Featuring Mixed Media Works by Tomoyo Ihaya

January 14 - March 11, 2005

Art Beatus (Vancouver) Consultancy Ltd. is pleased to present Fountain, a special collection of mixed media works by featured artist, Tomoyo Ihaya from January 14 to March 11, 2005.  Primarily working in the area of printmaking and drawing, Tomoyo combines, ink, collage, and watercolour amongst other types of media onto Japanese paper-covered panels.  While the artist's works impart a gentle, uplifting feeling, they also give way to deeper thought, concentrating on the environmental theme of water, its necessity to all living creatures, and its nurturing of the spirit.  Along with Tomoyo’s two-dimensional pieces will be a charming installation of fleece and clay figures which resemble some of her subjects on paper. Whether it be illustrations of raindrops nourishing playful animals, streams, oceans, or water contained in vessels, Tomoyo's artworks will quench the thirsts of audiences, leaving viewers with a feeling of peace, happiness, and rejuvenation.

“We drink water to nurture our spirit.  We continuously search for a hidden fountain.  For me, water is a symbol and metaphor for both visible and invisible essentials in our lives.  We drink water, we water plants and trees, float in a stream and swim in the sea.  When we are truly mindful, these everyday activities may seem to take on a deeper significance.  Drawing images of water, in the same way, can evoke something beyond the ordinary”.

Ihaya attended the Fine Arts Program at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick in 1995, and Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design in Vancouver in 1996.  She later worked at the Malaspina Printmakers Society in Vancouver and went on to receive her MFA after graduating from the Studio Art Program at the University of Alberta in 2002.  Not only have Tomoyo’s works been shown in major national and international print exhibitions, she has received numerous awards and grants including several honorable mentions from the Ernst & Young Great Printmaking Competition and the Second Place award from the Ernst & Young Printmaking Competition in 2001.  Her work can be found in public collections throughout the world.