Hometown Strathroy-Caradoc September 2024

ARTIST OF THE MONTH

Rediscovering the Artist Within Dawn Siddall is a self-taught artist with an innate craftiness that she brings to her painting and pottery. Dawn’s journey in the world of art began in the late 1990s when she owned a ceramic store and took pottery and drawing classes at Fanshawe College.

As often happens, other hobbies and commitments took Dawn away from her art for several years. One of those hobbies happened to be motorcycles. A hand accident eight years ago forced Dawn to take a break from riding.

For Dawn, the journey to reclaiming the artist within has been one of seeking knowledge, experimenting with what interests her, and most of all, practice, practice, and more practice. Her advice for aspiring artists: “Don’t give up, and don’t let the details get you down if the piece isn’t going quite the way you want. Have fun!”

During this break, Dawn rediscovered her artistic world. She watched YouTube videos and took workshops in acrylics and alcohol ink to help hone her craft. She began with painting in acrylic, alcohol ink, and soft pastels, then fired up her kiln, and she’s been working with clay ever since. Dawn considers herself a clay artist and loves creating hand- built pottery using various tools, such as a slab roller, coils, and ceramic moulds. She often prints 3D moulds as forms for the slabs of clay. She also continues dabbling in acrylic and alcohol ink painting. Inspired by nature, Dawn has no shortage of ideas she wants to try. “Living in the rural area and walking around out-of-doors gives me ideas I want to try after my walk,” explains Dawn. “It’s also very relaxing and takes my mind off everyday stresses.” What gives Dawn great joy is making pieces for people’s homes. She typically starts with a sketch and then creates her vision in clay. Dawn’s goal is to continue developing her craft and to sell her pieces. She also plans to offer classes in pottery hand-building, workshops where everyone learns the same project, and possibly host paint parties using alcohol ink or painting on clay.

To see more of Dawn’s works, email her at DawnedOnMeCreations@gmail.com or go to dawnedonmecreations on Instagram or dawnedonmeartist on Facebook or visit DawnedOnMeCreations.ca.

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September 2024 Page 3

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