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As soon as she could hold a pencil as a small child, first time Bancroft and Area Studio Tour painter, Ingrid Whitaker recalls crawling under the family table and making drawings from her imagination. And that need to make art was with her throughout her schooling right on up to graduating with an honours fine art degree from York University in Toronto. She was born in Cape Town, South Africa and was moved as a baby with family to England just outside London. After ten years there, the family next moved to Toronto, in 1963 and eventually to a home in Bramalea where she completed public and high school and moved on to York U. Following her first year there, she applied for and got a grant to teach summer school art to children and enjoyed it so much she decided she would teach art upon graduation. And did just that with attendance at teacher’s college and launching into a 31-year career. She taught a myriad of arts and crafts subjects—along with art history, of course—to students at all levels of high school: starting with drawing then painting with watercolours and tempera paint followed by acrylics and oils. And for those (big, gangly boys) attending class as a filler alternative, teaching them embroidery, mosaics and glasswork! And proudly enjoying inspiring some very gifted of her students to move on to art as a career—or at least an important aspect of their lives. With her working career behind her, Whitaker ramped up her skills with art workshops and training in pottery-making and sculpture. And began a long tradition of involving herself, as a resident of the High Park area of Toronto in artist groups, a local west end studio tour, various art-in-the-park events and gallery group shows. Her acrylic and oil landscapes have always sold well—especially with her keeping them reasonably-priced and buyable by attendees at show events. Forty years ago, Ingrid and hubby, James found and purchased a small cottage and goodly property on Baptiste Lake where they and their son and daughter spent leisurely summer time over the years. And during those years they have expanded and improved the building to suit their needs. And with more awareness of central Ontario, she began showing her work at summer art events in Madoc and Tweed. |
With lots of time on her hands, she loves to paint the views of the lake and other local landscapes. And began collecting largish pieces of birch bark from the cottage property, attaching then to back boards and using the natural design and structures in the bark to fashion/evolve them into landscape views. She will be showing primarily these works at her Baptiste location, 97 Bartlett Trail in her very first participation in the Bancroft and Area Studio Tour this coming September. Ingrid Whitaker can be reached by email at tikkitorches@hotmail.com (Profile writing and photo by Allan O’Marra) |
