Blake Richardson

In his final year at Ontario’s Sheridan College, Blake was searching for a unique technique of illustrating songs he had written. He began splashing inks onto paper while listening to the music he had created and became aware of imagery within the ink splashes. To enhance the images, he worked with other paints to highlight what he saw and to make it more apparent to others. The result was quite interesting and he began to really enjoy working this way as it served as a springboard for his imagination.

At around this same time, his family bought a cottage in the Kawartha’s, which sparked his artistic imagination and love and respect for the land. For his ‘earthprints’ Blake uses his camera to focus on images that rest just beneath the surface of nature and then, by hand, highlights the surface to lift the veil on the spirit realm.

The minimal approach he uses to reveal his visions leaves a window open for the viewers’ imagination to enter and interpret for themselves.

Gingerbread Studio (Norm Stiff)

Norm Stiff studied illustration at the Ontario College of Art and freelanced for over 20 years with well-known agencies J. Walter Thompson, Young & Rubicam and Davis Design.

In 1993, Norm started working with Gingerbread Studio in Elora, Ontario creating copperplate etchings. To produce an etching an original print is pulled and watercolour is added to bring the piece to life. One of Norm’s favourite etching series is on Ireland – stone walls, houses and pubs of Dublin. A popular series of etchings is the Country Heritage series featuring Ontario houses, mills and barns showcasing our beautiful architecture.

Norm’s original artwork is reproduced and presented in a unique handcrafted lead glass frame.

Shafley & Stewart Fine Art

Although growing up in southern Ontario, Greg Shafley spent holidays in Northern Ontario and realized that there were people who were lucky enough to live there year-round, not just for summer holidays. When he finished his education at Mount Allison University in 1975 he settled down on Lake Huron.

Greg’s etchings evoke his love of nature – trees, water, windswept islands, rocky shorelines. As a printmaker he is involved with two essential processes in the creating of art. There is the technical aspect of working with acids on metal, inks and presses and the aesthetic response to the subject matter. These must work in balance to support each other in order for a good piece of art to emerge.

Greg is a member of the Ontario Society of Artists, as well as the Society of Canadian Artists. He is also listed in the 2002 edition of Who’s Who in the 20th Century.