OCAD U remembers Vassil Popvassilev
Former faculty member Popvassilev taught in the Faculty of Design for more than a decade.
December 4, 2023
OCAD U launches Fineline.art online marketplace in time for the holidays
Photo from the Fineline.art launch. Attiya Khan stands beside her designs.
If you’re looking for a meaningful, artisan gift for your loved ones this holiday season, look no further than Fineline.art – an art marketplace by OCAD University and the Fineline.art artist collective.
In 2021, OCAD U launched a project with the support of the Future Skills Centre to incubate an art marketplace and a co-operative that helps artists and designers grow their business online, while developing cultural entrepreneurship skills.
The result is Fineline.art, and the project has been shaped by artists and designers every step of the way. Those creatives are now forming a co-operative to enable co-ownership, co-governance and peer-to-peer support for members.
Fineline.art visitors can currently purchase artworks from the collections of seven unique creators in the marketplace: painter Ethan Platt, illustrator and graphic designer Jewel Pavao, stained glass artist Attiya Khan, painter and muralist Natasha Dichpan, illustrator and muralist Sarah Alinia Ziazi, visual artist Shawn Skeir, and product designer and ceramicist Mare Garcia.
Buying art is a personal journey, and there are many different styles to explore. Here are artworks from each creator to consider as gifts – for others, or yourself! – for the holiday season.
Dusk Print
11" x 14", Fine Art Print
$50
Ethan Platt is a Toronto based artist and recent OCAD U Drawing & Painting graduate. His figurative painting practice is rooted in computer synthesized references to depict the human beyond traditional physical forms. Platt has shown at such galleries as Blitz, Art Mur and Bau-Xi, and has received awards, including the Donna MacLean award.
Landscapes - Postcard Set
Two 4"x6" Prints of the pieces "Abyss" and "Satellite." Locally printed on 80lb Gloss Cover paper, packaged in a cellophane slip.
$20
Jewel Pavao (she/her) is an Illustrator and Graphic Designer based in Toronto. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Design (BDes) from OCAD U and is currently continuing her studies at the university in the Interdisciplinary Master's in Art, Media, and Design program (MDes). Her practice concentrates on exploring personal and contemporary issues through the lens of her Filipino heritage and an intersectional feminist perspective. Using stylized imagery and bright colours, her aim is to create visually uplifting work that is also conceptually impactful. To view more of her work, you can access her portfolio.
Miami Beach Squares
Stained glass
Dimensions: 14.5" x 4.25"
$280
Attiya Khan is a stained-glass artist. She makes unique, dreamy, colourful pieces that bring beauty, light, and joy to people's homes. When she’s not creating stained glass, she’s a consultant on domestic violence prevention, focused on solutions that include both survivors and people who choose to use violence. To balance the heaviness that accompanies working in the domestic violence field, and her own history as a survivor, Khan creates stained glass art, which anchors her to the present and brings so much happiness and calm.
To Have and To Hold
Ink & watercolour
7.5 x 10 inches, unframed
$60
Natasha Dichpan is a multi-disciplinary painter who creates artwork and vibrant murals. Dichpan’s artwork is shaped through a combination of raw feeling and formal training. She draws inspiration from her present as much as her past, and her childhood spent in Russia and Israel. Painting is a meditation, which she practices to calm, to heal and to tell stories. Ultimately, Dichpan hopes that her work echoes her passion. That it becomes a call to the vulnerable, optimistic and romantic inner-chords so many of us have in common.
Flora: Three Pack Package Deal
Print
8.5 x 11 inches
Sarah Alinia Ziazi is a Toronto-based Illustrator and Muralist who holds a BDes in Illustration from OCAD University. She is passionate about creating images from personal experiences to conceptual narratives. Reoccurring themes of identity and nostalgia are used to provide engaging connections through the use of traditional and digital mediums. She is a recipient of numerous awards and has exhibited artworks in several Canadian galleries. As a freelance illustrator, she has worked for reputable international clientele and has showcased her work in published forums and magazines.
Fire Dance Giclee Print
21” x 24” or 16” x 20”
From $200
Shawn Skeir’s work is based on his long-standing relationship with graphic design, movement and colour theory. He’s been a part of the vibrant Toronto art scene for many years. Skeir’s work is rooted in an abstract style that echoes the movements of light and colour. His work strives to create images that represent a unification of organic, analog and fluid movement with our post-digital sensibilities. More of his paintings and art projects are available at skeirgallery.com.
Space Queen Studio (Mare Garcia)
Cloud Candle Holder
12 mm x 12 mm x 12 mm
Made to order/made in small batches. Please allow two to three weeks for crafting and processing.
$34
Mare Garcia (she/her) is a Canadian Filipino product designer/ceramicist and creative director behind Space Queen Studio - a Toronto-based home goods studio where cute 'n kitschy meets pop culture but with a succulent green twist. Garcia’s creative practice is guided by her fascination with building, experimentation and material exploration. She is a recipient of COFO Design’s inaugural furniture design challenge, and an advocate of slow and ethical design. Her work looks to transform ordinary interactions through playfulness and greenery ✽✿.
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Looking to purchase more art this holiday season? Visit the Dec. 6 Artist Pop Up at OCAD U and the Dec. 8 Artist Alley event.