On a cool, windy Saturday evening at the Beaches in east Toronto, Madison Levesque reminisced about the time she discovered her passion for art.
Levesque’s first memory of creating art was when in Grade 4, Mrs. Bruce, the school’s red-haired art teacher, had her students paint over her car, an MG, every year.
She was one of the first people to notice and celebrate Levesque’s affinity towards painting.
Levesque's primary art mediums were charcoal, pencil and watercolours until she started a cake-decorating business.
When she lost her arm in 2012, she found solace in her paintings.
“It was a bit difficult, taking cakes out of the oven and icing them in between. I was making less money per hour and it took me longer,” Levesque said. “So I thought, maybe that's a sign for me to get back to my painting and do what I love to do.”
In the last three years, she explored acrylic fluid art, also known as, liquid art, flow art or acrylic paint pouring, a technique that uses free-flowing or runny acrylic paints, inks or powders to create abstract designs.
Levesque said she accidentally stumbled upon it and thought it would be a nice change. The new medium turned out to be frustrating and challenging, giving her a new path to traverse.
“That's why maybe I'm drawn to it. Because a lot of artists get bored after a while,” she said. “We're doing the same medium, but this is different every single time you do it.”
Levesque said she finds the acrylic fluid art process fascinating. It's a mixture of science and creativity.
She is one of the visual artists whose artwork is on display at the annual 2024 Signatures Beaches Arts and Crafts Show in Toronto.
The Beaches Arts and Crafts Show is an annual, spring event that has supported Canadian local artisans and small businesses for the last 40 years.
John Ladouceur, a glass blower and Casey Sadaka, a jeweller saw in 1984 an opportunity to create an exclusive space for Canadian artisans to sell their work and handmade goods. Signatures was founded to share the love of handcrafted products.
The show celebrated its 40th anniversary on June 8 and 9 by keeping that tradition alive at a free, outdoor marketplace at Kew Gardens.
Davis Ladouceur, one of the show managers and a descendant of the founder, said they ensure that the quality of work displayed is the best in the country through a year-long selection process.
“It's a massive process, the organization of this takes us almost nine months to produce, working with the City of Toronto, working with our community partner, the Neighbourhood Link and working with the artisans to hopefully get this all together and have a great event,” Ladouceur said. “We love to see new, innovative products in the marketplace.”
Based in Ottawa, Signatures produces events all across Canada, including B.C., Alta., and Sask., he said.
Anupama Parmar, a small business owner from the GTA, sold a vegan equivalent of a bone broth, called Moong Pani at the event.
Parmar said Moong Pani is a powder made from sprouted mung beans that helps balance the gut. She is part of a group that runs annual health retreats that are holistic and ayurvedic, the traditional Hindu system of medicine.
She said this particular remedy has been used in her family for decades to naturally strengthen the immune system.
“Our protein comes from mung bean sipping broths,” Parmar said. “Two grams of fibre per tablespoon, that's a lot. So, you're getting a lot of fibre, protein, turmeric, immune system and all the good stuff.”
The Beaches Arts and Crafts Show featured the work of 140 Canadian artisans, including visual art, handmade products, comic art, food, drinks, metalwork, sculptures, textiles and more.
Artists like Levesque and small business owners like Parmar are given a platform to display their products to people who appreciate the effort that goes into creating them.
