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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, October 31, 2014 | 22 Spotlight on artists at OAC AGM The accomplishments of a trio of Oakville artists are being recognized at the Oakville Arts Council's (OAC) annual general meeting (AGM) Thursday, Nov. 6. Naoko Matsubara, Barb TenEycke and Charles Demunyk will receive the Lifetime Achievement, Emerging Artist and Established Artist awards, respectively, when they attend the AGM held at the Black Box Theatre at the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre, 2302 Bridge Rd., from 7-9 p.m. The emerging artist and established artist award recipients are chosen by an independent jury, while the lifetime achievement award is honourary, said Pamela Keywan, OAC artistic director. The former two awards include a $500 prize, while the latter features a hand-blown, etched-glass trophy. Applicants must be living in Oakville and practising their respective discipline, but their activities can extend beyond the town. Recipients of the juried awards are judged on artistic achievement, public impact, demonstrated dedication, recognition and their body of work. The lifetime achievement award is handed out on an ad hoc basis when the OAC becomes aware of a local artist who has had "an extensive and far-reaching career in the arts," explained Keywan. Barb TenEycke (Emerging Artist) TenEycke creates original landscape paintings using acrylic paint on a gallery-style stretched canvas. She splits her time between her Oakville home and family cottage near Algonquin Park, travelling between the Greater Toronto Area and cottage country for inspiration "When painting the Canadian landscape, my main interests are elemental -- water, rocks, trees, skies. I am particularly drawn to the way light interacts with these elements," said TenEycke. "Movement is another aspect I strive to convey in a painting. Rushing water, gentle currents in a forest stream, trees swaying in the wind are challenges I eagerly take on. Connecting the viewer to a memory or emotion is the ultimate reward." She studied interior decorating and design at Sheridan College in the late 1980s and credits her decorative painting skills in allowing her to quickly tune her skills in fine art painting. TenEycke has held several solo exhibits in Oakville and Gravenhurst, Ont. -- her upcoming annual Autumn Studio Show in Oakville is on Nov. 8-9. In addition, she has been a part of group exhibitions in Toronto, Oakville, Mississauga and other towns across Ontario. Charles Demuynck (Established Artist) Demuynck, the founding artistic director of Artscene "Connected to your Community" Masterworks of Oakville chorus and orchestra, has guest-conducted extensively with European, American and Canadian orchestras, such as Orchestra London, Mississauga Symphony, National Academy Orchestra and Royal Conservatory New Music Ensemble, to name a few. His previous posts included: music director of the Brampton Symphony Orchestra and City Centre Musical Productions in Mississauga, assistant conductor of the Knoxville Symphony in Tennessee, music director of the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Orchestra in Los Angeles, director of orchestras at the University of Evansville and conducting apprentice of the Hartford Symphony. Demuynck is also the music director of the Oakville Chamber Orchestra and at St. Andrew's Catholic Church in Oakville. A native of Dawson Creek, B.C., he holds a doctorate in conducting from the Hartt School in Hartford, Conn., as well as conducting degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, and the University of Toronto. Adding to his long list of accomplishments, Demuynck is an active composer for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles, and his works have been performed in Canada and the U.S. Naoko Matsubara (Lifetime Achievement) Internationally-celebrated Oakville woodblock artist Matsubara was also recently awarded a 2014 Japanese Foreign Minister's Commendation. Her works are among collections at the White House, the British Museum, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Mass., Art Institute of Chicago, and Royal Ontario Museum, among other international institutions. Matsubara was born on Shikoku Island in Japan and grew up in Kyoto where she studied at the Kyoto Academy of Fine Art. She would later become a scholar at what is now know as Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa., and was invited as a special student at the Royal College of Art in London, England, in the 1960s. She moved to Canada in 1972 and has been an Oakville resident for the past 42 years. Matsubara is considered one of the world's foremost Japanese woodcut artists and her achievements as a printmaker and painter were also honoured in 2010 by Carnegie Mellon's Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award. Not only has she published approximately 20 books and portfolios of her work, but her pieces have been the subject of numerous articles and reviews, documentary films, and publications. Her next major exhibitions are planned for Seattle and Tokyo. For more information on the OAC, visit www.oakvillearts.com. Pictured are actors Jack Verrips as Tom Thomson and Robin Sadavoy as Winnie Trainor during a rehearsal for Colours in the Storm: The Tom Thomson Musical, running Nov. 6-8 and 12-15 at the Oakville Centre for Performing Arts. | photo courtesy of The Oakville Players Thomson brought `back to life' with musical The Oakville Players will be bringing Canadian painter Tom Thomson back to life with its Colours in the Storm: The Tom Thomson Musical. "The mystery surrounding Tom Thomson's death in 1917 on Canoe Lake is a part of Canadian folklore," stated a news release. "Did he drown or was he murdered? Is he buried in Algonquin Park or was his body moved to Leith, Ont.?" The musical, by Canadian playwright and lyricist Jim Betts, will open The Oakville Players' 2014-15 season on Thursday, Nov. 6. The show tells the story of Thomson, who "directly influenced members of the Group of Seven," stated the release. "The story focuses on the years he lived in Algonquin Park, a place of raw beauty and everchanging landscapes. During that time, he painted hundreds of `sketches', obsessed with perfection, and produced his iconic paintings The West Wind, The Jack Pine, and Northern River. "The locals looked upon him with varying degrees of suspicion and amusement. Thomson's life in the park and his mysterious death in 1917 are played out through scenes, accompanied by vibrant songs, and a wonderfully haunting musical score." The production has a cast of 19 actors/singers, with Jack Verrips playing the lead role of Thomson, as well as a six-member band directed by Brian Turnbull. "This is the first time that The Oakville Players has put on a musical in our 52-year history," said Mary Rose, the company's producer and artistic director. "We chose this play as Tom Thomson's art glorifies the Canadian wilderness and his story speaks passionately to our Canadian hearts and spirits. It's a wonderful play, full of adventure, romance and mystery." Colours in the Storm will have shows at The Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts (OCPA) at 130 Navy St., from Nov. 6-8, and Nov. 12-15 at 8 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee performance on Sunday, Nov. 9. Tickets for evening performances cost $28. They cost $22 for the Wednesday evening and Sunday matinee showings. Groups of 10 or more receive a $2 discount per ticket. During the show's run, an auction of artworks donated by 26 local artists will also be held in the lobby of the OCPA. The proceeds will benefit The Oakville Players' Playwright Mentoring Program and One Act Festival. To purchase tickets, visit www.oakvillecentre. ca, call the box office at 905-815-2021 (toll-free at 1-888-489-7784), or visit the OCPA. World of Threads Festival opens Saturday The World of Threads Festival is coming to Oakville Saturday (Nov. 1) and will showcase more than 200 pieces of art by approximately 100 artists from 12 countries. The biennial showcase of local, national and international contemporary fibre and textile art will have a main show at the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre (QEPCCC), 2302 Bridge Rd. The opening reception at QEPCCC runs 2-4 p.m. For more information, visit www. worldofthreadsfestival.com.