfolio & linktr.ee/carlasierras
- Instagram: @carla.sierra.suarez
Katika Marczell
Cyanotypes Workshop,
October 24th, 2025
- Workshop Description: Participants will join Katika for a handmade cyanotype workshop. A cyanotype is a photographic printing process that uses light-sensitive iron salts and sunlight to create images in shades of blue. Spotlighting experimentation, storytelling, and self-expression, this workshop will invite participants to slow down and connect with their surroundings. Whether capturing personal imagery or enjoying the surprise of shapes and silhouettes, cyanotypes offer a magical way to turn sunlight into art.
- Artist Bio: Katika Marczell (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist and muralist. She completed her (honors)BA at the University of Toronto, and her MFA at York University. She has received grants from the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, and has been the recipient of York Master’s Fellowship, and the Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s (SSHRC). She has facilitated various community workshops around Toronto, and has taught at York University. She believes important change, advocacy, and care happens within local communities. Continually exploring the ways we see communities in outdoor spaces and in ecology, her work actively makes public spaces more fun, welcoming, and silly. She is constantly looking for ways in which her work can help strengthen and support community building. She is inspired by personal stories, local histories, and ecology. Marczell has shown in Toronto, Milton, Montreal, at the Varley Art Gallery in Markham, and at the Art Gallery of Peterborough. She has worked with the Agnes Etherington Gallery, Bell Box Murals, Kensington BIA, West Queen West BIA, Street Art Toronto, The Personal Care Bank, Mural Routes, Arts Milton, as well as private clients. Her murals can be found in and around Toronto, Etobicoke, and Milton.
- Website: marczell.com
- Instagram: @CandyPress
Ghazaleh Rastgar
Abstract Painting Workshop,
November 7th, 2025
- Workshop Description: Participants will join Ghazaleh for an abstract painting workshop. Beginning with free, unstructured pencil drawings, participants will be encouraged to let go of control and embrace spontaneity. Much like seeing shapes in clouds, they’ll search for forms and imagery hidden within their own scribbles and lines—summoning the unseen from their subconscious. Using acrylic paint, they will then bring these discovered forms to life with vibrant colour, creating expressive and deeply personal artworks.
- Artist Bio: Ghazaleh Rastgar (Ghazaraza) is a Toronto based Iranian-Canadian artist, curator, instructor and art event coordinator. Her multidisciplinary work—spanning painting, murals, textiles, and digital media—blends Persian visual culture with contemporary techniques to explore memory, identity, and belonging through bold colour, layered textures, and spiritual, feminist themes.
- Website: ghazaraza.ca
- Instagram: @ghazaraza
Nora Macphail
Clementine Design Watercolour Workshop,
December 5th, 2025
- Workshop Description: Participants will join Nora for a clementine design watercolour workshop. Each participant will draw and paint a clementine in it’s many forms. Sections of the clementines, pieces of the peel and finally the seeds will be painted on the page to create a story. Each participant will be creating a pattern as they choose where to put their next piece of clementine. This is a fun way to understand composition as their painting grows. Participants will learn how a simple and easily painted subject can create a fantastic, well composed complete painting.
- Artist Bio: Nora MacPhail is a professional artist here in the awesome city of Toronto. She has been painting for over 25 years and teaching for over a decade. She loves sharing her watercolour experience with fellow creators. She is presently teaching watercolour to adults at Neilson Park Creative Centre through the Humber Valley Art Club. The class of approximately 12-16 participants and is titled “Watercolour Beginner and Beyond”. She is very familiar with teaching beginners as well as intermediate painters. She also teaches at the lovely Artbarn on Eglinton Ave. E. The classes are called “People, Places and Things!” She has many lessons on varying subjects. She loves coming up with new ideas to help the participants enjoy and love watercolour. They paint still life, a portrait, a cityscape and a landscape during the 8 week course. She has also taught workshops in Watercolour Portrait, Animals, and Charcoal. She has given many painting demos at various art groups and institutions around the greater Toronto area.
- Website: noramacphail.blogspot.com
- Instagram: @noramacphailart
- Facebook: @nora.macphail
Taruna Singh
Gelli Printing Workshop,
December 12th, 2025
- Workshop Description: Participants will join Taruna for a Gelli printing workshop. Gelli printing is a simple, accessible monoprinting technique that can be done easily within a bound mixed-use paper notebook. Using a soft Gelli plate, participants will roll out a thin layer of acrylic paint with a brayer. They’ll then press stencils, natural elements like leaves, stamps, or textured recycled materials (such as bubble wrap or lace) onto the paint to create layered patterns and impressions. Participants will also be guided to create their stencils from simple household items, adding a personal and creative dimension to the prints. In just two hours, participants can experiment with colour, layering, and texture to produce several one-of-a-kind prints.
- Artist Bio: Taruna’s mixed media works draw inspiration from her Indian heritage and diverse global experiences. Using paint, paper, pencil and found materials she creates textured pieces that explore belonging within impermanence. After studying Art & Advertising Design in NYC, she spent years in the design industry before the pandemic reignited her passion for fine art. Her work is in public and private international collections, recently acquired by St. Michael’s Hospital Patient & Family Learning Centre and through the prestigious Art Gallery Of Hamilton Art Sale 2025.
- Website: tarunasinghart.com
- Instagram: @tarunasinghart
- Facebook: @ArtByTarunaSingh
Allie Brenner
Illustrated Field Guides: Nature Drawing Workshop
January 9, 2026
- Workshop Description: Participants will join Allie for a nature-led illustration workshop. Participants will experiment with a variety of techniques, including line drawing—a joyful and simple way to capture the spirit of plants and animals. The workshop will cover gesture drawing to quickly sketch movement and form, as well as continuous line drawing to build confidence and style. Rather than aiming for stiff realism, participants will embrace imperfect, lively lines and textures that bring warmth and character to their sketches. By the end, each participant will have several pages to add to their notebook which serve as a nature journal and field guide to their own collection of personal stories.
- Artist Bio: Allie Brenner (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist working in illustration, sculpture, installation, drawing, painting, ceramics and mixed media. Currently, she works as an artist, arts administrator, and arts educator 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 and community building.
- Website: alliebrenner.com
- Instagram: @allie.brenner
Ebru Winegard
Thread Weaving on Paper Workshop,
February 6, 2026
- Event Description: Participants will join Ebru for a thread weaving on paper workshop. Participants will learn the accessible and meditative technique of weaving using only simple materials: paper from their own notebook, threads, needle, ruler, Styrofoam blocks, scrap fabrics, scissors, glue or tape, and optional coloured paper. As participants build each woven page, they will explore paper weaving not just as a craft, but as a form of visual storytelling and self-expression. This method transforms notebook pages into tactile memory collages, making each spread a unique reflection of the maker. Everyone will leave the workshop with at least one completed woven page, plus the skills and inspiration to continue experimenting independently.
- Artist Bio: Ebru Winegard is a multidisciplinary artist, graphic designer, photographer, and filmmaker dedicated to celebrating diversity and unity. Her education includes a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Bahçeşehir University, with a double major in Visual Communication Design and Film & Television. She earned her Masters of Social Science from Istanbul University, then completed a certificate program in User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) Design and Development at OCAD University.
Ebru is lead facilitator for art workshops and events in Ontario, attracting community engagement and public interest. She has won grants individually and as part of a collective. Her community art event at Ontario Culture Days 2024 earned the Spotlight People’s Choice Award, standing out among strong competition from across the province.
She held a solo exhibition as part of the Contact Photography Festival 2024 and has built an extensive portfolio through years of work in art and art education. Her creations have been featured in numerous group exhibitions and European art projects.
In 2020, her design for Creative Mornings Toronto won the CMTO virtual background design contest.
In addition to her artistic achievements, Ebru has delivered academic presentations internationally, and her documentary short film has been screened at sustainable film festivals in multiple countries. - Website: linktr.ee/Ebr.Winegard
- Instagram: @ebr.winegard
Joan Nuguid
Pop-Up Book Making Workshop,
February 20, 2026
- Event Description: Participants will join Joan for a pop-up book making workshop. Teaching techniques like valley and mountain folds, Joan will lead participants through the process of making a pop up page spread. Each participant will create a personalized pop up inspired by a happy memory. Participants will also learn ways to recycle paper for more abstract pieces.
- Artist Bio: Joan Nuguid is an award winning interdisciplinary artist working in animation and installation. Her practice is rooted in identity, displacement and shifting power dynamics. Through interactive works she aims to explore the different dimensions and meanings of “relationship” as an umbrella term that encompasses the entire experience of being human. She has exhibited locally for Ignite Gallery, TAIS in Paradise Theatre, and more recently in Namara Projects for DesignTO festival.
- Website: sites.google.com/view/joan-nuguid/about?authuser=0
- Instagram: @jo_nuguid
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!