I Go To Nature | Art In The Natural World

Opening Reception: July 11, 7-9:30pm

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.
- John Burroughs

Tracey Conley has had a lifelong interest in photography and has been actively showing her work in the Hamilton area over the past few years. She won the Hamilton EcoScene Film and Arts Festival photography competition - Amateur division in 2012 with her image "Snow Day".  With a strong focus on abandoned and historical subject matter as it relates to the natural world, she hopes her work conveys the beauty that can be found where you might least expect it. Regarding her practice she says, "Art is all around us, isn't it?  I'm eternally curious and that curiosity and desire to explore is evident in my work and life. I find myself looking at everything with a photographic eye whether or not I have my camera with me.  I like to transform that which might be considered ugly into something beautiful, providing new life to those things which have otherwise been forgotten."

Joan Plyler is influenced by everything he sees, feels and experiences. Using oil on canvas he explores the play of light and movement on the canvas surface using brush, palette knives or a combination of both. He believes that Nature and Spirit are very closely entwined and by evoking the one he attempts to suggest the other in his work. He makes paintings that are neutral, balanced and most often inspired by nature. There is no predominant voice in his work as far as the human experience is concerned. The landscape is his immediate source of inspiration. It is the subtleties of the shapes, colours, values and textures found in his surroundings that are the most influential. Joan Plyler is an artist who lives and works in Brantford.

Josh Tiessen's style is considered high realism- nature and wildlife are often at the heart of his subject matter. He delights in showing the beauty and diversity of creation and the image of God in human creativity and is fascinated by the weathering effects of nature on architectural structures.  Distinguishing features of Tiessen’s work are shadows, trompe l’oeil and details painted around the edges of gallery canvas' and braced Baltic birch. The Huffington Post featured Josh in an article entitled, “Ten Art Prodigies You Should Know,” July 27, 2012. Teissen has been  mentored by masters like Robert Bateman and Judy Major-Girardin (McMaster University), and has been in approximately thirty exhibitions between the Toronto and Niagara regions, as well as being featured in an exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada. His work is in national and international private and corporate collections. Tiessen is the youngest member of the “International Guild of Realism” and “Artists for Conservation.”  He has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. Tiessan frequently donates his work and is a sought-after speaker and teacher, often featured in the media.