By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND—Art is a little like water for the Pride community. Expressing oneself openly, and using art to connect to others, can be a lifeline for young members of the community who may feel isolated or marginalized due to their identity. As Pride Month continues, we wanted to shine the spotlight on some local artists in the Pride community.
Ardyn Gibbs
CAYUGA— McMaster art student Ardyn Gibbs strikes a pose at one of their art installations at the Carolinian Café & Eatery in Cayuga.
Ardyn Gibbs describes themselves as a “settler-Indigenous, queer, non-binary, and interdisciplinary artist living in Haldimand County.”
Currently a full-time student at McMaster University, Gibbs is working toward completing their Bachelors of Fine Arts degree, although they have been creating art since they were a child: “I spent most of my time dreaming and imagining different worlds that I could exist in, worlds that I fit into. I often utilize this idea of dreaming to inform my current artistic practice through the lens of queer experiences.”
Queer safe spaces are a primary theme for Gibbs’ art. They explained, “This often manifests in my bedroom as a sacred and intimate space … where I spent my formative years bonding with my queer friends or quite literally dreaming of my perfect and safe queer world. At McMaster I have learned many different methods to communicate these themes in my work.”
Gibbs says that art is extremely important in terms of activism: “For many marginalized folks, art acts as a designated space for shared experience and connection. In terms of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, I think that art not only creates important space for queer people but it also sparks a necessary conversation that needs to happen in order for the world to be a safer place for us to exist.”
Gibbs works with a variety of mediums, including painting, sculpting, digital sculpting, installation work, and printmaking.
“My work is constantly changing with me,” said Gibbs. “My most recent piece, titled Permanent Gender Reveal, 2022, is my favorite work to date. This piece explores the idea of gender and coming into my own gender identity as a non-binary person.”
They explained, “With the rising popularity of gender reveal cakes, I decided to make two non-edible cake sculptures (shown above) to address the ideas surrounding gender and playing with the permanence of gender, that sex and gender are two separate things. Gender being something that we grow into, not something we are assigned at birth. Rejecting this western colonial notion that gender is strictly binary and so heavily informs how one navigates the world.”
Raised in Haldimand, Gibbs said it has been amazing to see the community grow over the years: “When PrideHN held their first event in 2017 I can still remember feeling so ecstatic, feeling so seen and comforted by a community who loves and supports me and each other. I am grateful for PrideHN.”
Donatilde Saudade
HAGERSVILLE— Makeup artist Donatilde Saudade is an expert at creating unique makeup applications. She dreams of working on big-budget movies in the special effects makeup department.
Makeup artist Donatilde Saudade, raised in Hagersville, dreads being asked about herself: “This is a pretty straight forward question, and yet I’m always at a loss for words.”
Nevertheless, she describes herself as a “22-year-old, self-taught makeup artist from a small town, trying to build a beautiful life and career out of a dream of mine – becoming a special effects artist for film.”
She said this dream presented some challenges while growing up in a small town: “There aren’t many individuals willing to be models for your artwork, nor is there access to high-end materials, so most of my work was done with drug-store makeup and Spirit Halloween for fake blood and a scar wax kit.”
Saudade didn’t always have a love of makeup: “I was sitting on the floor of my best-friend’s bedroom as she was doing her makeup for work. As I watched her, I admired the concentration and dedication it took to make the products blend seamlessly, and it was then that my passion for makeup was born.”
Her work varies from ‘glam to gore’, as she explained, “I’m fortunate enough to be able to pick up on a variety of styles with makeup. However, my favourite projects to do are special effects makeup.”
She advised those looking to build a career in an artistic or creative industry to do their research, constantly practise, use high-quality materials, and most importantly, don’t get discouraged: “The challenge I face the most is self-doubt. I get frustrated when a vision is not executed properly; I begin to question if I have any real talent, but then I remember that the quality of my work is as good as it can be due to materials I have access to.”
Saudade said that since recently moving to a larger city, she has had more access to other individuals in the Pride community, noting that she will be attending a Pride parade in Toronto this year for the first time since coming out.
She continued, “The way I get past my hurdles is by having patience and confidence. These are two of the most important qualities to have when it comes to achieving any dream, and they have been the foundation to every piece of work I have created. Pursuing a career path in the artistic industry may be a risk to some, but there is a risk to everything we do in life…. The world is far too bland to not have its creative minds express themselves – so get out there and share a piece of yourself to the world.”
To see more of Saudade’s work, visit her Instagram account @donatilde.s.
