Brantford Arts Block

Artist Spotlight: Justin Teakle

Share a little bit about yourself and what you create.
My name is Justin and I was born and raised in Brantford, where I live with my parents, brother, and Shetland Sheepdog, Lance. I grew up living in the Henderson Survey, attending James Hiller for elementary school and then St. John’s College for high school. The Henderson Survey was a perfect neighbourhood to grow up in with big back yards, beautiful parks, and only a stone’s throw from the trails and Glenhyrst. I’ve recently moved out of the city and now live near Burford. It’s a lot quieter; I’ve traded in the hum of the 403 and the rumble of the train for the howl of Coyotes. I’ve loved art since as long as I can remember, as a child I never wanted to read a story I wanted to draw a story. I focused mostly on drawing and got into painting during high school. I also dabble in photography.

What is your creative process like and what inspires it?
Whenever I have a chunk of free time I will break out the art. I’m inspired by personal passions such as cities and the natural environment. I especially love old buildings and our rich local built heritage in Brantford/Brant continues to spark my creativity. Often the process begins with a photograph, but the final drawing or painting often ends up being a combination of more than one photograph and ideas that I may or may not sketch out in rough first. My workspace for drawing is the corner desk in my bedroom and in the nice weather I like to take my sketchbook outside to work. Painting tends to get done at a makeshift workspace in the basement, It’s not fancy but it’s relatively functional.

What has been your favourite creative moment?
I know regardless of people’s views on the South Side of Colborne demolition it was an event that inspired a lot of creative work in the community including my own. I love old buildings so it was a sad moment for me and I wanted to record not only the past, but as someone interested in urban issues, what that streetscape could have become if the community had invested in the buildings. So I purchased a long narrow canvas, upon which I intended to fit the entire south side… Turns out 40 or so buildings would take up a lot more canvas than I thought. So I narrowed it down to the block furthest east between Grand River Hall and Mill Street. This painting turned a sad moment for me into a very fun creative project. If the buildings couldn’t be restored in reality, at least I could on my canvas.

What else do you enjoy doing with your time?
I’m currently in my third year studying Urban Planning at the University of Waterloo. So my studies and my co-op work terms take up a lot of my time, but I love my program. I have changed a lot from a child, I now love to read large tomes of fiction. I can give this credit to J.K. Rowling and her magical Harry Potter series (pun intended). I have recently just finished her adult novel the Casual Vacancy and I’m now working through George R.R. Martin’s a Song of Ice and Fire series. I also love cooking and walks with my dog.

Does creativity run into your family? If so, who is creative and what do they do?
Everyone in my family is creative, but all in their own way. My Brother plays guitar and writes, my dad has recently discovered he loves woodworking and my mom makes bead jewelry and plays the piano.

How can we learn more about your work?
People can follow me on twitter @JETeak or contact me at [email protected].

Where would you like your art to take you?
I would like to continue my art as a hobby and creative outlet. I also hope to use my creativity through a career in urban planning and urban design after university.

How long have you lived in Brantford?
My whole life, except for my university terms in Waterloo.

What is your favourite restaurant in town?
This is a tough question, but if I had to narrow it down it would be the Blue Dog on Brant Avenue. The food is great and I love the atmosphere of the old converted house and surrounding neighbourhood.

What local spaces or landmarks do you find inspiring?
The trails along the Grand River offer such amazing views of nature it’s hard not to be inspired by the beauty. Downtown Brantford also has a lot of inspiring public spaces such as Victoria Park, the war memorial and the Bell memorial. These spaces contain monuments of significant local importance, but the monuments wouldn’t look out of place in a world class city like New York or Paris.

What change would you like to see in Brantford?
As someone who draws artistic inspiration from our built heritage I would like to see the community to continue to embrace the potential our inventory of old buildings. So many great new investments from the Arts Block to Laurier have been able to use old buildings to revitalize the city. If we embrace the creative potential of our heritage I think we will continue to build on recent successes.

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