Artist Bio: Jennifer Janik

Jennifer Janik is an abstract oil painter who is new to this year’s art walk. Be sure to come out Saturday to get a good look at some of her recent works.

For me, the passion to paint and play with bright primary colours comes from deep within my solar plexus and bubbles out into vague visual impressions. As I push the brush around the canvas, the outside worldly distractions fade and all I feel is the movement of the lines. There is a point where there is not choice but to paint. The colours tend to come from the energy of the subject or idea that I’m focused on. Often the image captures a moment in time with all the emotion and feeling contained within it.
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I love painting with oils because of the vibrancy of the colour and the smooth flow of the brush across the canvas. They give me the freedom that I need to be spontaneous in capturing the fleeting wisps of an elusive impression that I’m trying to pin down on the canvas. The best paintings have all come from a glimpse of an abstract image that flutters through my mind leaving me with only the gesture of the line behind the idea. The colours and movement of the brush strokes all come from the meditative space of chopping wood and carrying water, detaching from the judgement of the image and not really looking at the whole until it is done. I have no choice but to trust the subconscious to lead the brush to where it needs to be.
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Life’s path has lead me through a career in technology that pushed painting to the back of the closet in favour of “earning a living”. While I have done many creative technology projects, colour was still missing from the formula. Originally, I had a goal of a career in digital art, but it is only now that the technology and tools have matured to the point where art has significant commercial value in a world hungry for content. My newest goal is to raise the profile and value of the unique creative skills of artists while merging the two aspects of my persona into one consistent path. The story continues with Mad Hatter Technology where Marketing Meets Technology and we push the limits of creative communications.
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Jennifer Janik
www.JenniferJanik.com

Artist Bio: Carol Kubassek

Carol Kubassek is the proprietor of Your Time Boutique, and sells a wide array of beeswax products.

Carol Kubassek | Owner, Chandler
YourTimeCandles.ca
Your Time Boutique INC
120 Cherry St. Kitchener ON N2G 2C8
Tel 519.589.8248 – info@yourtimeboutique.ca
ARTISAN BEESWAX CANDLES ~ I chose to work with beeswax because of its simplistic purity. In 2007 I set out to make superlative beeswax candles because up until then I was wasting money on beeswax candles that didn’t burn properly.
I had the fortunate opportunity to learn from a master chandler who, for 15 years, made it his mission to develop new techniques and put to rest old myths of beeswax chandlery – gone were the days of half burned, inferior quality beeswax candles made with coarse natural fibre wicking that gave off a putrid scent.
It all begins at the hive. I procure Canadian cappings wax from beekeepers who haven’t scorched or overheated the wax when separating out the honey. Then, in order to maintain the integrity of the wax, with patience, and through a gentle cleaning process, I purify the wax by filtering it down to one micron.
When making the candles, the wax is heated carefully in small batches for only a very short time in order to keep alive the full bodied aroma, rich yellow colour and texture. Each candle is then fitted with the perfect sized 100% cotton wicking.
As a former chef I’ve always been passionate about what I put on your plate – I want your approval so this demands my best offering. When you burn Your TimeTM candles, I’d like your personal time to be enhanced because of their superior quality.

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New Artist Bio: Jakki Annerino

This is an updated bio for Art Walk regular Jakki Annerino.
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Jakki Annerino is a mixed-media artist and singer/songwriter living in Kitchener, ON. She grew up in Chicago, Illinois and Phoenix, Arizona.
Making art has been a lifelong passion for Jakki. She creates encaustic paintings, altered art jewelry and greeting cards. She incorporated various remnants and relics, both natural and vintage into her work.
She finds encaustic an intriguing medium as it allows for layering, creating textures and luminosity. Encaustic medium is made with beeswax and damar resin. Oil paint is then added for colour.
She likes to convey a sense of whimsy and memory in many of her pieces.
She is inspired by nature, literature, music and personal relationships.

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See other examples of her work on this site:
Artist Bio: Jakki Annerino
Portrait of the Artist: Jakki Annerino

Artist Bio: Karin Kliewer and Greg Roberts (Little City Farm)

Little City Farm is a unique urban homestead and eco bed & breakfast, established in 2007 by Greg Roberts and Karin Kliewer, right in the heart of the Breithaupt-Mount Hope neighbourhood. During the Central Art Walk & Studio Tour stop by to see their homestead! Enjoy a cup of freshly brewed herbal tea from the garden, purchase wood-fired baked treats from their outdoor cob oven (organic breads and vegan treats), and learn more about the ongoing workshops they offer related to sustainable city living.
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Karin, master herbalist and artisan soap maker, will be offering her handmade natural soaps, herbal teas and balms. These products are made using locally sourced organic ingredients wherever possible, and incorporate flowers and herbs grown at Little City Farm. The soaps are made in the traditional cold process method, using organic herbs and pure essential oils. Simple, beautiful, handmade, healthful — you won’t be disappointed! Read more about Little City Farm at: http://www.littlecityfarm.ca/

Artist Bio: Melanie Reed

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“I am eye. I am a mechanical eye. I, a machine, am showing you a world, the likes of which only I can see.”
— Dziga Vertov

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I often think of this quotation when I am behind the camera. For me, my camera is a key to a portal through which I can step when using the mechanical eye. A rusting gas pump seen through the lens transports me to a WWII airfield during the Battle of Britain–I can hear the engines and see and smell the smoke from a damaged Spitfire as it spirals to earth. I can see a bare and dusty foot and be with Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. I can hear the slap of a paddle wheeler and smell that unmistakable smell of the muddy Mississippi.

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My photography gives me great pleasure and freedom. I hope my work will evoke in you the smell, taste and feel of other times and places.

Artist Bio: Jakki Annerino

This is an updated bio for Jakki Annerino.
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Jakki Annerino is a mixed-media artist and singer/songwriter living in Kitchener, ON. She grew up in Chicago, Illinois and Phoenix, Arizona.
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Making art has been a lifelong passion for Jakki. She creates encaustic (wax) collage, glass collage pendants, altered books, greeting cards and recently started making hammered copper jewelry. She incorporates various remnants and relics, both natural and vintage in her work.
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She finds encaustic (beeswax and damar resin mixed with oil paint) an intriguing medium as it allows for layering, creating textures and using beautiful colours. When painting with encaustic she works intuitively starting with a single element such as a vintage photo.
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She likes to convey a sense of whimsy in many of her pieces. And as a songwriter, she likes to bring a narrative quality to her work.
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She is inspired by nature, literature, music and personal relationships. She hopes that her art brings joy, beauty and meaning to the lives of those who view it.

Artist Bio: Rob Soosaar

As an artist, I am still in the infant stages of trying to understand and interpret the world around me. I have had a long time interest in photography, spending countless hours working in black and white 35 mm, both behind the camera and in the darkroom. At that time I recognized that my interest was driven by trying to understand what was behind the objects I was portraying – exploring texture, mood or emotion. While still actively engaged in photography, I have moved into the realm of painting as a medium to continue the deeper exploration of those themes that I found so engaging in me earlier years. Much of my painting takes form through multi-media abstracts. My inspiration is often driven by natural elements of rock, stone and wood like the rugged landscapes of the Canadian Shield. What brings energy to me from those landscapes is the connection between living spirit of the present with elements that are thousands or millions of years old. This same connection between layers of evolution of human spirit, stone, earth and water was a powerful inspiration that was absorbed through travels to ancient villages in the South of France.

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In order to present my paradigm of ever evolving spirit, emotion and the physical world I developed a technique that allows the paintings to have both a physical as well as visual element. The base is either plywood or Masonite, prepared to allow for the adhesion of a layer of concrete/mortar. Development of the mortar layer allows for a variety of textures and fluidity to emerge that would not be possible with other dimensional substrates. The shape and flow are very much inspired by the emotional vision for the finished piece. Gesso, tinted with a base colour, is painted over the cured concrete as a base on which acrylic paint is applied. Colours are primarily motivated by the spirit element of the work, developed in harmony with the emotional aspects. A range of tools are used for working with the concrete and paint – brushes, palette knives, hands, sponges – whatever is necessary to achieve the desired effect. Music is an important energizer when developing these works as it has the ability to transport me from my current space and time and take me to new worlds where I fell as though I am participating in the painting rather than working on the painting. Inspiration comes from an eclectic mix of Tom Waits, Muddy Waters, Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, Harry Manx and a range of Native folk artists.

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I have been a resident of Waterloo for over 20 years with 19 of them in the city core. I’m married with 3 teenage children and work in the local technology sector.