Meet our Artists

Jeff is a strange creature who likes rodents, board games, and warm weather. When he isn't making noises in class, Jeff can be found drawing squirrels or eating pasta. Jeff feels at home at Canterbury, but he is ready to move on to future endeavours. His major project is a mural entitled, “Quercus Forest,” which involves searching for hidden squirrels in a colourful landscape. He is most interested in animation, and plans to attend Sheridan College for art fundamentals in the fall.

Meet Claire! This ex dance girl cannot sit still for long and takes many breaks to annoy Mr. Brown. Although she has only spent 3 years in Visual Arts, she is extremely dedicated, seeing as she attended gr. 12 Portfolio everyday despite not being in the class (again, to annoy Mr. Brown). She likes her cat, 5 people, an adult cartoon about a sad horse, and art most of the time. Her mural is a large-scale photograph entitled, “Vain in Vanity”, which will be located outside the Auditorium on the west side. Next year, she will be heading to Concordia University for Computation Arts.

Hey, meet Jenny! Despite her resting scowl, she is a kind-hearted gal, who enjoys seeing others laugh. Having grown up in a tough-love environment, she may sometimes express her happiness through non-stop teasing; you can hear many stories from her friends and family. Enjoying many extracirricular activities like the Cadets, the majority of her most memorable moments take place there! She chose to dedicate her final project to her grandmother, who is partially blind. Using two pieces, she illustrates the journey of visual impairment and the subsequent, unexpected, empowerment experienced. Jenny is excited to attend the University of Ottawa for Biopharmaceutical Science.

Meet Bianca! She enjoys the outdoors, winter, cooking, museums, and trying health fads (haha)! She listens to a variety of music, and has attempted to play over 12 musical instruments, the most successful being the bass guitar. Even though creativity in one form or another has always been a part of her life, Bianca only started taking art seriously in grade nine. She is still shocked that she made it into the Visual Arts Program! Over the past four years the program has allowed her to flourish as an artist, and has helped her find a deeper appreciation for arts and culture. For her final project, Bianca designed silk screen prints inspired by the works of Andy Warhol as well as various psychedelic poster artists. Next year, she will be studying Art History at the University of Ottawa.

Meet Susan! She's a mom of one too many houseplants (she may have a slight problem with adopting plants) and has an incredible soft spot for breakfast foods. She's greatly enjoyed her time here at Canterbury, and continues to marvel over the wonderful friends and the personal artistic progress she's made during her four years here. Her final project is a two part mixed-media and textile-based piece entitled, “Anatomy of the Ego”. Susan is also terribly excited to be heading off to McGill University next year for their B.Sc Biomedical Sciences program.

Meet Kate. Although to most people she is a very quiet and reserved person, she is pretty goofy and a little crazy once you get to know her. She has way too much time on her hands, usually dedicated to binging Netflix and vibing to too many styles of music to specify. She loves to spend time with her family and her neighbour’s cat, and to laugh. She really enjoys art, too! During her time at Canterbury, she has finally figured out how to create decent composition and meaning in her work. Looking back at her audition pieces, she has really come a long way. She has developed a passion for history, art and film. Her mural, entitled Stale Comfort, explores the boredom we’re experiencing. She is excited to be attending Western University BFA in Studio Art and Art History, intending to go into production design later on.

Meet Rachel, the biggest goof in all of goofville! Commonly referred to as Rabel, she spends most of her time skateboarding, vibing in the sun, as well as drawing and filming the world around her. Anything and everything fascinates her, which is why she gets distracted so easily. You’ll find her daydreaming or sleeping in odd locations at any time. Her final mural is inspired by her personal struggle with body dysmorphia, entitled “DSMRPHIA”, which will be located in the caf lobby. This project has helped her explore self reflection and expression, and she continues to grow and flourish everyday by pushing forward and eating mint chocolate chip ice cream! She’s very excited to start a new chapter in Montreal next year, as she plans on attending Concordia University for Film Animation.

Meet Riana! She loves taking Polaroid photos, the Arboretum, THRIFTING, and hot coffee in handmade mugs. Even though her artistic AND wardrobe style has been all over the place during her four years at Canterbury, the Visual Arts program has always made her feel welcome to explore art in all different shapes and forms. Her final project is a 24x36in. painting entitled 12AM Chinatown, which is about teenage cliches that make the world feel like a movie. Even though art will always be one of her biggest passions, she has an enormous love for trees which has led her to pursue a career in forestry conservation. She’ll be attending Fleming College this fall, in the Forestry Technician program.

Meet Madeline, or “Maddy” within the walls of Canterbury! During her time at Canterbury, she has navigated the Visual Arts program as a colourblind artist. The program has allowed Madeline to find some people that she really likes who allow her to be herself, unapologetically. She spends most of her time wandering aimlessly around Nepean on walks or at Three Sisters during spares with friends. Her mural is entitled, “An Ode to My Adolescence” and will be located in the vocal hallway. Next year she is going to be attending the University of Ottawa for their Biomedical Sciences program.

This is Lauren. She likes drinking slushy drinks and getting caught in the rain. Boy, oh, boy is she not into yoga, but she's got more than half a brain. It's quite a big brain actually, barely even fits in her nog. She loves fun, colourful art that really sticks in your head and absolutely all things animation. She plans on going to Concordia for BFA in Film Animation, where she hopes to create very strange, colourful, and memorable pieces and short films.

Meet Leanne! Her talents include sleeping, eating, and not smiling in selfies. Her artwork is usually fantastical and/or nostalgic, and she loves her tight-knit chaotic group of nerds. Leanne’s mural was a triptych entitled Euphoria, to be located in the vocal hallway. Unfortunately, it was too big for her to bring home. She has resorted to hand-sewing a patchwork bear, which may seem childish, but she doesn’t have the energy to worry about other people’s opinions. In September, she may be studying engineering at the University of Ottawa (or she might go to Korea and become a k-pop idol).

Meet Lanyi! Besides overthinking and trying to make every aspect of her life fit her “neutral aesthetic”, she loves listening to Studio Ghibli soundtracks, cringing at Netflix dating shows, and drinking Tonica Kombucha. Her art style has changed a lot since she entered Canterbury, along with her eyebrows (if you know, you know). Auditioning with a sketchbook only filled with anime, Lanyi is now at the opposite end of the spectrum and focuses on accurate proportions and hyperrealism. She is very grateful for her friends and classmates who continuously support and believe in her even when she does not. Her alternate mural project, “The Gentle Embrace of Calamity”, is a more creative take on her old idea using materials she already possessed; although, she is very saddened it will not be displayed in the french hallway. Next year, she is attending the University of Western Ontario and is interested in their Joint Honours Specialization in Psychology and Business.

Though a (shh) latecomer to Canterbury, Madilyn Harder is a passionate artist with a goal of telling a story with each piece- creating mystical, weird art through bold stylization and unique colour design. Outside of her artwork, Madilyn enjoys watching cartoons, travel, and being big daddy cash money. She hopes one day to take over the world with her large family of fellow artists, under the guise of creating cartoons and making children happy. She figures if it worked for Disney, it will certainly work for her.

Meet Morgan!

She is a multidisciplinary visual artist with passions in music, writing, human rights, and science.

With her merry band of studious bohemians and her engagingly wise art teachers she not only refined and developed artistically but personally. Her final piece entitled, “Gender Gap? Don’t Be Hysterical,” discusses the drastic impact historical prejudices and gender exclusion in medical research have on current female health and socialization. Morgan is excited to say she is going to be attending the University of Ottawa for an Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences while further refining her arts professionally and opening her new gallery.

Google meet! Evelyn loves her dog Murphy, scary movies, flowers, coffee, talking about her shampoo schedule, and trailer park boys. Mostly trailer park boys tho. She loves like one or two people too, but they didn’t make the cut. Sorry guys. Next year she’ll be attending UOttawa for BFA Painting and Drawing.

Meet Erika! Though she may seem like a sleep-deprived, anti-social nerd, she is super grateful for her lovely friend group of fellow nerds with whom she has spent almost every lunch outside of the art office or in an art room stressing about life. Her perhaps most daring endeavour during her time at Canterbury has been dancing in the Holiday Blockbuster. However, Erika is ready for yet another adventure as she will be heading off to the University of British Columbia to study Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. In the meantime, she is happy to have finished her 4-piece embroidered major project entitled, “The Hidden Words: I Love You”.

Meet Gabrielle! She's an ambitious artist, passionate baker, and an owner of far too many pets. She is a fan of bold and high key colour palettes, and has developed a love for watercolour painting, ink work, printmaking, and textiles. Gabrielle's mural, 9 Lives, is a 4 ft by 2 ft panel inspired by children's storybooks and is a love letter to a former pet. Instead of exploring the dreary and depressing side of art and the state of the world currently, she decided to go for something optimistic, and celebrate the loss after the initial grief. By next September, Gabrielle will be enrolled at Carleton University for a Bachelor of Science Honours program for Biochemistry and Biotechnology and hopes to create prosthetics in the future.

Meet Amelia! Drawing since she could hold a pencil, Amelia’s love for animals and nature has inspired her art throughout all the stages of her life, including her time at Canterbury. Although she was not able to bring the upstairs wall from stairwell F home with her to complete her mural, her pixelated abstract/expressionist piece entitled The Lament of Fire is living on through her alternate mural on canvas. In the following months, Amelia is looking forward to pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree at Queen’s University, while continuing to explore her no doubt lifelong passion for art.

Meet Aisha! This chaotic child was determined to do anything art related for the rest of her life. She is very happy and thankful to have experienced her high school years with Canterbury, traveling the artistic walls.

Canterbury has given her a leg up in learning the fundamentals and being experimental with new art media. Aisha’s mural uses a whole media she has not tried till last year: beaded embroidery! The Breakfast Sweater showcases a variety of different foods and beverages.

Aisha is planning to continue her studies at Sheridan College for their Honours Bachelor of Animation. What could happen next?

Being the shortest person in the room, Alex has discovered his skill of being an armrest during the past 3½ years. During his time at Canterbury, he hasn’t changed much, but at least that gave little room to worsen (arguable). His hobbies include staying inside. His mural, titled A Series of Pipes, encapsulates his main hindrance, artist’s block, as he seems to have dried out of ideas already. He will spend his next few years attending Sheridan’s Art Fundamentals program and paying taxes. For now.

Meet Maryna! All she wanted in life was to run away and join the circus, but since no circus actually wanted to take her with them, she decided to hone her artistic abilities through Canterbury’s Visual Arts Program. She spends 80% of her time living in her head, and the other 20% complaining about the fact that her name is actually supposed to be spelled “Marina”. Although the past few months have been hard, Maryna is very grateful for all the wonderful memories and friends she has made at Canterbury and the tremendous influence the program has had on her skills and understanding of art. Beginning this fall, Maryna will be joining the College of Humanities at Carleton University, and hopes that someday, the circus will come back for her (and will offer her a job other than face-painting).

Meet Val! Usually armed with a cup of tea, they can be found in one of the art rooms acting like a cranky old man, or terrorizing younger students in the halls by being small and filled with annoyance; like a local Baba Yaga! Their time at Canterbury was filled with the morning announcements, swearing, and stealing unsupervised pens (though they prefer the term “adopting”). Their mural is a five panel work entitled The Lives and Times of Bonnie and Clyde, a piece meant to embody the many different styles they have worked in and/or have admired over the years, as well as pay tribute to their personal heros. It was meant to be hung near the auditorium doors, and since it’s done on masonites may still end up there. The future doesn’t hold more artistic projects or endeavors for them, as they are going to the Royal Military College in Kingston to pursue a career in the military as an electrical and mechanical engineering officer. That’s life!

Introducing the bashful yet introspective Sophia! She is thankful for her experience at Canterbury and her deeply treasured friends. Sophia has keenly kept penguins as a recurring motif in her high school artwork, thus the theme of her multi-panel mural entitled Penguin Phenomena. Sophia is also very passionate about pursuing and promoting a healthy, active lifestyle; she enjoys going to the gym, walking/riding her bike across the city and she always reminds her friends to eat their vegetables. Although she is apprehensive about her adulthood which lies ahead, she is excited to be studying Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa in the fall.

Meet Capitu! She loves painting, bright colours, cats, her friends, noodles, dusk, and trying new things. Her time at Canterbury in the visual arts program has seen her transform from an anxiety-ridden, self-conscious girl into someone proud and unafraid to express herself through weird and funky art. Her final project, an installation entitled Bedroom, meant to be fully interactive and set up in room 10, is now in a tiny, awkward space in her apartment, and will be virtually interactive on her website. Capitu is super excited to study Anthropology and Forensic Science at Saint Mary’s University in the fall, and to continue making art for the rest of her life!

Meet Heather! This incredibly disorganized and hectic student has yet to wake up in time for a single zoom meeting and has little-to-no clue what’s going on half the time, but she is still excited to be included! She likes trees and lakes and pwetty stars and wants a septum piercing but is afraid of her mother's wrath upon seeing metal in her face. She misses her shrimp, her mural, and other projects still at the school and thinks of them everyday. Originally, she had planned to take a gap year and travel the world and develop her portfolio further before applying for a BFA at Queen’s beginning the fall semester of 2021. Now she’s just gonna wing it for a year, and see where life takes her.

This is Sydney Shelp! She loves the outdoors, Jurassic Park, house hippos, drawing pictures, and her moon lamp (among many other things). She started putting together her portfolio for Canterbury Visual Arts at the age of 5, and although very few of those beautiful drawings made the cut, her 18 year old self still shares the same colourful, whimsical, and experimental attitude towards expression. This is why she decided to bring this same way of thinking to her mural. Inspired by children’s illustration and her love of small creatures and dusty old rooms, “The Royal Bug Lover Society” is simply a composition filled with her favourite things. Next year she will be attending Carleton University’s Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering program.

Eleanor Stewart is a passionate young artist, interested in drawing and illustration. Using paint markers and watercolour, she often depicts people, animals, and houses in her distinct, long-limbed style. She uses a recurring hand motif in her work, which always adds a bit of fun. Eleanor was unable to complete her mural, “Twins”, outside stairway F. Instead, she has created a textile piece based on the idea of uncontrollability and the fear that goes along with it. In the fall, Eleanor will be attending the University of Guelph for a BA in Studio Art to continue to pursue her interest in Visual Arts.

Ashley is an artist who enjoys drawing cute and fantastical concepts. Digital art is her favorite way to draw, as it gives her a full range of colors to work with. Her major project is Class T, a digital painting featuring two girls depicted graduating. It focuses on the concept of lesbianism and destroying the expectation of growing into heteronormativity. In the near future, Ashley will be attending Algonquin College’s animation program.

Meet Meagan! She loves old music, rainy days, candles, forests, cooking and her cat, Olly (even though she's quite rude and others usually don’t). The Visual Arts program is very near to Meagan’s heart; she loved creating in that space, although she and her friends weren’t always the most productive... She can get out any stain, eat a tub of dairy-free ice cream in under ten minutes, and her final project will be a 32 x 76 cm painting entitled ‘Dreaming while Awake’. Meagan is heading to Concordia University next year for their Design Program.

Meet Emma, a tough skinned artist who loves to critique. She enjoys painting and illustration and can sometimes get down with a good ceramics project. When she's not making art, she can be found doing highland dance or at work. She cares very deeply about her peers and while sometimes she can strike as a bit mean, she means well and is glad to have found a group of kids like her. Emma's mural is a painting dedicated to herself painted on sliding closet doors. All about coming to terms with acceptance and rejection, a tall and happy figure is pointing the only way things can go from here: up. Next year, Emma is planning to work through a gap year and will attend NSCAD University in Fall 2021 where she will continue to major in Fine Arts.

Meet Anya, an artist and plant mom driven by her passions within and beyond the art world. She's inspired by fashion, nature, law, and her obsession with motorcycles. When she’s not busy falling in love with art, she’s admiring her many plants and bingeing horror and studio Ghibli movies. Anya's major project is composed of dozens of ceramic succulents affixed to hanging wooden panels. They each represent a part of her that has been shaped and strengthened by her time at Canterbury. Hence, it's named “Incrementum”, the Latin term for growth and development. Anya is tremendously excited to share that she will be attending the University of Ottawa in the fall to join their Criminology and Women’s Studies program on her way to become a lawyer.

Meet Zoe! This old soul is a big fan of mystery novels, cult films, funky tea flavours, and power naps. When she’s not probing through the racks of Value Village, she’s busy dying her hair yet another vibrant colour. For her final project, Zoe has created an entry in Duck Tape’s “Stuck at Prom” contest. Her purple gradient gown, inspired by the orchid flower, has been created using an unconventional material: duct tape.

Lastly, Zoe’s incredibly grateful to have been a part of Canterbury’s Visual Arts program for the past 4 years, but definitely not so grateful for the 2000+ hours spent on OC Transpo. This fall she’ll be attending Algonquin College's Film and Media Production program, and she can’t wait!

Hello, it’s Sonia! A growing student and artist who loves Canterbury, colour, and her wonderful friends, she’s very hopeful about A Pretty Kettle of Fish, despite the lack of snacks and actual people. Sonia’s original mural was intended for the dance hall, but her new major project is a soak-stain painting, located in her basement (pictured) and online. For fun, she reads, paints, wastes time on the internet, or cuts hundreds of paper snowflakes. As for this fall, physically, Sonia will be in her room in front of a laptop, but mentally, she’ll be studying architecture at Carleton.

Despite having the reputation of the least “vis” vis kid on the street, Kemal Yazlyyev has still (surprisingly) stayed for the entire four years. With beliefs rooted in tradition, Kemal’s mural, Portrait of a Man, tackles these beliefs as well as embracing them, while also dealing with feelings of unreadiness. For next steps, you will find Kemal doing what he’s always done: math, except this time it’ll be an honours program at Carleton University.

Meet Anita You, a shy girl who loves swimming, appreciating Eastern animated art, and reading fine illustrated books by Chiya. Her time at Canterbury has been a blast, ranging from learning unfamiliar art techniques to meeting all kinds of wonderful peers. Her work Dreams is yet another common story which she always tells, incorporating shading techniques used in both Eastern and Western cultures. Anita is also very excited to study architecture at Carleton University starting this fall.