Helen Lucas, an accomplished artist and humanitarian, passed away on November 27, 2023. Her legacy is one of kindness, grace, generosity, authenticity, and advocacy for the well-being of others. Born in 1931 in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, to Greek parents, Effie (Eftihia) and William Geatros, she grew up in Saskatoon and then attended the Ontario College of Art (1950-1954). Inspired by her mother’s flower gardens, always bursting with colour, Helen’s paintings featured intense colours and oversized shapes on large canvases. Surprisingly, they are intimate and approachable, inviting the viewer to enter Helen’s world of love and joy.
Hendrika Ono (Ria) was interested in all avenues of artistic expression. Hendrika, who passed away on November 30, 2022 after a lengthy battle with cancer, loved to learn and create with words, music or painting. She had an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Literature, Solo Performer Piano Royal Conservatory of Music degree, a Masters in Library Science and enjoyed continuing studies at the Ontario College of Art and Design. She was a versatile painter who had fun with every medium EXCEPT acrylics, and had a special love for oil paints. Hendrika’s capacity to see the beauty in the most unlikely objects was reflected in the vignettes carefully curated throughout her home.
Josée Savaria, cover artist for the Spring 2021 issue of MOSAiC, passed away on October 7, 2022 from complications related to Scleroderma, a rare auto-immune disease. Josée’s advice to artists looking to establish themselves, was to “Work, and work hard. Do not give up. Start over and work hard again; success takes time.”
Josée was one of eight artists invited to represent the Embassy of Canada in the Netherlands. She participated in the One of Kind Show for 20 years, was a regular at the Schomberg Street Gallery, McMichael Autumn Art Show and the Toronto Outdoor Art Show, and was a proud member of Arts Society King. Her mixed media paintings showed fanciful, playful depictions of a world that conveyed happiness and wonder.
Ed Bartram (passed away August 25, 2019), was one of Canada’s foremost painter/printmakers, had consistently found his source of inspiration to be the rugged northern landscape of the Precambrian Shield. Unlike his predecessors, such as the Group of Seven, Bartram explored contemporary techniques and influences to focus upon the abstract and dynamic elements in the landscape. With his innovative techniques, he effectively captured the powerful forces which were at work during the formation of Georgian Bay’s metamorphic bedrock.