Introducing the 2017 Artist in Residence

Congratulations to Talia Peckel who has been chosen to be the Haven/Gabriola Arts Council Artist in Residence in 2017. Talia is a Toronto-based artist who was born in Canada and raised in Colombia. She moved back to Toronto and completed her BFA with a major in Drawing and Painting at OCAD University in 2014. After her studies she travelled and worked on a farm in rural Ontario. She then worked as an art instructor in a community-run studio in downtown Toronto for a year. However, having fallen in love with farming in Ontario, she decided to keep travelling and completed a series of murals on a farm in Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. Her aesthetic is heavily influenced by children’s illustration, as is the tendency toward narrative in her work. It aims to explore the uncertain line between figuration and abstraction through the use of simple, illustrative lines in contrast to the use of bold colour and composition.

Talia writes: “I am thrilled and honoured to have been selected to participate in the 2017 Artist in Residence program at The Haven on Gabriola Island. It is a unique opportunity to develop my work independently, while still engaging with a vibrant artistic community that I can contribute to as well as integrating the surroundings into my practice. To me, the purpose of creating murals is to embed visual art into physical spaces we inhabit on a daily basis with the intention of bringing people’s awareness more fully into the present moment and their environment. As a workshop instructor, my aim has been to guide people into a state of fluid expression where they feel safe to be creative in their own unique way, letting go of specific results. I’m excited to develop these practices further during my residency, which is sure to be beneficial in a myriad ways, offering an exploration into nature, community, and an artistic practice that shares a relationship with both.”

Examples of Talia’s work can be seen on her web site. This video shows Talia leading an intuitive art class in Toronto.

We look forward to welcoming her to The Haven and Gabriola in 2017.