By Mara McCallen
The floors will be swept, the walls will be washed, and the artists’ lives will be put on display at the Enriched Bread Artists (EBA) Annual Open Studio.
“It’s a little scary. It’s also a wonderful opportunity. I am looking forward to it. There’s going to be a lot of people I have never seen before,” says Juliana McDonald, who is in her first year with EBA. She will open her studio space at the grand opening of the show on Oct. 18.
McDonald is one of 22 local artists renting space in the two-storey building.
The Gladstone Avenue studio was home to the Standard Bread Company during the period of time surrounding the First World War.
Besides joining EBA for her love of art, McDonald has a personal connection to the history of the building.
“I had two uncles who worked here during the war in the days of horse-drawn carriages. I used to hear stories from my father about my uncles loading up the horses in the morning and delivering the bread,” says McDonald.
Although it is her first year at EBA, she is not a stranger to the art world. McDonald is a retired teacher who is now able to devote a lot more time to her first love- painting.
“It’s like having a new lease on life, and starting my life over and spending all my time painting,” says McDonald.
The walls of her second-floor studio are scattered with landscape paintings, many of which are part of a series, and which can be viewed upside down to produce a similar effect. She is in the process of choosing which pieces she is going to showcase.
Many of her paintings come from memories of her personal experiences, but she prefers people to view her work from their own perspectives.
“I want my painting to relate to people through their own experiences. It has a more universal connection to people looking at it,” says McDonald.
Barbara Gamble, on the other hand, is in her eighth year with EBA and has seen the studio and its artists evolve over time. She says she has seen more than 50 artists come and go.
Gamble’s first-floor studio sits at a corner of the building, and to simply glance outside her windows at the trees makes the setting much more tranquil and relaxing.
In tune with the atmosphere are Gamble’s landscape pieces, which deal with time, space and matter. She has added a new series to the show this year, a set of pieces formed out of beeswax that depict different landscapes.
“This kind of work brings me peace,” says Gamble, who has worked in three different spaces in the studio since joining EBA, her seniority leading her to her present spot.
Gamble says the casual atmosphere of the studio adds a lot to the show, because people feel welcome and free from pressure coming into the studio.
“It’s a nice way to look at art,” says Gamble.