Brush with Art is a Fine Arts initiative for undergraduate students which is generously supported by the University of Waterloo’s President’s Office, the Dean of Arts’s Office, and Co-operative Education and Experiential Learning.
Every March, a call for submissions is issued to all students in Fine Arts (major, minor, or enrolled in a Fine Arts course). A selection committee then chooses three works which are installed for one year in each of the President’s Office, the Dean of Arts Office, and the Tatham Centre (Co-operative Education and Experiential Learning). Each student artist receives a $500 award. The program is an excellent opportunity that aligns with the University of Waterloo’s emphasis on experiential learning.
Xuemei Lu, Silent Explosion, saggar-fired ceramic tiles, 2023
Winner of the 2024 Fine Arts / University of Waterloo President’s Award
Through this body of work, I aim to preserve the unsettling quietness I have encountered amidst the threatening conditions surrounding us. The pandemic and ongoing war both cause chaos. However, before the chaos, there is always a silence – a profound stillness. It's like the silent moment before an atomic bomb detonates. The patterns on the tiles serve as visual representations of silent explosions erupting within me whenever I am overwhelmed by intense emotions, when my words and screams fail to articulate the depths of despair upon seeing a picture of a mother cradling her injured child or when my tears prove insufficient to stop the extinction of another animal. These silent explosions manifest all around us; they will eventually disappear, with us.
To create this body of work, I experimented with various materials and techniques. With the support of my professor, Cora Cluett, and the department's multimedia technician, Rick Nixon, I constructed a Raku kiln in my backyard, which became the focal point of my creative process. I applied a range of substances – chemicals, salt, sugar, and even my cat's hair – to coat my handmade ceramic tiles, aiming to achieve diverse textures and effects that aligned with my theme. After firing at temperatures up to 600˚C, the chemical reactions resulted in these unique and beautiful tiles.
Biography
Xuemei Lu has been exploring ceramics since 2020. To obtain a better understanding of ceramic art, she enrolled in the Fine Arts major at the University of Waterloo in 2022. She experiments with different techniques and materials, bringing new perspectives and inspiration to her work. Her pieces focus on emotions, tactile sensory stimulation, and nature. The most significant feature of her work is the manipulation of textures which tell stories. She experiments with different materials and tools to explore the potentials of ceramics and she often incorporates performance to challenge typical presentations of ceramic sculptures. Her passion for ceramics motivates her along her artistic journey and will keep leading her to the next destination.
Dara Singh, Skin Condition, acrylic on canvas, 2021
Winner of the 2024 Fine Arts / Co-operative and Experiential Learning Brush with Art Award
Skin Condition is a series of paintings with two major inspirations. The first is finding a thirty-year-old extended play VHS tape and becoming fascinated with the quality, or lack of quality; degradation of analogue media is inevitable, yet strangely captivating. Skin Condition’s compositions are colourful and fragmented, inspired by the visual tearing of old and low-quality video cassettes. The second inspiration comes from considering disability, disorders, and chronic conditions such as eczema; it is less about the look of the condition and more about the physical feeling of being inside the skin with the condition. The forms in the series vary, both sharp and organic, reflecting these ideas.
Biography
Dara Singh is a multidisciplinary artist, born, raised, and now working in Waterloo, Ontario. She is currently a candidate for a Joint Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Practice and Visual Culture at the University of Waterloo. Singh is interested in the tactile, the physical, and the sensory experiences of colour and texture. She is also interested in taking visual ideas from technology, like the digital glitch, and finding ways to bring them into the physical world. Her work is inspired by dreams; she has been keeping a dream journal since 2014 and often incorporates them into her pieces.
Jialing Wu, A Poem Without Words, digital prints on Sintra, 2024
Winner of the 2024 Fine Arts / Dean of Arts Brush with Art Award
“A picture is a poem without words.” – Horace
My work blends Chinese poetry with contemporary expression, using poems to connect tradition and modernity. By using the combination of photography and imaging software, I create digital paintings that explore nature, human emotions, and the interplay between the abstract and the figurative.
Drawing inspiration from my travels, I capture diverse landscapes with people, that connect my culture and everyday life. The process begins by sharing poems with friends, family, or myself, and then inviting them to contribute a fitting photograph. These images serve as a creative springboard for my subsequent works.
My work invites viewers to uncover emotional layers, rooted in personal experiences and cultural influences. Each piece reflects the complexity of human emotions, sentiment healing, and the expansive realms of contemplation. Through this exploration, I create a space for viewers to connect with the nuanced aspects of the human experience.
Biography
Jialing Wu, born into a military family, found her escape from life’s pressures in the freedom of drawing and painting. Fascinated by the interplay of colours, shapes, and textures from an early age, she gravitated toward abstract and visual arts as a means to express her innermost thoughts and emotions. Drawing inspiration from her travels and introspection, Jia's creative process melds modern techniques in photography, Photoshop, and Procreate. After relocating from Beijing to Ontario in 2015, she pursued her passion for art through high school and later majored in Fine Arts at the University of Waterloo. Now, poised to continue her journey at the University of Toronto for graduate studies, Jia eagerly anticipates further exploration in the art and design industry. Her affinity for digital painting and photography serves as a natural extension of her artistic identity, facilitating endless experimentation and innovation as she bridges the gap between past experiences and future creative endeavours.