Issue 15

Adélie Nass is an undergraduate student currently enrolled in the Art Education program. She views her art practice an act of-self care and a way to positively impact her environment through innovative, creative and imaginative means. Nass is particularly interested in working with discarded items, finding their potential to be reused and transformed into practical art pieces. This passion led her to create a lesson plan based on making paint from sustainable materials. The lesson plan experimental, collaborative, and inspired by nature. It emphasized using readily available resources, without relying on manufactured products.

View the first page of the lesson plan below, or click here to download and view the entire lesson plan!

First page of lesson plan (consisting of images and text

Elizabeth Johnstone (she/her)

Art Education 2nd year of study and majoring in ceramics

Family Tree and the Roots that Connect Us

60inx38in

Stoneware, mixed recycled clay bodies and thread

2024

Description:

Elizabeth Johnstone (she/her) was born in Montreal and currently resides in Verdun. A broken branch in the tree symbolizes the perinatal loss she suffered and how her son continues to be part of the core of her family. For Elizabeth, taking time to be in the presence of nature became a necessary step for healing. Processing grief and trauma became manageable while being in the presence of water, trees and plants. Taking up gardening deepened her understanding of the connection between the life cycle of plants and the sharing of nutrients in trees through an undersoil network. Working sustainably has become a large focus in Johnston’s artwork. In her most recent artwork, A Family Tree, she created the root system and tree buds by reclaimed clay from the three buckets water system in the ceramics department at Concordia led by a sustainability initiative. She also utilized recycled glazes.

Eva Webb (she/her)

4th year, Art Education

Big Bag of Bags

3ft by 2ft

recycled bags

2024

Description:

Eva Webb (she/her) strives to be as sustainable as possible within her art practice. When she first began studying Art Education, her primary medium was drawing. However, since joining the program, she has had the opportunity to explore various art forms. One that has particularly excited her is sculpture.

During her classes, Eva realized that almost anything can be used to create a sculpture. She loved this discovery, because it freed her from expectation of purchasing expensive materials for assignments. When given an assignment titled, “the stories objects tell.” Webb knew she could create something extraordinary using only recycled materials.

She envisioned a comically large bag. Almost everyone carries a bag, and each one has a unique story – they come from somewhere and go someplace else. She wants the size of the bag to prompt viewers to consider not just its appearance, but also what it could carry. How much or how little? Why would someone carry these items, and what stories do they tell? By leaving the bag empty, she invites the viewer to create their own interpretations.

When choosing materials, Eva considered two overflowing drawers in her kitchen full of reusable grocery bags. It seemed perfect—a bag made from bags, with each one representing its own story. For the base structure, she used cardboard she found in her building’s garbage room. Once the base was built, the rest came together easily.

Discovering her passion for sculpture has shown Eva just how much she enjoys upcycling—transforming things others might see as trash into beautiful pieces full of potential, rather than letting them sit around as clutter with no purpose.

Heath D’Alessio (any/all)

1st year, Art Education

Saving CUCCR: The Movement to Save Concordia’s Centre for Creative Reuse

Digital video, shot primarily on iPhone 12 mini and edited in Premiere

2024

Description:

Heath D’Alessio is an undergraduate student in the Art Education program, here at Concordia University. D’Alessio also volunteers at the CUCCR building (Concordia University’s Centre for Creative Reuse). Due to an expected cut in funding, the CUCCR building was under threat of closure.

D’Alessio created their documentary, Saving CUCCR: “The Movement to Save Concordia’s University Centre for Creative Reuse,” to spread awareness and to help the CUCCR building stay open.

Due to thoughtful and resourceful students such as Heath D’Alessio, who helped spread awareness of the issue, and the help of many other contributors, the CUCCR building is now expected to stay open. The CUCCR building is a fantastic resource for students who’d like to recycle old materials and practice sustainability within their artwork. It is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 1pm-4pm, located at 1400 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W.

Hilary Larson (she/her)

Art Education, 2nd year

Knotty Wonders

Cotton cord, copper and aluminum wire, sea glass and stones

2021-2025

Description:

Hilary is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice ranges from drawing and painting to various other crafts. She began jewellery making after a summer spent gathering sea-glass from the shores of Gaspésie. Combining wire-wrapping with macramé, she uses bare metal wire and natural fibres to create unique pieces that will have a minimal impact on the environment when they—like we—inevitably return to the earth. You can check out more of her work on Instagram @one.hil.wonder.

Image of people holding hands through bars

Karolina Dobiszweska

film production BFA, 3rd year

Lift Me Where I Stand

8 x 12 in

Photography (digital)

2024

Description:

Karolina Dobiszewska, also known as Karo Dobi, is a Polish-Canadian photographer and filmmaker based in Montréal, studying Film Production at Concordia University. Her work blends fiction, documentary and artistic storytelling, often exploring themes of freedom, identity, and human connection. The series Lift Me Where I Stand, was created during a visual internship with Tur Cos Ta Posibel & Currents for Climate in February 2025 on the island of Aruba. The photographs document a powerful collaboration between artists and incarcerated individuals during a social circus performance inside a national prison. In a space marked by confinement, the project offered a moment of shared humanity, movement, and emotional release. This work aligns with environmental sustainability by emphasizing the interconnectedness of social and ecological justice. Currents for Climate uses wind-powered sailing to reach communities and foster dialogue around climate resilience, emphasizing how cultural and emotional healing is part of sustainable futures. These images aim to remind viewers that sustainability isn’t just about nature—it’s about people, dignity, and the possibility of transformation, even in the most unexpected places.

Maha-Gabriela Mogab-Campos (she/her)

Department of Art Education, 3rd year

Mushroom Hat

80 x 80 x 30 cm

Fabric, repurposed batting, cardboard boxes, Gandhi paper, tea dye, hot glue, masking tape

2023

Butterfly Wings

103 x 225 cm

Tea dye, sheets, fabric samples from CUCCR, foraged wood branches, grocery bag, thread.

2024

Description:

Maha Gabriela Mogab Campos is a textile and visual artist with a special focus on sustainable practices. Her preferred mediums include oil and chalk pastels, charcoal, yarn, fabrics, paper, and natural elements. She always strives to reuse or repurpose materials before purchasing new ones. If there’s a way for her to make something instead of buying it, she will choose that route. Born in Montreal to immigrant parents, Maha spent most of her childhood between Lebanon and Costa Rica. This upbringing allowed her to appreciate the impermanence of things and draw connections between the diverse worlds she’s experienced. The constants in her life are her connections to people, food, nature, and herself. Creating art inspired by the natural world helps Maha continuously reevaluate and strengthen her connection to it while celebrating its richness and depth. Observation plays a critical role in her practice; she’s less concerned with reproducing things as they appear and more focused on how they appear to her. Her process is slow and deliberate, often marked by extended periods of rest. She places more value on her thought processes and personal growth—whether through the evolution of her skills or the development of her guiding philosophies—than on sheer productivity.

The mushroom and butterfly are both made entirely from foraged and repurposed materials. For the mushroom, Maha created a dome-like structure from cardboard boxes and covered it with batting and polyester fiber fill salvaged from old pillows and stuffed animals that her dog had torn apart. She then covered the structure with a beautiful piece of fabric that was gifted to her from someone’s stash. To create the gills, she brewed a strong tea to dye Hanji paper, which was then used in the final piece. Though it may not appear so, the mushroom cap is actually very heavy. For the butterfly wings, Maha used old white sheets that she no longer needed, which she dyed with tea. The intricate details were cut from fabric samples she found at CUCCR. She foraged two long branches to serve as a structure from which the wings hang. These branches allow the wearer to flap the wings. The wings are designed to be worn like a backpack, with a base made from a recyclable grocery bag and elastic straps to secure the piece to the wearer’s body.

Maryse Rapsomatiotis (she/her)

2nd year, Art Education

Memories Repurposed

10″ x 12″ x 1″

paper, glue and vintage photo album

2024

Description:

Maryse Rapsomatiotis’ artistic practice revolves around the ocean, both as a subject and a metaphor, explored through graphite, charcoal, watercolor, acrylics, and collages. With a background in interior and graphic design, she is drawn to visual storytelling over words. Her creative process is slow and intentional, with each color palette, theme, and subject carefully chosen, much like curating a mood board or conceptualizing a visual identity. Growing up in a modest home, Maryse learned to make do with what was around, an ethos that shaped her ability to see potential where others might not. She found joy in creating layouts from old Sears catalogs, National Geographic magazines, stamps, and paper scraps in self-adhesive photo albums. This resourceful mindset carries into her work today, where sustainability is central to her practice. By reusing and repurposing materials, she gives discarded artifacts new life, transforming them into meaningful compositions rather than letting them fade into obscurity. In “Memories Repurposed“, a collage project inspired by David Helwig’s poem “The Undertow”, Maryse reimagines cultural remnants—such as a musty photo album, discarded photos of strangers, and vintage books and magazines—into art that speaks to memory, impermanence, and renewal. By connecting elements never meant to coexist, she is, in a way, rewriting history while also reducing waste. Through her work, Maryse aims to demonstrate how art can breathe new life into the overlooked, proving that even what is discarded still holds meaning.

Miguel Marcheterre-Pina (he/him/il)

3rd year, Art Education

Ashes and Embers

Song and cover art

pen on paper

30 cm x 30 cm

2025

Description:

Miguel Marcheterre-Pina is a Québéco-Angolan guitar player whose work also entails songwriting, illustration, writing and world-building. Involved within the music industry notably in bands Harmoniaq, Maeskyyrn and Harvested, he founded in 2020 his current musical endeavour: VOLUBILIS. A progressive metal band, VOLUBILIS presents a promising debut as they unleash out of thin air their striking first single, “Ashes & Embers” in February 2025. Based in Montréal, Canada, Miguel also expanded his artistic practice in Melbourne, Australia, where his work has been well received by the local metal community. The music of VOLUBILIS blends intricate guitar solos, polyrhythms and exquisite fretless bass lines in an unprecedented neo-classical cocktail.

With colossal blast beats, monstrous vocals and glorious harmonies, “Ashes & Embers” consists of a refreshing arrival in the progressive metal scene. VOLUBILIS’ narratives follow themes of nature through the rasp of distorted instruments, and this release marks the first of many milestones in a conceptual music journey which uses storytelling to showcase the creativity of Miguel’s writing. The virtuosity observed in VOLUBILIS’ song writing is a testimony of strong musicianship, intensity and emotion. Borrowing elements from various musical genres, the band is able to raise extreme metal standards by emphasizing on their technical prowess.

Nathan Theriault (he/him)

1st year, Art Education

#1 Cost

60 x 45 inches

Acrylic on Canvas

2024

#2 Through the Flame

18 x 12 x 13 in

Toy car, ash, sticks, styrofoam, cardboard, acrylic

2022

Description:

Nathan Theriault studied in the Visual Arts Program at John Abbott College for three years, where he developed a deep passion for art and the art-making process. After graduating, he chose to share his passion with others through teaching. Nathan is currently completing his first year in the Art Education Major at Concordia University, with plans to apply for specialization when the time comes. Art holds a vital place in his life, and he cares deeply about helping others find their own connection to it.

Nathan’s large-scale painting, Cost, was created as a commentary on society’s obsession with flashy vehicles. The painting is reminiscent of a Hot Wheels poster, with bright, attention-grabbing colors and movements. On the perimeter of the painting, the silhouettes of burning trees desperately try to catch the viewer’s attention but are overshadowed by the vibrant cars. Nathan created this piece as a mirror of contemporary society, where consumers often focus on the next big thing without considering the cost. Theriault loves cars, and by exploring this theme in his painting, he found a way to reflect on both his personal passions and their environmental impacts. The speedometer in the background of the painting is positioned at eye level, with temperature degrees subtly incorporated next to the speed values. This dual depiction highlights the connection between a car’s speed and the rising temperature of the planet. The painting plays with the theme of needs versus wants—where we need the environment to survive but often prioritize our desires for pleasure over what is necessary for our well-being.

Noah Rubel (he/they)

3rd year, BFA Studio Arts, Min. in Art Education

Present the Puppet

1′ x 1′ x 7′

Scrap Wood, Metal Hooks, Rope

2023

Description:

Noah Hirayama-Rubel is a Vermont-raised artist attending Concordia University. While he was certainly doodling since he was born, art became a passion for him in seventh grade when his local library bought a drawing tablet, leading him to mess around with digital art-making programs. Ever since, he has explored various mediums and realms of art, especially as an undergraduate, pulling studio sessions into the late hours of the night.

Studying in Montreal, Noah works to understand the various cultures of his peers. Surrounded by a welcoming Latin and French community, Noah now takes inspiration from his fellow international friends, whom he loves wholeheartedly. Alternatively, he uses this time to understand his own Japanese and Jewish-Quebecois identity and how to reclaim his family’s lineage through creation and research.

“Present” the Puppet, is a giant marionette made entirely of sustainably sourced wood and screw hooks. He found the wood and hooks in scrap piles and resource centers. All the pieces were sanded and rounded using woodworking tools and then assembled with screw hooks and wood glue. This piece takes inspiration from the adventures of Carlo Collodi’s wooden puppet, Pinocchio. Throughout the book, Pinocchio finds himself lost and helpless, abandoned almost by the cruelties of reality. While many consequences are a by-product of his delinquent nature, plenty of punishments he faces are undeserved. As the world abandoned Pinocchio, Montreal abandoned this scrap wood. Noah wanted to reclaim the wood in this city and give it a purpose, in this case, as a marionette. Noah gave the puppet the name “Present” because he is a gift. The marionette gave both the wood a purpose and a sense of fulfillment to Noah. Plenty of objects have personal value, and Noah’s piece investigates the value in everything. Living or not, what do we choose to care about? What values do we assign to things? The value Noah holds in “Present” is a present, since, for any object, the ability to exist is beautiful.

wood carving with head, arms and spin dangling on a string.

Rebekah Walker (she/they)

3rd year, Art History

Shashiko Komebukuro

polyester cotton blend, cotton six-stranded embroidery floss, and macrame cord

2023

Description:

Rebekah Walker (she/her) is an artist and art historian currently in her third year of Art History at Concordia University in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal). Her work focuses on craft theory and discourse, exploring them as contemporary forms of political action and radical care. Many of her projects combine textile art practice with making-based research, where both the art and the subject inform and shape each other.

Ultimately, Rebekah aspires to pursue a career in Canadian decorative arts and textile curation. Through her work, she aims to dissect the complexities of craft as a gendered, socialist, and material art form. She is particularly interested in exploring the connections between craft, community, and private life.

The object of inquiry explored over the course of this project is the Komebukuro, also known as the Japanese Rice bag, decorated with the Sashiko stitch method. Instead of taking the traditional approach, I decided to take on the contemporary ideas about Sashiko’s sustainable and mending qualities. One mode of interpretation takes the form of Mottanai, a Japanese word that means “to waste nothing.” This concept prioritizes the reuse and mending of materials, as well as the use of every piece of material in the creation of a garment. It is an ancient tradition that has seen a revitalization in the past few decades as climate change becomes a prevalent issue in the everyday lives of people around the world.

Read Rebekah’s full paper, Investigating Sustainability Through Japanese Textile Art Practices, the first two pages seen below, by clicking here to download.

Tina Jubinville (she/her)

5th year, Art Education Specialization

Kitchen Inks Lesson Plan

Lesson plan

Artist statement:

Tina Jubinville is a visual artist whose work examines and questions our relationship with nature and how we connect to our environment. She constructs open-ended narratives by combining abstract elements with recognizable images from various sources, approaching the theme of nature from a feminist perspective. Her work highlights the mystery and magic inherent in every particle of the natural world. Material exploration has always been a central part of her process. She is particularly interested in the relationship between the medium and the surface, leading her research to explore new ways to make marks and produce interesting stains. Drawing, printmaking, painting, and collage feature prominently in her art. In recent years, while working from home with three children, Tina has incorporated their messy art experiments into her work. Monotypes of these messes or prints made from bubbles often serve as the background or starting point of her pieces. This shift has also led her to focus on safe, non-toxic materials, with the kitchen becoming an important source for her art supplies.

Description of the work:

Kitchen Inks Lesson Plan and Sustainable Practices in Art. Color in art can be problematic in terms of ecological safety. Inorganic pigments can be harmful to the environment as well as our health. As a mother and a student teacher, Tina Jubinville feels a responsibility to include safe, healthy and sustainable practices when making art at home or in the classroom. The kitchen contains a wide variety of gorgeous colors in the form of spices, berries, food scraps and teas that are completely safe to use for both the students and the environment. As food is completely compostable, making ink in your kitchen is also a way to create art without creating waste. Tina’s lesson plan explores how to create a variety of inks at home, using sustainable materials.

View the first page of the lesson plan below, or click here to download and view the entire lesson plan!

first page of a lesson plan (consists of image and text)