Elora Centre for the Arts
75 Melville Street N0B 1S0 Elora, ON, Canada

Hello Easter! Earlier this week we enjoyed a light, bright and sensory-filled Supportive Arts project together. We celebrated Spring and the holiday with ECFTA Arts Educator Eileen MacArthur leading the way down the Easter trail as we made Easter-inspired bouquets with found-objects and a variety of sensory materials. This project was all about marks, design, pattern and reconsidering familiar objects for art making and composition. We had some hands-on fun squishing an...d rolling sweet-scented plasticine, as we watched the colours swirl and mix to create the base for our eggs and flowers. We then drew colourful patterns on the slippery glass cups and considered transparency and colour mixing. We then drew on multiple surfaces with complex shapes and textures, including fabric flowers, plastic eggs and small birds. We drew patterns on paper eggs and considered composition as we assembled all of the pieces together! During Mindfulness & Movement with our own Steph Lines-Toohill, we sent our worries "Spring-ing" out the door and welcomed the new season as we bounced about to Easter music. What a happy, joy-filled week together. Next week, due to the lockdown, we will be back to our zoom-ing online sessions. See you then, friends! This program has been made possible by the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation Grow grant. #OTF #ECFTA #eloracentreforthearts #allabilities #artforallabilities #artandmindfulness #artfuljoy #supportivearts Ontario Trillium Foundation Live & Learn Centre Elora Centre For The Arts Township of Centre Wellington County of Wellington The Wellington Advertiser The Grand at 101 Sparrow's Nest Arthur School of Art Judy Anderson

Check out the last few weeks at our Supportive Arts program - we've been busy busy busy! We learned how to hoop weave with warp and weft threads and linen filled with hand-written words of things we love. This was a challenging project, requiring lots of small movements of dexterity with our fingers. We worked together and persevered as a team with joy. We added a tiny clay bird bead to sing and celebrate all the things we love. Last week we 'dove deep' into the sea to... explore the largest creatures with which we share our planet and created Japanese-inspired whale illustrations using Chinese ink brushes and beautiful India ink and calligraphy dip pens. We spent the morning learning about the incredible majesty of whales, and how they vocalize beneath the water to communicate and echolocate their food. Each artist created their own unique & beautiful version of a whale, complete with Japanese Kanji symbols and red seal chop marks. During mindfulness time, we listened to "whale music" and discussed the difference between illustration and drawing. It was a lovely two weeks filled with new challenges and exploring our creativity using words and images. Thank you to our fearless ECFTA Arts Instructor Judy Anderson, and our Mindfulness Coach Steph Toohill for your energy, passion and true love for this program. We are so grateful to the team at Live & Learn Guelph and for the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation that has allowed us to expand this program over 3 years. #artforallabilities #supportivearts #OTF #belonging #artandmindfulness #creatingtogether #communitysupport Elora Centre For The Arts Live & Learn Centre Ontario Trillium Foundation

Big news! We are excited to announce the official opening of our virtual on-line gallery shop! This is a great way for you to search and locate original Canadian art from the comfort of your own home. View each piece in-situation to get a sense of size and how it could look within your own space. To visit the virtual gallery please click here https://eloracentreforthearts.ca/gall/virtual-gallery-shop/ Currently featuring the work of artists Rachel Albano, Sherry Czekus,... Jennifer Elliotson, Callie Gray, Vera Kisseleva, Barry McCarthy, Carolyn Sharp and Laurie Skantzos. Additional artists will be added throughout the Spring. #virtualgallery #onlinegallery #buyartonline #onlineshop #onlinegalleryshop #originalartforsale #decoratewithart Elora Centre For The Arts Elora Fergus Studio Tour Elora Fergus Township of Centre Wellington Guelph Arts Council Akimbo Canadian Art Magazine Style at Home Sarah Richardson Jillian Harris Rachel Albano Art Sherry Czekus Jennifer Elliotson Artist Callie Gray Art Vera Kisseleva Barry Mccarthy Art Carolyn Sharp Art Laurie Skantzos Fine Art

#BTS This week we started setting up for our student support program! We packed up our Artisan shop and started setting up the desk areas for our satellite workstations for students. We will be closed to the public for 9 weeks and making use of the Artisan shop, our workshop classroom and the gallery for the program. The revised start date is January 25th, registration will open next week. Each session is 3 weeks and will run on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings and af...ternoons until the end of March. This is a free program for college, university and high school students to have safely distance workstations out-of-home, with teacher support on site and creative art outlets for mental health. Please check our website for details and registration information, and updates as public health provides changes. https://eloracentreforthearts.ca/classes/youth-classes/ Please share to anyone you know who may benefit from this community support program! Our program is made possible through the Centre Wellington Community Foundation's Government of Canada Community Response Fund, donations from our community on Giving Tuesday, The Guelph Community Foundation and The Good Foundation. STUDENTS! Satellite Learning & Art Stations - COVID Response Program #studentsupport #covidrelief #remotelearning #communitysupport #cwcf #givingtuesday #GCF #GoodFoundation #elora #fergus #centrewellington CWCF - Centre Wellington Community Foundation Guelph Community Foundation Giving Tuesday Canada Community Foundations of Canada Township of Centre Wellington County of Wellington Elora (Ontario) Centre Wellington Fergus, Ontario The Grand at 101 The Wellington Advertiser GuelphToday.com Guelph Mercury Tribune

Look who's stuck in the window! We invite our community to walk along the main street of Elora and take a moment to stop at the Gregory Oakes Law Office where you will find 28 original pieces of art on display in their storefront window! This beautiful art was created by our Supportive Arts participants, with the help of ECFTA Arts Instructor Eileen MacArthur. The work celebrates winter solstice and the work of French Canadian painter Clarence Gagnon and contemporary Can...adian artist Kim Dorland, whose vibrant paintings prompted the colour choices. We are happy to report that Judy made it safely out of the window after setting it all up! We hope this colourful joy-filled display will brighten your day today Thank you to the Elora Fergus Arts Council for inviting us to showcase the work of this important community program which has been expanded with the support of an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant. #wonderinthewindows #elora #supportivearts #belonging #artforallabilities #eloracentreforthearts #ECFTA #trilliumgrant #walkingdowntown #takeawalk Elora Centre for the Arts Ontario Trillium Foundation Live & Learn Centre Township of Centre Wellington County of Wellington Elora Fergus Arthur School of Art Elora Fergus Studio Tour Sparrow's Nest Judy Anderson The Grand at 101 The Wellington Advertiser GuelphToday.com Elora Fergus Arts Council

Take a virtual tour with photographer Sylvia Galbraith as she walks us through Part 1 of her exhibition at the Elora Centre for the Arts. Galbraith reflects that "rugged landscapes can calm us and remind us that everything will be okay". Watch now to learn about her inspiration behind this portion of "Continuum: Considerations of Memory in Unquiet Places". #virtualtour #galleryexhibition #meettheartist #artisttour #canadianphotography #elora... #landscapephotography #ecfta Silver Creek Photography - Sylvia Galbraith ART NORTH Elora Fergus Elora Fergus Studio Tour Elora Art Walk Township of Centre Wellington Elora, Ontario Fergus, Ontario Canadian Art Magazine CBC Arts

Did you know that we have a satellite art gallery at the Elora Mill Hotel & Spa featuring over 30 pieces of original artwork by artists in our community? All original art is available for purchase by contacting the Elora Centre for the Arts. Today we are featuring the work of Elora artist Rachel Albano, who has several original pieces throughout the Elora Mill property including the Granery, the main dining room, the spa and main reception. Stunning work that bring the wal...ls of this beautiful space to life! "Rachel's work is loaded with sentiment and hope. As she is painting each piece, she is reflecting on the emotion that compelled her to paint it, whether it be resilience, hope, connection, sadness or the promise of love. People are drawn to her work because of this, often tearing up and becoming quite emotional" says the Director of ECFTA. While, at the moment, guests can't visit the Elora Mill in person, we invite you to enjoy a few photos in this "virtual" photo tour. #elora #eloramill #ecfta #originalart #canadianart #localart #abstractart #eloracentreforthearts #rachelalbano Rachel Albano Art Elora Mill Hotel & Spa Elora Fergus Township of Centre Wellington Elora Ontario BIA Elora (Ontario) Elora Fergus Studio Tour

This is a really important message. You know how when someone is struggling and they still make the effort to do something really selfless for you? Well that's what happened this past Sunday. A bunch of well-known Broadway and Mirvish stage performers from across North America put on a live show for us - to bring joy and share meaningful music with all of us in this country, but especially for our community of Elora, Fergus and surrounding areas . Did you know that? Despit...e being out of work due to the pandemic, these performers came together to sing - but it ended up being so much more than that. "Let's Sing About Passion", hosted by TV/film star Noah Danby and produced by Elora's Deva Neely was a live-stream fundraising event that ended up being about supporting each other, feeling connected and celebrating the arts in a way that brought tears to your eyes. It was an opportunity for us all to be reminded why we miss live theatre and why it's so important to our culture and our mental health. It was nothing short of magical, with a star-studded cast and performances by Eric Charters, Jamie Karen, Cynthia Gallant, Sarah Strange, Samantha Ross, Jay Davis, Taylor Whittaker & Darcy Stewart, Ella Ladner, Renee Marino, Rachel Savlov, Saskia Garel, Steven Allerick and Patrick Dunn. Every penny will be donated to the Actor's Relief Fund and the Elora Centre for the Arts, in recognition of the struggle that our stage performers are experiencing without live theatre, and in support of a small local community Art Centre like us. To everyone who bought a ticket and watched, thank you. To all of the performers who volunteered and practiced and prepared and performed...there are no words for the appreciation, it runs deep. To Peter DeVries (the tech guru) and Deva for pulling it all together, and to Noah who's smile and engaging personality drew us in and made us feel part of such an intimate experience, visiting the performers in their homes and allowing us to be encouraged by their stories. We are still feeling the effects of the 2-hour passion project and are so appreciative to have been witness to it, to be inspired by it, and be encouraged to forge on in the days ahead. Let's Sing About Passion! | A live-stream fundraiser for the Arts Elora Centre for the Arts Elora, Ontario Fergus, Ontario The Wellington Advertiser The Grand at 101 CBC Arts CBC Kitchener-Waterloo Raise Your Voice Township of Centre Wellington

Here's something heartwarming to brighten your Monday! Last week our all-inclusive Tuesday & Thursday Supportive Arts sessions were all about nature's palette and scents! We used our imaginations to wander out into nature to paint "en plein air". Our source photo helped us create these vibrant autumn acrylic landscapes in oranges, greens and blues on black canvas. ECFTA Arts Educator Judy Anderson loved seeing the many variations and expressive brushwork done by all our am...azing young artists. Two of our participants even created work using AJ Casson’s 'Little Island' as inspiration! So great JD and Kerri! During Mindfulness & Movement with our serenity leader Stephanie Toohill, we used our sense of smell to find moments of mindfulness with sprigs of fresh mint, coriander leaves, cinnamon bark and a drop of lavender oil. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the beauty of nature and (literally) stop and smell the coriander! This program is made possible thanks to an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant. #OTF #SupportiveArts #ECFTA #allabilities #artandmindfulness #inclusion #artforallabilities Ontario Trillium Foundation Judy Anderson Sparrow's Nest Live & Learn Centre Township of Centre Wellington County of Wellington Elora, Ontario Elora Centre for the Arts Fergus, Ontario Guelph Ontario The Wellington Advertiser The Grand at 101

Interested in supporting our artists and makers this holiday season? Right now we are showcasing the work of over 35 makers in our artisan shop at the Elora Centre for the Arts. Hundreds of creative, unique and affordable gifts and stocking stuffers for all the special people on your list. #givethegiftofhandmade #handmadegifts #artistgifts #supportourmakers #creativecommunity #elora #fergus #shopcentrewellington WE ARE OPEN Thursdays & Fridays 11AM-4PM and Saturdays & Sund...ays 12-5PM. Artisan Shop at ECFTA | Handmade, artist designed, eco-friendly Elora Fergus Elora Centre for the Arts Township of Centre Wellington County of Wellington The Wellington Advertiser The Grand at 101 Events in Elora Elora, Ontario Fergus, Ontario Elora Mill Hotel & Spa