Orillia artist Dani Magder is the winner of Sustainable Orillia’s third art contest of 2021! The contest, introduced in September with a deadline of October 31st, asked local artists to submit a piece of work on the theme of “housing”—Sustainable Orillia’s communications theme in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Three judges juried the submissions and their choice of winner was “Homes for All” a piece of work submitted by Magder (see attached pictures). The artist submitted the following explanation of the thoughts that led to the creation of her work:
“I am an artist that likes to use recycled, found, discarded, and previously loved objects to create unique art. This piece is made from an old discarded wooden desk drawer, recycled wood and found objects.
“I believe we need to reuse as much as we can and this also applies to Sustainable housing and living. New technologies are great for conserving energy and reducing emissions, but I believe new technologies should go hand in hand with recycling. Reusing materials when building houses also conserves energy, reduces emissions and is great for the environment.
“Just like a lot of things in life, mixing the old with the new just makes sense in so many ways. I feel not enough is being done to reuse materials that end up in the landfill. Using these materials would also be a way to keep costs lower to build more affordable homes so there would be Homes for All!”
Dani Magder comes from a family of artists and has been creating and doing art since she was a young child. She is a Developmental Support Worker and works with students with autism and other developmental disabilities. She notes that she has always used art in supporting and teaching her students.
How important is her art to her? “I can’t imagine not having art in my life. It’s a great hobby and stress relief. I used to do a lot of acrylic landscape and floral paintings, but recently I have been making signs and things with recycled materials. I love to find discarded objects—junk, driftwood and rusty gold—and to make something unique out of it. I love to repurpose things that would have ended up in the landfill and make a unique piece of art out of it so that, in return, someone else can enjoy it.”
Magder finds Orillia a great place to be an artist. “I love that Orillia supports the arts in so many ways! My goal is to use my art skills to support the community in any way I can.” More examples of her artwork can be found on her Instagram site, @rusticluvart.
As our winner, Magder will receive a cheque for $75 and her winning work, “Homes for All,” will be featured on the Sustainable Orillia website (www.sustainableorillia.ca).
Picking the winner from the “housing” submissions was a challenging task, but the jury noted, “We loved that the artist used the sustainability theme right in the work as well as in her story. It was perfect and hit all the high points of sustainability in housing in every way.”
Sustainable Orillia thanks all of the artists who submitted work for our three theme contests—“Renewal,” “Trees” and “Housing”—in 2021. We look forward to continuing to work with the local arts community in 2022.
