#localartist — Public Fediverse posts

The Big Picture: Local Art That Looms Large

Sturgeon Bay artist Margaret Lockwood prefers large canvases for her impressionistic paintings. Submitted. People like big paintings, said…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Artsanddesign #art #artscene #artists #Arts #ArtsAndDesign #Design #Entertainment #localartist #Localartists
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/643321/

The Big Picture: Local Art That Looms Large

Sturgeon Bay artist Margaret Lockwood prefers large canvases for her impressionistic paintings. Submitted. People like big paintings, said…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Artsanddesign #art #artscene #artists #Arts #ArtsAndDesign #Design #Entertainment #localartist #Localartists
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/643321/

PAUL DROTOS’ GUIDE FOR YOUR IMPROV JOURNEY

Your Improv Journey is Paul Drotos’ treatise meant for beginners, veterans and randos. It is an easy read and is relevant even when considering teamwork, community and art in general.   

Improv is an art form where actors create scenes on the spot. In a show, troupes will usually have games they play with varying levels of audience input.   

When the scene ends, that is the end of […]

PAUL DROTOS’ GUIDE FOR YOUR IMPROV JOURNEY

Your Improv Journey is Paul Drotos’ treatise meant for beginners, veterans and randos. It is an easy read and is relevant even when considering teamwork, community and art in general.   

Improv is an art form where actors create scenes on the spot. In a show, troupes will usually have games they play with varying levels of audience input.   

When the scene ends, that is the end of […]

PAUL DROTOS’ GUIDE FOR YOUR IMPROV JOURNEY

Your Improv Journey is Paul Drotos’ treatise meant for beginners, veterans and randos. It is an easy read and is relevant even when considering teamwork, community and art in general.   

Improv is an art form where actors create scenes on the spot. In a show, troupes will usually have games they play with varying levels of audience input.   

When the scene ends, that is the end of […]

PAUL DROTOS’ GUIDE FOR YOUR IMPROV JOURNEY

Your Improv Journey is Paul Drotos’ treatise meant for beginners, veterans and randos. It is an easy read and is relevant even when considering teamwork, community and art in general.   

Improv is an art form where actors create scenes on the spot. In a show, troupes will usually have games they play with varying levels of audience input.   

When the scene ends, that is the end of […]

PAUL DROTOS’ GUIDE FOR YOUR IMPROV JOURNEY

Your Improv Journey is Paul Drotos’ treatise meant for beginners, veterans and randos. It is an easy read and is relevant even when considering teamwork, community and art in general.   

Improv is an art form where actors create scenes on the spot. In a show, troupes will usually have games they play with varying levels of audience input.   

When the scene ends, that is the end of […]

A HORSE NAMED FRIDAY LAUNCH ANTICIPATED DEBUT ALBUM

On Apr. 14, 2026, the Kitchener-based chamber-folk band A Horse Named Friday released their debut album, The Marriage of Loneliness and Continental Bliss, marking a milestone for a project that was years in the making.  

The band kicked off their supporting tour this month at Kitchener’s Queen St. Commons Cafe, bringing a sound shaped by diverse instrumentation and a strong sense of […]

Yellow Cycat

“Yellow Cycat” is a new colored pencil drawing and is part of my ‘Cycat Series’. This is a quirky, fun loving, cat like monster.

CYC040 #johngreggstudios #coloredpencil #art #cycat #drawing #art

COMMUNITY RESPONDS TO CONTROVERSIAL COMEDIAN

On Mar. 7, Femme Folks Fest (FFF) opened its seventh annual event with Just a Joke, a comedy shows in response to a controversial comedian scheduled to perform in Kitchener the same night. 

Comedian Ben Bankas was set to perform at Elements Nightclub. His two shows, which were allegedly sold out, were cancelled by the venue the week prior to his visit.  

Bankas’ shows garnered attention from residents and advocates, who were calling for his show to get cancelled. Queer Youth Defense had also planned a counter demonstration outside the event’s venue.  

Lisa O’Connell, artistic director of Pat the Dog Theatre Creation, which hosts FFF, said that when they heard about Bankas’ scheduled shows, they immediately pivoted to add in Just a Joke.  

The show featured KW Comedy All Stars, a group of 14 local comedians with Amy Neufeld as the show’s host. Together, these comics came together for a night to combat hate with art.  

FFF is an annual event that celebrates music, theatre and comedy by women-identified, femme-presenting and non-binary artists. 

Bankas has received mass criticism since a comedy routine he performed in January in which he made jokes about Renee Good, who was shot and killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. 

“We found it particularly egregious, the jokes that he was making about Renee Good. This is a queer, young mother who  had just dropped off one of her children at school and was shot in the face,” O’Connell said. 

“There’s nothing funny about that. That’s a tragedy of absolutely the worst,” she said. 

Bankas’ past shows have also included commentary on topics such as residential schools, immigration, diversity, and the LGBTQ+ community, as well as events taking place in Iran.  

Currently on tour, Bankas’ shows in Kitchener are two of many shows that have been cancelled. 

“The fact that [Bankas] was touring and felt safe to come to our community, felt that he had a constituency here, sold out, or at least, alleges that he sold out two shows, and it was on, literally, the eve of International Women’s Day—we had to answer it,” O’Connell said. 

“The issue here of this kind of humour is systemic, and so we wanted to offer a solution,” O’Connell said.  

While outrage comics have been gaining popularity, O’Connell said that Just a Joke was a way for the community to experience comedy in a more inclusive way.  

“We have tons of literature and factual evidence research that anytime that you marginalize any community, anytime you allow any kind of victimization, albeit even in the form of a joke, that it allows individuals to take a look at someone as less than the full scope of their human dignity,” O’Connell said. 

Emme Kennedy, one of the 14 local comedians who performed at Just a Joke, prepared her six-minute set around the controversy surrounding Bankas.  

At the beginning of her set, Kennedy joked that she was quite similar to Bankas. 

“We both could be accused of being comedians. We both are Canadian-Americans and we both are committing the worst sin of society, which is we’re both failed men. This is an example of a joke that I don’t mean, but saying the dark thought out loud kind of helps excise it from people’s minds,” Kennedy said.  

Kennedy is a queer and trans comedian who recently moved to the Waterloo Region from America. For Kennedy, Just a Joke not only provides an opportunity to face controversy head-on, but also creates an inclusive space for women and trans comedians and their audience.  

“A lot of the places that are available to do open mics are not always the most supportive places for women comedians, let alone trans comedians,” Kennedy said.  

For Kennedy, open mics are an opportunity to foster constructive dialogue and challenge harmful stereotypes. 

“I believe in my comedy and kind of bringing a voice and perspective that is not really heard out to an audience and doing it in a way that is accessible through it being funny and playful,” Kennedy said.  

Kennedy said having open mic spaces that are inclusive and supportive are important for representation. 

“There’s a big cultural divide around who deserves what autonomy to their bodies and their hearts and minds and who doesn’t. I don’t think this stuff is going away. I don’t think Ben Bankas is going away. And I think this moment requires us to keep responding with shows like this,” Kennedy said.  

“I just ask anyone who wants to care about humanity to stick up for those who are speaking out right now, because I think that’s important,” Kennedy said.  

Amy Neufeld is a contributor for The Community Edition. 

LONGHOUSE LABS EXTENDS BANGISHIMO’S BUCK SKIN NAKED

On Jan. 19, 2026, Bangishimo’s Buck Skin Naked photography exhibit debuted at Longhouse Labs (LLabs)., featuring portraits spotlighting Indigenous and Afro-Indigenous bodies. The showing for Buck Skin Naked was extended until Apr. 11, 2026. Bangishimo is planning to shift into working on a book later this year, a collection of their photography over the years.  

“We don’t see the beautiful brown, round bodies, the bodies with scars and cellulite and stretch marks and pimples and all those stuff. We always see size zero, beautiful white skin always seen in ads. It’s so hard to see ourselves, especially as Indigenous peoples,” Bangishimo said.  

Bangishimo is the co-director of the Willow River Center and was the most recent artist in residence for LLabs at the University of Waterloo (UW). Their studio assistants were integral to taking all of the photos in the collection.  

LLabs exists to empower, advance, promote and support Indigenous creatives in Waterloo region and beyond. They are located at 263 Phillip Street, East Campus Hall on the UW campus. As an organization they focus on the Fellowship for Indigenous Artists-in-Residents (FAIR) program.  

The UW Fine Arts department invites Indigenous artists to develop their creative work through self-directed artist residencies.  

“Anything to do with the body or sex became very taboo and something you didn’t talk about.  Because those messages get passed through generations, you should be modest and cover yourself up,” Bangishimo said. 

LLabs supports Indigenous creative practices both contemporary and traditional. Bangishimo’s collection of eight pieces ranging from semi-nude to fully nude aim to showcase the decolonized beauty of Afro-Indigenous and Indigenous people.  

“[And we] get this lateral violence from our own community members saying  that’s not who we are. You should cover up. And then people always direct it back to why we get stolen,” Bangishimo said. opened an interesting inner dialogue within Bangishimo over the concept of self-love and acceptance. Originally there were supposed to be 16 photos in the collection, but only eight were selected for the exhibit. Bangishimo plans to either self-publish or find a publisher for a photobook collection of their work, including the whole body of work. 

“The color contrast between each picture and the story that flowed between each picture. And I didn’t even plan that, it just happened that way when we started hanging them up and deciding which picture should go where,” Bangishimo said. 

Bangishimo plans on continuing Buck Skin Naked beyond the published pictures. To celebrate the Indigenous body, they plan on focusing more of their photography towards nudes. Their goal is to help build people up with their self-esteem and promote feeling proud in their own skin. 

UNDERDOG STEPS UP PERFORMANCE TEAMS, COMPETES IN CALGARY

The Underdog Dance Corp. is Waterloo Region’s first beginner-focused adult dance studio. They introduced a more intensive training regimen for their performance team earlier this year, including strength and flexibility training in a second studio in Uptown Waterloo.   

“It’s just the consistency and the hard work to train the body to do it, and you literally practice showing up for yourself fully,” Emily Peat, the director of the Underdog studio, said.   

The studio sent its competitive teams to the Calgary International Salsa Congress from Mar. 26 to Mar. 30, 2026, which featured salsa and bachata dancers from around the world, as well as local professionals and troupes from all over North America. Quinn Vandenheuvel and Emily Dodsworth placed second in the amateur heated bachata division. Peat and Jorge Pablos placed first in the professional bachata heated division. Peat and Phil Roy placed second in the professional salsa showcase division. Bani Singh placed third in the professional-amateur (pro-am) open showcase division with Phil Roy.  

There are 13 students in three teams, who competed. The Bachata Partner amateur team, the Bachata Ladies Styling pro-am team and the Salsa Shines pro-am team. All teams were trained to compete in amateur categories.  

“It all kind of comes down to that in the end. If we teach good fundamentals to people right, then we’ll succeed with our students. And they’ll succeed, whether it’s in our class or out on the dance floor,” Phil Roy, the Experience Manager at Underdog and an instructor, said.  

The team’s six-hour training regimen has included strength training, flexibility training and acro training alongside running through their dance routines. The conditioning, cross-training and technique work help make sure the dancers are prepared for competition.   

“They’re low stakes, relatively—if you win a dance competition, whatever. But you practice discipline. You practice being there for yourself. You practice, ‘how can I react in moments of high stress?’,” Peat said.  

Many of the dancers also competed in “heats”, which require them to improvise for one and a half minutes to a random song within their registered category and style.   

“Because everyone’s relying on everybody else, to make sure that everybody comes away from the competition with a good experience. So, it does take that the group effort to achieve a shared goal,” Victoria Giampaolo, an Underdog student and team captain, said.  

In the week leading up to the Calgary International Salsa Congress, the students are performing in front of their peers periodically in the studio.   

The Calgary congress is one of many competitions that the Underdog Dance Corp. are planning to participate in this year—other cities include Montreal and Toronto.   

“[Competition] really brings the social aspect of dance to the front in a way that a showcase team doesn’t as much. So I really like that. It makes me push myself,” Giampaolo said. 

UNDERDOG STEPS UP PERFORMANCE TEAMS, COMPETES IN CALGARY

The Underdog Dance Corp. is Waterloo Region’s first beginner-focused adult dance studio. They introduced a more intensive training regimen for their performance team earlier this year, including strength and flexibility training in a second studio in Uptown Waterloo.   

“It’s just the consistency and the hard work to train the body to do it, and you literally practice showing up for yourself fully,” Emily Peat, the director of the Underdog studio, said.   

The studio sent its competitive teams to the Calgary International Salsa Congress from Mar. 26 to Mar. 30, 2026, which featured salsa and bachata dancers from around the world, as well as local professionals and troupes from all over North America. Quinn Vandenheuvel and Emily Dodsworth placed second in the amateur heated bachata division. Peat and Jorge Pablos placed first in the professional bachata heated division. Peat and Phil Roy placed second in the professional salsa showcase division. Bani Singh placed third in the professional-amateur (pro-am) open showcase division with Phil Roy.  

There are 13 students in three teams, who competed. The Bachata Partner amateur team, the Bachata Ladies Styling pro-am team and the Salsa Shines pro-am team. All teams were trained to compete in amateur categories.  

“It all kind of comes down to that in the end. If we teach good fundamentals to people right, then we’ll succeed with our students. And they’ll succeed, whether it’s in our class or out on the dance floor,” Phil Roy, the Experience Manager at Underdog and an instructor, said.  

The team’s six-hour training regimen has included strength training, flexibility training and acro training alongside running through their dance routines. The conditioning, cross-training and technique work help make sure the dancers are prepared for competition.   

“They’re low stakes, relatively—if you win a dance competition, whatever. But you practice discipline. You practice being there for yourself. You practice, ‘how can I react in moments of high stress?’,” Peat said.  

Many of the dancers also competed in “heats”, which require them to improvise for one and a half minutes to a random song within their registered category and style.   

“Because everyone’s relying on everybody else, to make sure that everybody comes away from the competition with a good experience. So, it does take that the group effort to achieve a shared goal,” Victoria Giampaolo, an Underdog student and team captain, said.  

In the week leading up to the Calgary International Salsa Congress, the students are performing in front of their peers periodically in the studio.   

The Calgary congress is one of many competitions that the Underdog Dance Corp. are planning to participate in this year—other cities include Montreal and Toronto.   

“[Competition] really brings the social aspect of dance to the front in a way that a showcase team doesn’t as much. So I really like that. It makes me push myself,” Giampaolo said. 

UNDERDOG STEPS UP PERFORMANCE TEAMS, COMPETES IN CALGARY

The Underdog Dance Corp. is Waterloo Region’s first beginner-focused adult dance studio. They introduced a more intensive training regimen for their performance team earlier this year, including strength and flexibility training in a second studio in Uptown Waterloo.   

“It’s just the consistency and the hard work to train the body to do it, and you literally practice showing up for yourself fully,” Emily Peat, the director of the Underdog studio, said.   

The studio sent its competitive teams to the Calgary International Salsa Congress from Mar. 26 to Mar. 30, 2026, which featured salsa and bachata dancers from around the world, as well as local professionals and troupes from all over North America. Quinn Vandenheuvel and Emily Dodsworth placed second in the amateur heated bachata division. Peat and Jorge Pablos placed first in the professional bachata heated division. Peat and Phil Roy placed second in the professional salsa showcase division. Bani Singh placed third in the professional-amateur (pro-am) open showcase division with Phil Roy.  

There are 13 students in three teams, who competed. The Bachata Partner amateur team, the Bachata Ladies Styling pro-am team and the Salsa Shines pro-am team. All teams were trained to compete in amateur categories.  

“It all kind of comes down to that in the end. If we teach good fundamentals to people right, then we’ll succeed with our students. And they’ll succeed, whether it’s in our class or out on the dance floor,” Phil Roy, the Experience Manager at Underdog and an instructor, said.  

The team’s six-hour training regimen has included strength training, flexibility training and acro training alongside running through their dance routines. The conditioning, cross-training and technique work help make sure the dancers are prepared for competition.   

“They’re low stakes, relatively—if you win a dance competition, whatever. But you practice discipline. You practice being there for yourself. You practice, ‘how can I react in moments of high stress?’,” Peat said.  

Many of the dancers also competed in “heats”, which require them to improvise for one and a half minutes to a random song within their registered category and style.   

“Because everyone’s relying on everybody else, to make sure that everybody comes away from the competition with a good experience. So, it does take that the group effort to achieve a shared goal,” Victoria Giampaolo, an Underdog student and team captain, said.  

In the week leading up to the Calgary International Salsa Congress, the students are performing in front of their peers periodically in the studio.   

The Calgary congress is one of many competitions that the Underdog Dance Corp. are planning to participate in this year—other cities include Montreal and Toronto.   

“[Competition] really brings the social aspect of dance to the front in a way that a showcase team doesn’t as much. So I really like that. It makes me push myself,” Giampaolo said. 

UNDERDOG STEPS UP PERFORMANCE TEAMS, COMPETES IN CALGARY

The Underdog Dance Corp. is Waterloo Region’s first beginner-focused adult dance studio. They introduced a more intensive training regimen for their performance team earlier this year, including strength and flexibility training in a second studio in Uptown Waterloo.   

“It’s just the consistency and the hard work to train the body to do it, and you literally practice showing up for yourself fully,” Emily Peat, the director of the Underdog studio, said.   

The studio sent its competitive teams to the Calgary International Salsa Congress from Mar. 26 to Mar. 30, 2026, which featured salsa and bachata dancers from around the world, as well as local professionals and troupes from all over North America. Quinn Vandenheuvel and Emily Dodsworth placed second in the amateur heated bachata division. Peat and Jorge Pablos placed first in the professional bachata heated division. Peat and Phil Roy placed second in the professional salsa showcase division. Bani Singh placed third in the professional-amateur (pro-am) open showcase division with Phil Roy.  

There are 13 students in three teams, who competed. The Bachata Partner amateur team, the Bachata Ladies Styling pro-am team and the Salsa Shines pro-am team. All teams were trained to compete in amateur categories.  

“It all kind of comes down to that in the end. If we teach good fundamentals to people right, then we’ll succeed with our students. And they’ll succeed, whether it’s in our class or out on the dance floor,” Phil Roy, the Experience Manager at Underdog and an instructor, said.  

The team’s six-hour training regimen has included strength training, flexibility training and acro training alongside running through their dance routines. The conditioning, cross-training and technique work help make sure the dancers are prepared for competition.   

“They’re low stakes, relatively—if you win a dance competition, whatever. But you practice discipline. You practice being there for yourself. You practice, ‘how can I react in moments of high stress?’,” Peat said.  

Many of the dancers also competed in “heats”, which require them to improvise for one and a half minutes to a random song within their registered category and style.   

“Because everyone’s relying on everybody else, to make sure that everybody comes away from the competition with a good experience. So, it does take that the group effort to achieve a shared goal,” Victoria Giampaolo, an Underdog student and team captain, said.  

In the week leading up to the Calgary International Salsa Congress, the students are performing in front of their peers periodically in the studio.   

The Calgary congress is one of many competitions that the Underdog Dance Corp. are planning to participate in this year—other cities include Montreal and Toronto.   

“[Competition] really brings the social aspect of dance to the front in a way that a showcase team doesn’t as much. So I really like that. It makes me push myself,” Giampaolo said. 

UNDERDOG STEPS UP PERFORMANCE TEAMS, COMPETES IN CALGARY

The Underdog Dance Corp. is Waterloo Region’s first beginner-focused adult dance studio. They introduced a more intensive training regimen for their performance team earlier this year, including strength and flexibility training in a second studio in Uptown Waterloo.   

“It’s just the consistency and the hard work to train the body to do it, and you literally practice showing up for yourself fully,” Emily Peat, the director of the Underdog studio, said.   

The studio sent its competitive teams to the Calgary International Salsa Congress from Mar. 26 to Mar. 30, 2026, which featured salsa and bachata dancers from around the world, as well as local professionals and troupes from all over North America. Quinn Vandenheuvel and Emily Dodsworth placed second in the amateur heated bachata division. Peat and Jorge Pablos placed first in the professional bachata heated division. Peat and Phil Roy placed second in the professional salsa showcase division. Bani Singh placed third in the professional-amateur (pro-am) open showcase division with Phil Roy.  

There are 13 students in three teams, who competed. The Bachata Partner amateur team, the Bachata Ladies Styling pro-am team and the Salsa Shines pro-am team. All teams were trained to compete in amateur categories.  

“It all kind of comes down to that in the end. If we teach good fundamentals to people right, then we’ll succeed with our students. And they’ll succeed, whether it’s in our class or out on the dance floor,” Phil Roy, the Experience Manager at Underdog and an instructor, said.  

The team’s six-hour training regimen has included strength training, flexibility training and acro training alongside running through their dance routines. The conditioning, cross-training and technique work help make sure the dancers are prepared for competition.   

“They’re low stakes, relatively—if you win a dance competition, whatever. But you practice discipline. You practice being there for yourself. You practice, ‘how can I react in moments of high stress?’,” Peat said.  

Many of the dancers also competed in “heats”, which require them to improvise for one and a half minutes to a random song within their registered category and style.   

“Because everyone’s relying on everybody else, to make sure that everybody comes away from the competition with a good experience. So, it does take that the group effort to achieve a shared goal,” Victoria Giampaolo, an Underdog student and team captain, said.  

In the week leading up to the Calgary International Salsa Congress, the students are performing in front of their peers periodically in the studio.   

The Calgary congress is one of many competitions that the Underdog Dance Corp. are planning to participate in this year—other cities include Montreal and Toronto.   

“[Competition] really brings the social aspect of dance to the front in a way that a showcase team doesn’t as much. So I really like that. It makes me push myself,” Giampaolo said. 

COMMUNITY THROUGH KOLLECTIVE

At Kollective Studios, community is among their core tenants alongside creativity, choreography and just a little bit of chaos. Among Kitchener- Waterloo’s newest creative ventures, the Kollective Studios partnership introduced Kollective Kreations, a crafting space that focuses on the art of decoden. Decoden is derived from the Japanese words for decoration (deco) and phone (den). Known for its over-the-top cute designs, decoden is a DIY craft using whipped cream-inspired glue and adorablecharms to decorate items like phone cases, Polaroid frames and accessories.

Their grand opening weekend for their new venture took place over the weekend of Jan. 9 to 11, 2026. Community members came out en masse to try their hand at decoden and to support business duo Kezea Shayne Gamboa and Alex Duong.

Following up the successful launch of their dance studio Kollective Khaos on Aug. 22, 2025, the two are now offering alternative creative outlets to their dancers as well as the wider Waterloo Region audience.

As an immigrant who came to Canada from the Philippines with her family in 2017, Gamboa always found that community was a big part of her life. Being able to foster a creative community in a leadership role has been a lifelong dream of Gamboa’s, starting in high school where she choreographed dances and taught them to her classmates.

“I really want to build a community where it’s filled with different stories, different backgrounds and different types of creativity,” Gamboa said. Gamboa and Duong met in 2023, in one of Gamboa’s K-pop dance classes. They quickly became friends through the environment that Gamboa cultivated in her classes, with post-class group dinners to Korean BBQ.

Duong loved the atmosphere so much that he began encouraging Gamboa to open her own studio and further expand her ethos to more than just her own classes.

“That’s where Kollective Khaos dance comes from. We want everyone to feel like they’re part of it and that they’re not just coming for dance class. It’s a safe space and a place where you can feel empowered to be yourself or discover new parts of yourself,” Duong said. Gamboa’s ambitions were not just limited to the dance studio either; on weekends the dance studio used to sit empty, but now Saturdays and Sundays host bustling decoden workshops, allowing folks to come out and try a different kind of creativity.

“When people ask for my advice on how to get over a choreography creativity block, I always tell people to do something else. Do something else that fires up that creativity that’s not dancing,” Gamboa said. “

It really helped me a lot with my creativity blocks and then, because you’re still using your brain, it’s just not on the one thing that you’re stressing about. It’s like a different type [of creativity] and it’s making your brain happy again and allowing it to breathe,” she said.

At its core, Kollective Studios is all about community and connection. For both Gamboa and Duong, without opportunities to socialize together outside of class, they wouldn’t have some of the meaningful relationships they do now. Every month the studio holds a movie night in their space which they pair with a themed dance routine. In January, they watched Bring It On: All or Nothing and learned a routine with guest instructor Sky Pahl, Canadian Football League and National Lacrosse League cheerleader and dancer.

“[It’s] a great time, because we have like a little slumber party almost, so we get to talk to each other … we get to hang around, we get to laugh at the movie and talk about it. I think that’s a huge thing with building community, and I think we’ve had a good response,” Duong said.

Kollective Studios offers multi-week sessions and drop-in dance classes from Monday to Friday in the evenings. On weekends, Kreations runs from noon to 6 p.m. and offers a multitude of accessories for crafters to customize. The studio is moving on Feb. 8 from their current location at 275 Larch St. in Waterloo to a bigger space at 259 King St. W., Unit 203 in Kitchener.

A gorgeous look at Howe Sound in book form, today in The Watershed: https://www.lionsbaywatershed.ca/post/picture-this

#LionsBayWatershed #LocalNews #BritishColumbia #Photography #LocalArtist

A Walk on the Benjamin Park Trans Canada Trail with Tanis MacDonald 

My walk with poet, essayist and newly retired English professor Tanis MacDonald was a masterclass in paying attention to details and place. When I arrived at the Benjamin Park section of the Trans Canada Trail, MacDonald already had something to show me.

“Look,” MacDonald said. “Bug sex. I thought it was one, but it’s two.”

On the green leaf attached to a fence were indeed two beetles with red markings, working to ensure the propagation of their species.

Setting out on this trail where MacDonald promised to show me all the “weird bits,” we spotted bees, the elegant curl of a vine and an unexpected cluster of mushrooms worthy of photographing.

“I like to get outside and walk around and look at shit,” MacDonald said. “[Walking is] a good art practice. Because you have to practice noticing.”

She grew up on the prairies in Manitoba, where she walked regularly with her mother.
The habit continued when MacDonald was a student in Toronto as she often saved the transit fare and chose to walk instead. Walking provided cheap entertainment and became a tool to get to know a place and inspire creativity.

“I didn’t do a degree in Creative Writing,” MacDonald said. “There was no such thing when I was an undergrad.”

She found her way to writing through a poet’s workshop run by Susan Ioannou out of the University of Toronto, a workshop that was revelatory for MacDonald. She took the workshop three times, then sought out guidance and community in other writing classes.

When MacDonald moved to Victoria for school a few years later, she connected with the poetry scene there and began going to regular readings, eventually landing a feature performance spot. In 1996, she won a chapbook competition, and her first full-length book of poetry, Holding Ground, was published in 2000.

In 2006, MacDonald joined the Department of English and Film Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University as a professor and taught academic courses.

“In about 2013…the department said that they wanted to offer more creative writing courses,” MacDonald said. “I said I would design a creative writing minor and concentration.”

Although MacDonald began her writing career as a poet, eventually she felt the pull of another form of written expression, creative nonfiction.

“I had a very long apprenticeship in poetry,” MacDonald said. “Then in scholarly writing. And…the creative nonfiction came together when I thought, ‘Isn’t there some place that these two discourses meet in the middle?’”

The place they met provided material for two books of essays: Out Of Line: Daring to Be an Artist Outside the Big City, published in 2018, and Straggle: Adventures in Walking While Female, published in 2022.

“I think a lot about my place in the world,” MacDonald said. “My literal space that I take up, and what happens when you pass through a space and do it repeatedly.”

For MacDonald, community is at the core of her writing practice. From the beginning MacDonald has sought out the company

of other writers, joining and forming writing groups with diverse memberships to give and receive feedback.

“It’s not enough to say it’s good,” MacDonald said. “You have to
say what you like, because that’s how people know what to keep and what to change…what can I pull off…how can we break this apart…what’s risky and what isn’t.”

The trail offered us community as well, signs of the people nearby that MacDonald was quick to notice. A birdhouse in the tree. A bridge made from slabs of stone to allow for a dry crossing. And the community art project Squeak the Sneak; a serpent made of painted rocks that anyone could contribute to.

Walking has provided more than inspiration and a sense of place for MacDonald. It also provided healing assistance when she struggled with mental health challenges during the pandemic.

“[My doctor] prescribed me some medication, and she
also prescribed me a walk,” MacDonald said. “It was mainly to understand that I was not living in a bubble where I would die. I was living in a much broader universe.”

This September, MacDonald will not be heading back to the university classroom to teach. She retired on July 1, and in addition to multiple writing projects, including a full-length book of poetry titled Tall, Grass, Girl, coming out next year, MacDonald is branching out artistically.

She has been taking classes at the Button Factory in painting and linocut. She is looking to expand her bird watching and

is working on ideas for a new podcast. And she will continue to walk the trails of Waterloo Region, paying careful attention to the weird bits.

#birdhouseInTheTree #ButtonFactory #Column #linocut #LocalArt #LocalArtist #manitoba #outOfLineDaringToBeAnArtistOutsideTheBigCity #serpantPaintedRocks #squeakTheSneak #StraggleAdventuresInWalkingWhileFemale #tallGrassGirl #TanisMacDonald #transCanadaTrail #walkInThePark #waterlooRegion

A Walk on the Benjamin Park Trans Canada Trail with Tanis MacDonald 

My walk with poet, essayist and newly retired English professor Tanis MacDonald was a masterclass in paying attention to details and place. When I arrived at the Benjamin Park section of the Trans Canada Trail, MacDonald already had something to show me.

“Look,” MacDonald said. “Bug sex. I thought it was one, but it’s two.”

On the green leaf attached to a fence were indeed two beetles with red markings, working to ensure the propagation of their species.

Setting out on this trail where MacDonald promised to show me all the “weird bits,” we spotted bees, the elegant curl of a vine and an unexpected cluster of mushrooms worthy of photographing.

“I like to get outside and walk around and look at shit,” MacDonald said. “[Walking is] a good art practice. Because you have to practice noticing.”

She grew up on the prairies in Manitoba, where she walked regularly with her mother.
The habit continued when MacDonald was a student in Toronto as she often saved the transit fare and chose to walk instead. Walking provided cheap entertainment and became a tool to get to know a place and inspire creativity.

“I didn’t do a degree in Creative Writing,” MacDonald said. “There was no such thing when I was an undergrad.”

She found her way to writing through a poet’s workshop run by Susan Ioannou out of the University of Toronto, a workshop that was revelatory for MacDonald. She took the workshop three times, then sought out guidance and community in other writing classes.

When MacDonald moved to Victoria for school a few years later, she connected with the poetry scene there and began going to regular readings, eventually landing a feature performance spot. In 1996, she won a chapbook competition, and her first full-length book of poetry, Holding Ground, was published in 2000.

In 2006, MacDonald joined the Department of English and Film Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University as a professor and taught academic courses.

“In about 2013…the department said that they wanted to offer more creative writing courses,” MacDonald said. “I said I would design a creative writing minor and concentration.”

Although MacDonald began her writing career as a poet, eventually she felt the pull of another form of written expression, creative nonfiction.

“I had a very long apprenticeship in poetry,” MacDonald said. “Then in scholarly writing. And…the creative nonfiction came together when I thought, ‘Isn’t there some place that these two discourses meet in the middle?’”

The place they met provided material for two books of essays: Out Of Line: Daring to Be an Artist Outside the Big City, published in 2018, and Straggle: Adventures in Walking While Female, published in 2022.

“I think a lot about my place in the world,” MacDonald said. “My literal space that I take up, and what happens when you pass through a space and do it repeatedly.”

For MacDonald, community is at the core of her writing practice. From the beginning MacDonald has sought out the company

of other writers, joining and forming writing groups with diverse memberships to give and receive feedback.

“It’s not enough to say it’s good,” MacDonald said. “You have to
say what you like, because that’s how people know what to keep and what to change…what can I pull off…how can we break this apart…what’s risky and what isn’t.”

The trail offered us community as well, signs of the people nearby that MacDonald was quick to notice. A birdhouse in the tree. A bridge made from slabs of stone to allow for a dry crossing. And the community art project Squeak the Sneak; a serpent made of painted rocks that anyone could contribute to.

Walking has provided more than inspiration and a sense of place for MacDonald. It also provided healing assistance when she struggled with mental health challenges during the pandemic.

“[My doctor] prescribed me some medication, and she
also prescribed me a walk,” MacDonald said. “It was mainly to understand that I was not living in a bubble where I would die. I was living in a much broader universe.”

This September, MacDonald will not be heading back to the university classroom to teach. She retired on July 1, and in addition to multiple writing projects, including a full-length book of poetry titled Tall, Grass, Girl, coming out next year, MacDonald is branching out artistically.

She has been taking classes at the Button Factory in painting and linocut. She is looking to expand her bird watching and

is working on ideas for a new podcast. And she will continue to walk the trails of Waterloo Region, paying careful attention to the weird bits.

#birdhouseInTheTree #ButtonFactory #Column #linocut #LocalArt #LocalArtist #manitoba #outOfLineDaringToBeAnArtistOutsideTheBigCity #serpantPaintedRocks #squeakTheSneak #StraggleAdventuresInWalkingWhileFemale #tallGrassGirl #TanisMacDonald #transCanadaTrail #walkInThePark #waterlooRegion

A Walk on the Benjamin Park Trans Canada Trail with Tanis MacDonald 

My walk with poet, essayist and newly retired English professor Tanis MacDonald was a masterclass in paying attention to details and place. When I arrived at the Benjamin Park section of the Trans Canada Trail, MacDonald already had something to show me.

“Look,” MacDonald said. “Bug sex. I thought it was one, but it’s two.”

On the green leaf attached to a fence were indeed two beetles with red markings, working to ensure the propagation of their species.

Setting out on this trail where MacDonald promised to show me all the “weird bits,” we spotted bees, the elegant curl of a vine and an unexpected cluster of mushrooms worthy of photographing.

“I like to get outside and walk around and look at shit,” MacDonald said. “[Walking is] a good art practice. Because you have to practice noticing.”

She grew up on the prairies in Manitoba, where she walked regularly with her mother.
The habit continued when MacDonald was a student in Toronto as she often saved the transit fare and chose to walk instead. Walking provided cheap entertainment and became a tool to get to know a place and inspire creativity.

“I didn’t do a degree in Creative Writing,” MacDonald said. “There was no such thing when I was an undergrad.”

She found her way to writing through a poet’s workshop run by Susan Ioannou out of the University of Toronto, a workshop that was revelatory for MacDonald. She took the workshop three times, then sought out guidance and community in other writing classes.

When MacDonald moved to Victoria for school a few years later, she connected with the poetry scene there and began going to regular readings, eventually landing a feature performance spot. In 1996, she won a chapbook competition, and her first full-length book of poetry, Holding Ground, was published in 2000.

In 2006, MacDonald joined the Department of English and Film Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University as a professor and taught academic courses.

“In about 2013…the department said that they wanted to offer more creative writing courses,” MacDonald said. “I said I would design a creative writing minor and concentration.”

Although MacDonald began her writing career as a poet, eventually she felt the pull of another form of written expression, creative nonfiction.

“I had a very long apprenticeship in poetry,” MacDonald said. “Then in scholarly writing. And…the creative nonfiction came together when I thought, ‘Isn’t there some place that these two discourses meet in the middle?’”

The place they met provided material for two books of essays: Out Of Line: Daring to Be an Artist Outside the Big City, published in 2018, and Straggle: Adventures in Walking While Female, published in 2022.

“I think a lot about my place in the world,” MacDonald said. “My literal space that I take up, and what happens when you pass through a space and do it repeatedly.”

For MacDonald, community is at the core of her writing practice. From the beginning MacDonald has sought out the company

of other writers, joining and forming writing groups with diverse memberships to give and receive feedback.

“It’s not enough to say it’s good,” MacDonald said. “You have to
say what you like, because that’s how people know what to keep and what to change…what can I pull off…how can we break this apart…what’s risky and what isn’t.”

The trail offered us community as well, signs of the people nearby that MacDonald was quick to notice. A birdhouse in the tree. A bridge made from slabs of stone to allow for a dry crossing. And the community art project Squeak the Sneak; a serpent made of painted rocks that anyone could contribute to.

Walking has provided more than inspiration and a sense of place for MacDonald. It also provided healing assistance when she struggled with mental health challenges during the pandemic.

“[My doctor] prescribed me some medication, and she
also prescribed me a walk,” MacDonald said. “It was mainly to understand that I was not living in a bubble where I would die. I was living in a much broader universe.”

This September, MacDonald will not be heading back to the university classroom to teach. She retired on July 1, and in addition to multiple writing projects, including a full-length book of poetry titled Tall, Grass, Girl, coming out next year, MacDonald is branching out artistically.

She has been taking classes at the Button Factory in painting and linocut. She is looking to expand her bird watching and

is working on ideas for a new podcast. And she will continue to walk the trails of Waterloo Region, paying careful attention to the weird bits.

#birdhouseInTheTree #ButtonFactory #Column #linocut #LocalArt #LocalArtist #manitoba #outOfLineDaringToBeAnArtistOutsideTheBigCity #serpantPaintedRocks #squeakTheSneak #StraggleAdventuresInWalkingWhileFemale #tallGrassGirl #TanisMacDonald #transCanadaTrail #walkInThePark #waterlooRegion

A Walk on the Benjamin Park Trans Canada Trail with Tanis MacDonald 

My walk with poet, essayist and newly retired English professor Tanis MacDonald was a masterclass in paying attention to details and place. When I arrived at the Benjamin Park section of the Trans Canada Trail, MacDonald already had something to show me.

“Look,” MacDonald said. “Bug sex. I thought it was one, but it’s two.”

On the green leaf attached to a fence were indeed two beetles with red markings, working to ensure the propagation of their species.

Setting out on this trail where MacDonald promised to show me all the “weird bits,” we spotted bees, the elegant curl of a vine and an unexpected cluster of mushrooms worthy of photographing.

“I like to get outside and walk around and look at shit,” MacDonald said. “[Walking is] a good art practice. Because you have to practice noticing.”

She grew up on the prairies in Manitoba, where she walked regularly with her mother.
The habit continued when MacDonald was a student in Toronto as she often saved the transit fare and chose to walk instead. Walking provided cheap entertainment and became a tool to get to know a place and inspire creativity.

“I didn’t do a degree in Creative Writing,” MacDonald said. “There was no such thing when I was an undergrad.”

She found her way to writing through a poet’s workshop run by Susan Ioannou out of the University of Toronto, a workshop that was revelatory for MacDonald. She took the workshop three times, then sought out guidance and community in other writing classes.

When MacDonald moved to Victoria for school a few years later, she connected with the poetry scene there and began going to regular readings, eventually landing a feature performance spot. In 1996, she won a chapbook competition, and her first full-length book of poetry, Holding Ground, was published in 2000.

In 2006, MacDonald joined the Department of English and Film Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University as a professor and taught academic courses.

“In about 2013…the department said that they wanted to offer more creative writing courses,” MacDonald said. “I said I would design a creative writing minor and concentration.”

Although MacDonald began her writing career as a poet, eventually she felt the pull of another form of written expression, creative nonfiction.

“I had a very long apprenticeship in poetry,” MacDonald said. “Then in scholarly writing. And…the creative nonfiction came together when I thought, ‘Isn’t there some place that these two discourses meet in the middle?’”

The place they met provided material for two books of essays: Out Of Line: Daring to Be an Artist Outside the Big City, published in 2018, and Straggle: Adventures in Walking While Female, published in 2022.

“I think a lot about my place in the world,” MacDonald said. “My literal space that I take up, and what happens when you pass through a space and do it repeatedly.”

For MacDonald, community is at the core of her writing practice. From the beginning MacDonald has sought out the company

of other writers, joining and forming writing groups with diverse memberships to give and receive feedback.

“It’s not enough to say it’s good,” MacDonald said. “You have to
say what you like, because that’s how people know what to keep and what to change…what can I pull off…how can we break this apart…what’s risky and what isn’t.”

The trail offered us community as well, signs of the people nearby that MacDonald was quick to notice. A birdhouse in the tree. A bridge made from slabs of stone to allow for a dry crossing. And the community art project Squeak the Sneak; a serpent made of painted rocks that anyone could contribute to.

Walking has provided more than inspiration and a sense of place for MacDonald. It also provided healing assistance when she struggled with mental health challenges during the pandemic.

“[My doctor] prescribed me some medication, and she
also prescribed me a walk,” MacDonald said. “It was mainly to understand that I was not living in a bubble where I would die. I was living in a much broader universe.”

This September, MacDonald will not be heading back to the university classroom to teach. She retired on July 1, and in addition to multiple writing projects, including a full-length book of poetry titled Tall, Grass, Girl, coming out next year, MacDonald is branching out artistically.

She has been taking classes at the Button Factory in painting and linocut. She is looking to expand her bird watching and

is working on ideas for a new podcast. And she will continue to walk the trails of Waterloo Region, paying careful attention to the weird bits.

#birdhouseInTheTree #ButtonFactory #Column #linocut #LocalArt #LocalArtist #manitoba #outOfLineDaringToBeAnArtistOutsideTheBigCity #serpantPaintedRocks #squeakTheSneak #StraggleAdventuresInWalkingWhileFemale #tallGrassGirl #TanisMacDonald #transCanadaTrail #walkInThePark #waterlooRegion

A Walk on the Benjamin Park Trans Canada Trail with Tanis MacDonald 

My walk with poet, essayist and newly retired English professor Tanis MacDonald was a masterclass in paying attention to details and place. When I arrived at the Benjamin Park section of the Trans Canada Trail, MacDonald already had something to show me.

“Look,” MacDonald said. “Bug sex. I thought it was one, but it’s two.”

On the green leaf attached to a fence were indeed two beetles with red markings, working to ensure the propagation of their species.

Setting out on this trail where MacDonald promised to show me all the “weird bits,” we spotted bees, the elegant curl of a vine and an unexpected cluster of mushrooms worthy of photographing.

“I like to get outside and walk around and look at shit,” MacDonald said. “[Walking is] a good art practice. Because you have to practice noticing.”

She grew up on the prairies in Manitoba, where she walked regularly with her mother.
The habit continued when MacDonald was a student in Toronto as she often saved the transit fare and chose to walk instead. Walking provided cheap entertainment and became a tool to get to know a place and inspire creativity.

“I didn’t do a degree in Creative Writing,” MacDonald said. “There was no such thing when I was an undergrad.”

She found her way to writing through a poet’s workshop run by Susan Ioannou out of the University of Toronto, a workshop that was revelatory for MacDonald. She took the workshop three times, then sought out guidance and community in other writing classes.

When MacDonald moved to Victoria for school a few years later, she connected with the poetry scene there and began going to regular readings, eventually landing a feature performance spot. In 1996, she won a chapbook competition, and her first full-length book of poetry, Holding Ground, was published in 2000.

In 2006, MacDonald joined the Department of English and Film Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University as a professor and taught academic courses.

“In about 2013…the department said that they wanted to offer more creative writing courses,” MacDonald said. “I said I would design a creative writing minor and concentration.”

Although MacDonald began her writing career as a poet, eventually she felt the pull of another form of written expression, creative nonfiction.

“I had a very long apprenticeship in poetry,” MacDonald said. “Then in scholarly writing. And…the creative nonfiction came together when I thought, ‘Isn’t there some place that these two discourses meet in the middle?’”

The place they met provided material for two books of essays: Out Of Line: Daring to Be an Artist Outside the Big City, published in 2018, and Straggle: Adventures in Walking While Female, published in 2022.

“I think a lot about my place in the world,” MacDonald said. “My literal space that I take up, and what happens when you pass through a space and do it repeatedly.”

For MacDonald, community is at the core of her writing practice. From the beginning MacDonald has sought out the company

of other writers, joining and forming writing groups with diverse memberships to give and receive feedback.

“It’s not enough to say it’s good,” MacDonald said. “You have to
say what you like, because that’s how people know what to keep and what to change…what can I pull off…how can we break this apart…what’s risky and what isn’t.”

The trail offered us community as well, signs of the people nearby that MacDonald was quick to notice. A birdhouse in the tree. A bridge made from slabs of stone to allow for a dry crossing. And the community art project Squeak the Sneak; a serpent made of painted rocks that anyone could contribute to.

Walking has provided more than inspiration and a sense of place for MacDonald. It also provided healing assistance when she struggled with mental health challenges during the pandemic.

“[My doctor] prescribed me some medication, and she
also prescribed me a walk,” MacDonald said. “It was mainly to understand that I was not living in a bubble where I would die. I was living in a much broader universe.”

This September, MacDonald will not be heading back to the university classroom to teach. She retired on July 1, and in addition to multiple writing projects, including a full-length book of poetry titled Tall, Grass, Girl, coming out next year, MacDonald is branching out artistically.

She has been taking classes at the Button Factory in painting and linocut. She is looking to expand her bird watching and

is working on ideas for a new podcast. And she will continue to walk the trails of Waterloo Region, paying careful attention to the weird bits.

#birdhouseInTheTree #ButtonFactory #Column #linocut #LocalArt #LocalArtist #manitoba #outOfLineDaringToBeAnArtistOutsideTheBigCity #serpantPaintedRocks #squeakTheSneak #StraggleAdventuresInWalkingWhileFemale #tallGrassGirl #TanisMacDonald #transCanadaTrail #walkInThePark #waterlooRegion

🎨 Announcement Alert! 🎨

I’m excited to share that two of my paintings have been selected to be part of the upcoming Open Exhibition at Open Gallery in their brand new gallery space at Broad Street Plaza, Halifax!

🗓 Exhibition Dates: 11th – 28th June 2025
🎉 Preview Evening: Tuesday 11th June, 5–7pm

#OpenExhibition #OpenGalleryHalifax #ArtExhibition #HalifaxArt #LocalArtist #Painting #ArtShow #westyorkshire #halifax

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/bernie-sanders-u-s-now-a-pseudo-democracy/
https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/core-spokes-radial-david-manlove.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/greenlanders-respond-to-trump-it-will-never-be-for-sale/
https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/archies-sun-david-manlove.html
#CBSsundaymorningsun #artistonCBS #CBSsundaymorning #CBSnews #sunart #radialart #digitalart #localartist #davidmanloveart #WCCO

Last Chance to See My Photography Exhibit at Roast Coffee Company!

The clock is ticking! My photography exhibit at Roast Coffee Company is coming to a close this Friday, January 31st. If you haven’t had the chance to stop by—or if you’d love to see the collection one last time—this is your moment.

I’ll be at Roast from 3:30-ish to 6 PM to meet, chat, and share the stories behind the art. And here’s the secret: there will be exclusive specials, but only if you’re there in person. 😉

Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to experience the art in person, enjoy some great coffee, and maybe even take home a piece of the collection before it’s gone for good.

📍 Roast Coffee Company
2132 E Locust St, Milwaukee, WI 53211
🗓 Friday, January 31st
⏰ 3:30ish - 6 PM

P.S. Be sure to tell your friends and bring them along. Who knows what surprises await?

#PhotographyExhibit #MilwaukeeArt #LocalArtist #ArtShow #FineArtPhotography #SupportLocalArtists #Landscapes #RoastCoffeeCompany #DiscoverArt #ArtCollectors #VisitMilwaukee #ArtAndCoffee

2 Suns today on CBS Sunday Morning 01/05/2025!!
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/how-oaklands-creative-growth-enabled-generations-of-artists/
https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/energy-output-david-manlove.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/adrien-brody-on-the-brutalist/
https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/metallic-dance-david-manlove.html
Happy New Year!
#CBSsundaymorningsun #artistonCBS #CBSsundaymorning #CBSnews #sunart #radialart #digitalart #localartist #davidmanloveart #WCCO

Appearing today on CBS Sunday Morning 12/15/2024!

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/how-theater-can-break-the-cycle-of-incarceration/

https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/core-spokes-radial-david-manlove.html

#CBSsundaymorningsun #artistonCBS #CBSsundaymorning #CBSnews #sunart #radialart #digitalart #localartist #davidmanloveart #WCCO

Appearing today on CBS Sunday Morning 12/08/2024!

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/billie-eilish-on-what-shes-found-liberating/

https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/2-candle-power-david-manlove.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/reporting-the-tragedy-of-the-1972-munich-olympics/

https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/flir2r-david-manlove.html

As always, my thanks and gratitude.

#CBSsundaymorningsun #artistonCBS #CBSsundaymorning #CBSnews #sunart #radialart #digitalart #localartist #davidmanloveart #WCCO

WATERLOO’S COMEDY STAR, ASHWYN SINGH

Ashwyn Singh’s Oct.19, 2024 show at Den 1880 in Uptown Waterloo was a bit of a homecoming for the Toronto based comedian. 

Originally from New Delhi, India, Singh attended the University of Waterloo, where he earned a degree in computer science before switching careers to comedy.

Singh came from New Delhi India to attend the University of Waterloo. He earned a degree in computer science before making a switch to comedy. Singh has received praise across Canada for his Audacity comedy tour, including that of fellow Canadian comic Howie Mandel. 

“You deserve a huge career beyond being a local Canadian comic. I think you’re next,” said the Canada’s Got Talent judge after Singh’s audition on the show’s Apr. 27, 2024, episode. 

Singh’s tour wraps up later this year, but he is not taking time off. His next tour starts in Toronto on Nov. 22, 2024, and across Canada, Europe and India in 2025. 

“I start with a show in Toronto before I go on tour, and then I end with one in Toronto when the tour ends because it feels like home. Then December is a big experiment. So, I’m going to go to London, Amsterdam and Dubai,” he said. 

Singh builds his comedy around his experiences of immigrating to Canada, attending university and becoming a permanent resident. He does not change the material based on where he is performing. Instead, he likes to see how different people react to his comedy.  

“I feel like we are all one people. We all have the same sensibility. Of course, there will be just a few things because the cultures differ,” Singh said. 

While Singh calls Toronto home now, he said his experiences in Waterloo significantly shaped his comedy. His friends here included future Good Co. Productions founder Amit Mehta and Jazz Room sound engineer Jeremy Bernard. 

“I used to sneak into the Jazz Room because Jeremy was usually doing sound. I would sit next to him at the sound board, and when I graduated three years later, the Jazz Room was the first place I headlined a show,” he said. 

A career change from computer science to comedy might seem dramatic for most people. But for Singh, computer science and comedy both require a core understanding of how logic works, whether in a computer processor or a comedy club. 

“Everything you do prepares you for everything you’re going to do. Computer science is essentially the study of logic and mathematics. It’s very A plus B. That math is reflected in art as well. Comedy has a rhythm. It might not have a melody, it might not have harmony, but there is a rhythm. There is a beat,” he said. 

For Singh, that logical flow of comedy writing helps him reflect on what he experienced. He said each show follows the same evolution from raw experiences to laugh-inducing stories with twists, turns, and humor for his audiences.  

Singh compared joke writing to keeping a journal where you make an entry the moment something annoying or angering happens to you. He said writing at that moment captures pure emotion, but it often does not make sense when you reread it later. 

“You have something raw and truthful but don’t know exactly what you were trying to say. Then you read it again,” he said.    “[…] slowly, the idea becomes more complete. You get to edit out the parts of your emotion that are too incendiary and add humour. You get to zoom out a little bit, so the finished sculpted product often has a very different feeling or says something very different than what you began with,” Singh said.

Building his sets this way can often change the intention of the original joke.  

“Sometimes it’s true to the initial intention, and then sometimes it has changed into something so drastically different from what you began with that you don’t even like it anymore. One thing I know for sure is that at the end, the hour is far funnier than it was at the beginning, and that is the one of the goals of the tour.” 

You can experience Singh’s comedy when he returns to Waterloo in March 2025. Visit www.ashwyn.me to sign up for tour updates.

#AlexKinsella #AshwynSingh #CanadaSGotTalent #comedy #ComedyTour #Delhi #HowieMandel #India #LocalArtist #localComedian #RamyArida #universityOfWaterloo #UniversityOfWaterlooAlumni

WATERLOO’S COMEDY STAR, ASHWYN SINGH

Ashwyn Singh’s Oct.19, 2024 show at Den 1880 in Uptown Waterloo was a bit of a homecoming for the Toronto based comedian. 

Originally from New Delhi, India, Singh attended the University of Waterloo, where he earned a degree in computer science before switching careers to comedy.

Singh came from New Delhi India to attend the University of Waterloo. He earned a degree in computer science before making a switch to comedy. Singh has received praise across Canada for his Audacity comedy tour, including that of fellow Canadian comic Howie Mandel. 

“You deserve a huge career beyond being a local Canadian comic. I think you’re next,” said the Canada’s Got Talent judge after Singh’s audition on the show’s Apr. 27, 2024, episode. 

Singh’s tour wraps up later this year, but he is not taking time off. His next tour starts in Toronto on Nov. 22, 2024, and across Canada, Europe and India in 2025. 

“I start with a show in Toronto before I go on tour, and then I end with one in Toronto when the tour ends because it feels like home. Then December is a big experiment. So, I’m going to go to London, Amsterdam and Dubai,” he said. 

Singh builds his comedy around his experiences of immigrating to Canada, attending university and becoming a permanent resident. He does not change the material based on where he is performing. Instead, he likes to see how different people react to his comedy.  

“I feel like we are all one people. We all have the same sensibility. Of course, there will be just a few things because the cultures differ,” Singh said. 

While Singh calls Toronto home now, he said his experiences in Waterloo significantly shaped his comedy. His friends here included future Good Co. Productions founder Amit Mehta and Jazz Room sound engineer Jeremy Bernard. 

“I used to sneak into the Jazz Room because Jeremy was usually doing sound. I would sit next to him at the sound board, and when I graduated three years later, the Jazz Room was the first place I headlined a show,” he said. 

A career change from computer science to comedy might seem dramatic for most people. But for Singh, computer science and comedy both require a core understanding of how logic works, whether in a computer processor or a comedy club. 

“Everything you do prepares you for everything you’re going to do. Computer science is essentially the study of logic and mathematics. It’s very A plus B. That math is reflected in art as well. Comedy has a rhythm. It might not have a melody, it might not have harmony, but there is a rhythm. There is a beat,” he said. 

For Singh, that logical flow of comedy writing helps him reflect on what he experienced. He said each show follows the same evolution from raw experiences to laugh-inducing stories with twists, turns, and humor for his audiences.  

Singh compared joke writing to keeping a journal where you make an entry the moment something annoying or angering happens to you. He said writing at that moment captures pure emotion, but it often does not make sense when you reread it later. 

“You have something raw and truthful but don’t know exactly what you were trying to say. Then you read it again,” he said.    “[…] slowly, the idea becomes more complete. You get to edit out the parts of your emotion that are too incendiary and add humour. You get to zoom out a little bit, so the finished sculpted product often has a very different feeling or says something very different than what you began with,” Singh said.

Building his sets this way can often change the intention of the original joke.  

“Sometimes it’s true to the initial intention, and then sometimes it has changed into something so drastically different from what you began with that you don’t even like it anymore. One thing I know for sure is that at the end, the hour is far funnier than it was at the beginning, and that is the one of the goals of the tour.” 

You can experience Singh’s comedy when he returns to Waterloo in March 2025. Visit www.ashwyn.me to sign up for tour updates.

#AlexKinsella #AshwynSingh #CanadaSGotTalent #comedy #ComedyTour #Delhi #HowieMandel #India #LocalArtist #localComedian #RamyArida #universityOfWaterloo #UniversityOfWaterlooAlumni

WATERLOO’S COMEDY STAR, ASHWYN SINGH

Ashwyn Singh’s Oct.19, 2024 show at Den 1880 in Uptown Waterloo was a bit of a homecoming for the Toronto based comedian. 

Originally from New Delhi, India, Singh attended the University of Waterloo, where he earned a degree in computer science before switching careers to comedy.

Singh came from New Delhi India to attend the University of Waterloo. He earned a degree in computer science before making a switch to comedy. Singh has received praise across Canada for his Audacity comedy tour, including that of fellow Canadian comic Howie Mandel. 

“You deserve a huge career beyond being a local Canadian comic. I think you’re next,” said the Canada’s Got Talent judge after Singh’s audition on the show’s Apr. 27, 2024, episode. 

Singh’s tour wraps up later this year, but he is not taking time off. His next tour starts in Toronto on Nov. 22, 2024, and across Canada, Europe and India in 2025. 

“I start with a show in Toronto before I go on tour, and then I end with one in Toronto when the tour ends because it feels like home. Then December is a big experiment. So, I’m going to go to London, Amsterdam and Dubai,” he said. 

Singh builds his comedy around his experiences of immigrating to Canada, attending university and becoming a permanent resident. He does not change the material based on where he is performing. Instead, he likes to see how different people react to his comedy.  

“I feel like we are all one people. We all have the same sensibility. Of course, there will be just a few things because the cultures differ,” Singh said. 

While Singh calls Toronto home now, he said his experiences in Waterloo significantly shaped his comedy. His friends here included future Good Co. Productions founder Amit Mehta and Jazz Room sound engineer Jeremy Bernard. 

“I used to sneak into the Jazz Room because Jeremy was usually doing sound. I would sit next to him at the sound board, and when I graduated three years later, the Jazz Room was the first place I headlined a show,” he said. 

A career change from computer science to comedy might seem dramatic for most people. But for Singh, computer science and comedy both require a core understanding of how logic works, whether in a computer processor or a comedy club. 

“Everything you do prepares you for everything you’re going to do. Computer science is essentially the study of logic and mathematics. It’s very A plus B. That math is reflected in art as well. Comedy has a rhythm. It might not have a melody, it might not have harmony, but there is a rhythm. There is a beat,” he said. 

For Singh, that logical flow of comedy writing helps him reflect on what he experienced. He said each show follows the same evolution from raw experiences to laugh-inducing stories with twists, turns, and humor for his audiences.  

Singh compared joke writing to keeping a journal where you make an entry the moment something annoying or angering happens to you. He said writing at that moment captures pure emotion, but it often does not make sense when you reread it later. 

“You have something raw and truthful but don’t know exactly what you were trying to say. Then you read it again,” he said.    “[…] slowly, the idea becomes more complete. You get to edit out the parts of your emotion that are too incendiary and add humour. You get to zoom out a little bit, so the finished sculpted product often has a very different feeling or says something very different than what you began with,” Singh said.

Building his sets this way can often change the intention of the original joke.  

“Sometimes it’s true to the initial intention, and then sometimes it has changed into something so drastically different from what you began with that you don’t even like it anymore. One thing I know for sure is that at the end, the hour is far funnier than it was at the beginning, and that is the one of the goals of the tour.” 

You can experience Singh’s comedy when he returns to Waterloo in March 2025. Visit www.ashwyn.me to sign up for tour updates.

#AlexKinsella #AshwynSingh #CanadaSGotTalent #comedy #ComedyTour #Delhi #HowieMandel #India #LocalArtist #localComedian #RamyArida #universityOfWaterloo #UniversityOfWaterlooAlumni

WATERLOO’S COMEDY STAR, ASHWYN SINGH

Ashwyn Singh’s Oct.19, 2024 show at Den 1880 in Uptown Waterloo was a bit of a homecoming for the Toronto based comedian. 

Originally from New Delhi, India, Singh attended the University of Waterloo, where he earned a degree in computer science before switching careers to comedy.

Singh came from New Delhi India to attend the University of Waterloo. He earned a degree in computer science before making a switch to comedy. Singh has received praise across Canada for his Audacity comedy tour, including that of fellow Canadian comic Howie Mandel. 

“You deserve a huge career beyond being a local Canadian comic. I think you’re next,” said the Canada’s Got Talent judge after Singh’s audition on the show’s Apr. 27, 2024, episode. 

Singh’s tour wraps up later this year, but he is not taking time off. His next tour starts in Toronto on Nov. 22, 2024, and across Canada, Europe and India in 2025. 

“I start with a show in Toronto before I go on tour, and then I end with one in Toronto when the tour ends because it feels like home. Then December is a big experiment. So, I’m going to go to London, Amsterdam and Dubai,” he said. 

Singh builds his comedy around his experiences of immigrating to Canada, attending university and becoming a permanent resident. He does not change the material based on where he is performing. Instead, he likes to see how different people react to his comedy.  

“I feel like we are all one people. We all have the same sensibility. Of course, there will be just a few things because the cultures differ,” Singh said. 

While Singh calls Toronto home now, he said his experiences in Waterloo significantly shaped his comedy. His friends here included future Good Co. Productions founder Amit Mehta and Jazz Room sound engineer Jeremy Bernard. 

“I used to sneak into the Jazz Room because Jeremy was usually doing sound. I would sit next to him at the sound board, and when I graduated three years later, the Jazz Room was the first place I headlined a show,” he said. 

A career change from computer science to comedy might seem dramatic for most people. But for Singh, computer science and comedy both require a core understanding of how logic works, whether in a computer processor or a comedy club. 

“Everything you do prepares you for everything you’re going to do. Computer science is essentially the study of logic and mathematics. It’s very A plus B. That math is reflected in art as well. Comedy has a rhythm. It might not have a melody, it might not have harmony, but there is a rhythm. There is a beat,” he said. 

For Singh, that logical flow of comedy writing helps him reflect on what he experienced. He said each show follows the same evolution from raw experiences to laugh-inducing stories with twists, turns, and humor for his audiences.  

Singh compared joke writing to keeping a journal where you make an entry the moment something annoying or angering happens to you. He said writing at that moment captures pure emotion, but it often does not make sense when you reread it later. 

“You have something raw and truthful but don’t know exactly what you were trying to say. Then you read it again,” he said.    “[…] slowly, the idea becomes more complete. You get to edit out the parts of your emotion that are too incendiary and add humour. You get to zoom out a little bit, so the finished sculpted product often has a very different feeling or says something very different than what you began with,” Singh said.

Building his sets this way can often change the intention of the original joke.  

“Sometimes it’s true to the initial intention, and then sometimes it has changed into something so drastically different from what you began with that you don’t even like it anymore. One thing I know for sure is that at the end, the hour is far funnier than it was at the beginning, and that is the one of the goals of the tour.” 

You can experience Singh’s comedy when he returns to Waterloo in March 2025. Visit www.ashwyn.me to sign up for tour updates.

#AlexKinsella #AshwynSingh #CanadaSGotTalent #comedy #ComedyTour #Delhi #HowieMandel #India #LocalArtist #localComedian #RamyArida #universityOfWaterloo #UniversityOfWaterlooAlumni

11/10/2024

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/looking-ahead-after-a-trump-victory/

https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/flying-flag-sun-david-manlove.html

#CBSsundaymorningsun #artistonCBS #CBSsundaymorning #CBSnews #sunart #radialart #digitalart #localartist #davidmanloveart #WCCO

Thank you CBS Sunday Morning for debuting this Sun on 11/03/2024!

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/the-captivating-charm-of-kieran-culkin/

https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/cbs-sunday-morning-sun-11-03-2024-david-manlove.html

#CBSsundaymorningsun #artistonCBS #CBSsundaymorning #CBSnews #sunart #radialart #digitalart #localartist #davidmanloveart #WCCO

Thank you CBS Sunday Morning for showing 2 of my Suns on 10/13/2024!

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/al-pacino-on-becoming-al-pacino/

https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/1-gemstone-paradise-david-manlove.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/preserving-palm-springs-modernism/

https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/white-star-david-manlove.html

#CBSsundaymorningsun #artistonCBS #CBSsundaymorning #CBSnews #sunart #radialart #digitalart #localartist #davidmanloveart #WCCO

Thank you CBS Sunday Morning for showing my Sun following the graphic about the damage from Hurricane Helene - 10/06/2024!

https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/sea-coral-3-david-manlove.html

#CBSsundaymorningsun #artistonCBS #CBSsundaymorning #CBSnews #sunart #radialart #digitalart #localartist #davidmanloveart #WCCO

Thank you CBS Sunday Morning for showing my Sun today 09/29/2024!

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/terror-expert-leadership-of-hezbollah-has-been-decapitated/

https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/rural-radial-sun-david-manlove.html

#CBSsundaymorningsun #artistonCBS #CBSsundaymorning #CBSnews #sunart #radialart #digitalart #localartist #davidmanloveart #WCCO

Thank you CBS Sunday Morning for showing my Sun today 09/22/2024!

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/demi-moore-an-actress-of-substance/

https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/pinot-noir-david-manlove.html

#CBSsundaymorningsun #artistonCBS #CBSsundaymorning #CBSnews #sunart #radialart #digitalart #localartist #davidmanloveart #WCCO

Get ready to discover a new indie artist with our latest playlist: Bobby Ray. His debut album, "It's Not the Years It's the Mileage," is a must-listen for fans of raw, authentic music. Bobby Ray is a Cleveland-based artist whose music blends elements of indie rock, blues, and soul. His songs are personal and introspective, exploring themes of love, loss, and self-discovery.

https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/f0388ca7-0b40-487f-ab51-c9de8321a2e6

#IndieWednesday #Playlist #MusicWednesday #BobbyRay #IndieMusic #LocalArtist

Thank you CBS Sunday Morning for showing my Suns today 09/15/2024!

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/as-measles-cases-increase-experts-warn-against-vaccine-skepticism/

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/the-return-of-ll-cool-j-the-rapper/

#CBSsundaymorningsun #artistonCBS #CBSsundaymorning #CBSnews #sunart #radialart #digitalart #localartist #davidmanloveart #WCCO

Thank you CBS Sunday Morning for showing 3 of my Suns today 08/25/2024!!!

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/electric-planes-the-future-of-aviation/
https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/metallic-sun-swirl-david-manlove.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/new-york-citys-92nd-street-y-at-150/
https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/energy-output-david-manlove.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/the-rolling-stones-on-life-music-and-loss/
https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/2-deco-sky-david-manlove.html

#CBSsundaymorningsun #artistonCBS #CBSsundaymorning #CBSnews #sunart #radialart #digitalart #localartist #davidmanloveart #WCCO

Scottish friends! It's less than a month til it's time again for Colobee 🐝 also known as Colony of Artists, your yearly art-fair extravaganza:

https://www.colonyofartists.co.uk

If you're in the area, mark your calendars for Sat 14 / Sun 15 of September ^__^

#JfmlArt #art #illustration #creative #FediArt #MastoArt #CreativeToots #ArtWithOpenSource #ArtistsOnMastodon #edinburgh #scotland #artfair #ShopLocal #LocalArtist #prints #postcard #sticker #nature #fantasy #birds #comics #ChildrensBook #colobee

Scottish friends! It's less than a month til it's time again for Colobee 🐝 also known as Colony of Artists, your yearly art-fair extravaganza:

https://www.colonyofartists.co.uk

If you're in the area, mark your calendars for Sat 14 / Sun 15 of September ^__^

#JfmlArt #art #illustration #creative #FediArt #MastoArt #CreativeToots #ArtWithOpenSource #ArtistsOnMastodon #edinburgh #scotland #artfair #ShopLocal #LocalArtist #prints #postcard #sticker #nature #fantasy #birds #comics #ChildrensBook #colobee

Scottish friends! It's less than a month til it's time again for Colobee 🐝 also known as Colony of Artists, your yearly art-fair extravaganza:

https://www.colonyofartists.co.uk

If you're in the area, mark your calendars for Sat 14 / Sun 15 of September ^__^

#JfmlArt #art #illustration #creative #FediArt #MastoArt #CreativeToots #ArtWithOpenSource #ArtistsOnMastodon #edinburgh #scotland #artfair #ShopLocal #LocalArtist #prints #postcard #sticker #nature #fantasy #birds #comics #ChildrensBook #colobee

Scottish friends! It's less than a month til it's time again for Colobee 🐝 also known as Colony of Artists, your yearly art-fair extravaganza:

https://www.colonyofartists.co.uk

If you're in the area, mark your calendars for Sat 14 / Sun 15 of September ^__^

#JfmlArt #art #illustration #creative #FediArt #MastoArt #CreativeToots #ArtWithOpenSource #ArtistsOnMastodon #edinburgh #scotland #artfair #ShopLocal #LocalArtist #prints #postcard #sticker #nature #fantasy #birds #comics #ChildrensBook #colobee

Scottish friends! It's less than a month til it's time again for Colobee 🐝 also known as Colony of Artists, your yearly art-fair extravaganza:

https://www.colonyofartists.co.uk

If you're in the area, mark your calendars for Sat 14 / Sun 15 of September ^__^

#JfmlArt #art #illustration #creative #FediArt #MastoArt #CreativeToots #ArtWithOpenSource #ArtistsOnMastodon #edinburgh #scotland #artfair #ShopLocal #LocalArtist #prints #postcard #sticker #nature #fantasy #birds #comics #ChildrensBook #colobee

Thank you CBS Sunday Morning for showing my Suns today 08/18/2024!!!

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/passage-in-memoriam-8-18-2024/
https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/sun-composite-david-manlove.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/h-r-mcmaster-on-13-months-working-for-trump/
https://davidmanloveart.com/featured/painted-feather-duster-david-manlove.html

#CBSsundaymorningsun #artistonCBS #CBSsundaymorning #CBSnews #sunart #radialart #digitalart #localartist #davidmanloveart #WCCO