Art

Jordan Clarke presents a new show called Something In-between, at the Hang Man Gallery, 756 Queen St. E., Sept. 6 through 25. Clarke is of mixed race background and explores this theme in her series of self-portraits, especially in her Mask series. She is also a recipient of an Ontario Arts Council award.
There will be a special artist reception Sept. 8, from 7 to 9 p.m. For more information visit the Hang Man Gallery at www.artistsnetwork.ca.
•
Liz Russ will be participating in a five-person show called Nouvelle: New Members’ Exhibition, at the Heliconian Club, 35 Hazelton Ave., Sept. 10 through Oct. 5. She will be displaying some of her latest mixed-media abstract-realism landscapes. Russ was the owner of the former gallery Gallery 888. For more information visit www.gallery888.com/lizzie.html.
Joining Russ in this exhibit will be Tina Dadouch, Hyla Fox, Kate Hawkins, and Tatjana Hutinec. There will be a special artists reception Sept. 10 from 1 to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call Toronto Heliconian Club at 416-922-3618, or visit www.heliconianclub.org.
•
Beachers Sonia Byrne and Dawn Barbieri are each participating in an interesting art project for the Queen West Art Crawl, Sept. 7 through 13. They were among 30 Toronto artists selected to choose a chair from the Furniture Bank, and create a work of ‘sitable art’ which will be on display during the Art Crawl at the Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St. West (416-531-4635). The chairs will then be judged by a panel of experts and auctioned off  at the 2011 Chair Affair at the Steam Whistle Brewery on Sept. 21.
Byrne, who is a life and career coach (www.soniabyrne.com), created her chair called ‘Inspiration Takes Flight’. She says, “It’s designed for people suffering writer’s block, or a tough period in their life. They can sit in it for inspiration.”
Dawn Barbieri runs Albertine Dawn, an eco-friendly company making pillows and bags from vintage fabrics (www.albertinedawn.com). Her chair is called ‘Casa Loma’ in honour of the tradition and history of the iconic Toronto building as well as its upcoming renovations.
•
Cobalt Gallery, 870A Kingston Rd., will be the venue for an exhibition by Chris Evitts, Sept. 1 through 25.  The artist will be showing his new series of paintings called Dream from the Bluehour.
“In these new paintings I deal with that no man’s land of the mind, the dream,” says Evitts in his artist statement. “I have tried to get to the place that exists within dreams, with its drifting logic, vagueness, and of course, the strangeness.”
There will be a special artist reception Sept. 10 from 3 to 5 p.m. where you will be able to meet Evitts and discuss his work. For more information call Cobalt Gallery at 416-694-0156, or visit www.cobaltgallery.ca.
•
The Danforth East Arts Fair returns to East Lynn Park (Danforth between Woodbine and Coxwell) Sept. 17 and 18 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. There will be an eclectic line up of more than 50 artists and artisans present, including Horst Herget, an East York photographer who will be taking tintype portraits; The Married Spinsters, a yarn-spinning, rug-hooking duo from Markdale, who will be working on an antique spinning wheel; Priya Rajan of Meter by Metre, a local artisan who fashions funky vegan bags and purses in bold graphics and modern designs; and Laura Moran from Tranquility Jewelry Designs, who will be selling her intricate wire crochet jewelry adorned with semi-precious stones and freshwater pearls.
In addition to the many artists on hand, there will be live entertainment, and food sales. Patrons are also invited to submit their entries for the People’s Choice Award, $150 donated by sponsor Toronto Hydro.
The Danforth East Arts Fair is in its third year as part of the Danforth East Community Association (DECA), who also sponsor the East Lynn Farmer’s Market.
“The fair will be a great place to get an early start on shopping for unique Christmas gifts and housewarming presents,” says Mary Cowan. “Where else can you buy one-of-a-kind jewelry, a fuzzy monster purse, and a high quality oil painting in one place?”
For more information contact Mary Cowan at 416-461-9853, or visit www.deca-arts.ca.
•
Jennifer Smithwell presents the fifth annual Summer in September Art Show and Sale, Sept. 16 through 18, at the historic Kew (Gardener’s) Cottage, 30 Lee Ave. Joining Smithwell will be Beach artist Shelley Cinnamon.
There will be art for all budgets, including originals, giclees, Beach shirts, and a whole lot more. The show runs Friday afternoon from 1 to 7 p.m., and on the weekend from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information call Smithwell at 647-272-4120, or visit www.smithwell.ca.
•
Ida Tong is sponsoring a Youth Art Contest for young artists 13 to 16 years of age. Themes could be Love, Tears, Peace, Heart Break, or anything that young teens may be concerned with and wish to express artistically.
The deadline for submissions is Oct. 1, 2011. There will be prizes awarded in several categories. To submit, contact Ida Tong at her studio at 21 Madelaine Ave. (Toronto, ON M1L 2X5), call her at 416-686-7384, or visit www.idatong.com.

---