Gertrude Létourneau
Flutist, Singer, Workshop Leader
Gertrude Létourneau is a flutist, singer, accompanist and music instructor at the Perley and Rideau Veterans' Health Centre in Ottawa since 2000.
Engaging audiences in music is a major focus for Gertrude Létourneau. Fluently bilingual, she has been presenting music-theatre performances across Canada, has taught children of all ages — including those with learning disabilities — and leads Artswell workshops on music-making for the elderly as well as a unique painting and music. Ms Létourneau, who has a music B.Mus. from the University of Ottawa and a Masters in performance at the University of Montreal, has been involved in innovative musical communication programs in Toronto and London, England, focusing on community music-making.
“To watch Gertrude Létourneau bring music to elderly people is to experience the nourishment of a parched flower. Faces and eyes light up. Mouths form the words from almost forgotten songs. Gertrude brings a vivacious and energetic spirit to her interchange with her audiences which is only one of the reasons why they love her.”
- Julia Foster Chair, National Arts Centre
“Apart from her versatile musical talents, Gertrude Létourneau has a very warm and likeable personality which shines through in her performances. The rapport she has with elderly people and the enjoyment they derive from her music is most noticeable, and obviously very meaningful and important to their well being.”
- Robert Murray, President, The Kiwanis Club of Sage of Ottawa.
Read more on Gertrude’s website: http://www.gertrudeletourneau.com
Fortunée Shugar
Raised in Montreal, artist Fortunée Shugar has spent a lifetime involved in the arts. With a love of visual art, she began her degree in Fine Arts at Sir George Williams University. Fortunée broadened her pursuit of artistic passions to other areas, from Haute Couture, to animation to commercial art, while raising her family.
Searching for relationships in colour and spontaneous expression in her interpretation of the world, Fortunée’s work is emotional and textured. Often there are strong narrative elements stemming from deeply felt personal beliefs and/or memories. In her semi-realistic, and/or semi-abstract work, Fortunée expresses and portrays human desires, hopes, passion and things ephemeral.
Fortunee facilitates Artwell's very successful Art on Mondays program at Granite Ridge.
Fortunée has exhibited her work in solo and group shows in many galleries and other public spaces . Her paintings are on display in private collections and institutions in Canada and abroad. She was highlighted in the May 2007 issue of Ottawa Life magazine. As well, she claims the cover of the book A Common Thread: A History of the Jews of Ottawa.
fortunee@rogers.com
www.fortuneeshugar.com
613-723-1270
Kris May (HBA, DATI)
Kris May is an art therapist/educator and artist who works with children, adolescents, adults, and individuals of all ages, developmental disabilities and restricted mobility.
She approaches the creative process with a mixture of interest in art, science, human development and spirituality. Her therapeutic orientation is considered “eclectic” which varies depending on the needs of the clients. With post-graduate degree credentials, Kris is trained to work with many different types of individuals in a variety of settings, including facilities that serve persons diagnosed with physical or developmental disabilities and/or Autism Spectrum disorder. She has worked successfully with individuals who are hard of hearing, have low vision or are confined to wheelchairs.
Dedicated to the links between the arts and well being, Kris brings experience in a wide variety of areas working with children with learning difficulties and ADHD, with the elderly suffering from various degrees of depression and dementia, women suffering with an eating disorder, PTSD, addictions and with parents and children in creativity workshops.
Kris carries strong qualifications. She has an honours degree in Visual Arts and has completed her course work and internships at The Toronto Art Therapy Institute's graduate level program.
Janice Mah
Janice Mah has been musically involved with the piano and violin since the age of 5 in Lethbridge, Alberta. She has studied with David Stewart at the University of Ottawa and graduated in 2003. In the past, she has collaborated with other violinists such as Paule Prefontaine, and Andrew Dawes. She has performed as soloist with the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra and has toured with L’Orchestre de la Francophonie Canadienne. Janice has had the opportunity to perform for noteable dignitaries such as our Governor General Michel Jean, past Governor General Adrienne Clarkson and the Prince and Princess of the Netherlands through her affiliations with the Perley Rideau Veteran's Health Centre. Ms.
Mah has lived in Ottawa for the past 9 years working as a teacher of violin and piano and an occasional performer around Ottawa with pianist Catherine Donkin and other fellow musicians. She has also been involved with the PRVHC as a music educator, where she has been able to share her love of music with the Veterans residing in the facility.
Janice’s involvement with various Artswell projects over the past few years has renewed her interest in making music fun, accessible and interactive for everyone involved!
Beth Ross
Visual Artist, Textile Designer, and Performance Artist
Beth Ross has a broad reputation as artist and educator. A fine arts graduate from Sheridan School of Design, she has exhibited across Ontario and Quebec in artistic areas from tapestry to printmaking to performance art. Beth, who leads painting and music workshops and special projects for Artswell, also works with seniors at the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre. Experienced with Alzheimer patients, she is responsible for resident painting and horticulture programs. She has run several projects for enriching the art experience for children in schools under the Artsmarts grant program and was intimately involved in the Art With Heart, Paper Prayers project in conjunction with the Museum of Civilization. Beth recently returned from Tanzania where she was engaged with several related workshops for local children and women’s groups while volunteering with CACHA to assist in one of their frequent medical missions to the area.
Jennifer Ryder-Jones
Multi Media Artist and Mask Maker
Jennifer Ryder-Jones has a passion for innovation, for teaching and for promoting an understanding the power of the arts in healing and well being. She carries a reputation for innovative ways, including the mold-making technique she developed for replication of native masks for the Museum of Civilization. She is a widely experienced educator, having taught in a variety of settings including the Ottawa School of Art, the Nepean Visual Arts Centre, for the Alzheimer's Society, Algonquin College and the Ottawa Board of Education. She also co-ordinates workshops and sculpture, clay and paper classes at the Perley and Rideau Veterans' Health Care Centre in Ottawa.
Cheryl Jones
Associate Artist
Cheryl Jones, MMT, NMT-F, holds her Bachelor of Arts in Music from Crandall University and her Masters of Music Therapy from Wilfrid Laurier University with a focus on Music-Centered Psycho-therapy. She has further training in Neurologic Music Therapy from Colorado State University. Cheryl is a Fellow of the Robert F. Unkefer Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy and is a member of the International Society of Clinical Neuromusicology. She has been an invited speaker at various music therapy conferences, both national and international, and at workshops. She is also a researcher for Laurier's Center for Music Therapy Research. Cheryl currently resides in Ottawa, Ontario, where she teaches part-time and maintains a private music therapy practice, Con Brio Music Therapy Services.
Janet Beath
B.A. Sociology
Janet has worked 25 years for people of all ages who have intellectual and physical disabilities. “Art seems to take me on all kinds of adventures.” As a professional artist, Janet has painted flora and fauna on cottons and silks at juried shows in the Ottawa area, pet portraits, and works with sandblasting and etching on granite monuments. As a visual arts teacher and facilitator, she teaches visual arts in local schools to help build the teachers capacity for the visual arts curriculum, and advises teachers on how to evaluate the students artwork using rubrics. Janet also teaches private art lessons.
Since January 2009, Janet has been working with Artswell facilitating visual arts for people who have dementia and other challenges.
Andrea Warren
Andrea Warren is a firm believer in the power of the creative process to promote health and transformation. A fine art and philosophy graduate from Trinity Western University, Andrea has exhibited her paintings and photography in Ottawa and throughout BC’s lower mainland. She regularly provides painting and mixed media workshops for art groups, as well as guest lectures for local art schools and associations, including Ottawa U and Algonquin College. Over the last ten years, Andrea has had wide-ranging experience in the field of health care, working with disabled children, individuals with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, and mental health patients at the General and Civic hospitals in Ottawa. She currently teaches art classes for elderly residents at the Perley Rideau Veteran's centre.