For a truly interactive reading experience, borrow a Living book! The Pickering Public Library and the PineRidge Arts Council have teamed up to provide a Living Library. Local artists have become “living books” for this special event. Each artist represents a specific art form or manages a business in the arts industry. Individuals may “borrow” a “book” from the Living Library and speak with them for 30 minutes.

1. LIving Library

2. Living Library
“Check Out” Your Favourite Art
Event
For a truly interactive reading experience, borrow a Living book!
The Pickering Public Library and the PineRidge Arts Council have teamed up to provide a Living
Library. Local artists have become “living books” for this special event. Each artist represents
a specific art form or manages a business in the arts industry. Individuals may “borrow” a “book”
from the Living Library and speak with them for 30 minutes.
• Invisible Painting by Mark Fordam • Herongate Theatre by Ann Ward
• Blue Moon Fabric Arts by Martha Brown • SilverStone Gallery by Gary Faulkner
• Bejeweled by Kirsty Naray • Kijimba and Wood Sculpture by Dorsey James
• The Potter’s Shed by Deanna Jones • Abstraction by Laura Warburton
• Little Big Band by Brian Rose • Animal Alphabet Adventure by Mala Mahabir
• Meditation Painting by Janice McHaffie • Ontario Landscapes by Robert Hinves
• Winning Portraiture by Gwen Williams • Is Graffiti Art? by Jeff Goring
• Choral Music by Cathy and Lou Schnippering • Cultural Expressions by Esther Ford
• The Professional Photographer by Mary Cook
At Central Library:
Saturday, October 15, 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Auditorium
Drop in and browse the “books” on October 15th or put a book on hold in advance. To place a
hold, please call Kathy Williams at 905-831-6265 ext. 6251 or email her kathyw@picnet.org to
make arrangements.

3. Ann Ward
Herongate Theatre
As Artistic Director and owner of Herongate
Barn Dinner Theatre, Ann is proud to take
part in the Living Library Event.
Ann has been directing shows at Herongate
Theatre for over 25 years and when she’s
not busy in the rehearsal room, you’ll find
her in the Herongate kitchen creating
delicious menu items for
happy patrons! An award
winning actress, Ann has a
degree in Dramatic Arts from
San Francisco State University
and a graduate degree from
The American Conservatory
Theatre.
Ann invites you to see
and taste her work at
Herongate this season
as they present delicious
menus along with some
very funny comedy!

4. Brian Rose
Brian Rose’s Little Big Band is a popular 11 piece band which is
available for dances,receptions and concerts. The band’s aim
is simply to play good, danceable music - jazz, swing, jive, pop,
ballroom, Latin, and R&B - in a small ensemble. In other words, a
little big band. The group has been together eight years, building
a repertoire of more than 400 fresh, contemporary arrangements
of popular tunes, including favourites from the thirties and forties, to
the hits of today. The emphasis is on standards - songs that
survive the test of time. Above all, “we take our music seriously -
but not ourselves! We always have a good time playing the music
we love, and therefore, so does our audience. As the song says,
“It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing!“
The band is comprised of musicians with
extensive experience in jazz, big bands, concert
bands, Dixieland music, R&B, and even choirs.
Their combined musical influences are reflected
in their performance, and make it easy for them
Little Big Band
to satisfy the diverse tastes of today’s audiences.
“We have played for weddings, fund-raisers,
galas, jazz and arts festivals, park concert se-
ries, private and public functions,
anniversaries, birthdays, rib fests, pub nights,
retirement parties, older adult events and
dances, theatre performances- both as fea-
tured band and accompanying other per-
formers-, awards banquets, street festivals
and corporate events. We have played at golf
clubs, yacht clubs, jazz clubs, service clubs,
bistros, pubs, banquet halls, community halls,
church halls, bandshells, gazebos, art galleries,
showmobiles, arenas, and even a cemetery.
Each location and event has been a unique
and enjoyable experience for the band, and,
I’m sure, - for the client(s)!
And we sure have come a long way from the begin-
ning when a group of musicians got together once a
week to rehearse and play arrangements for fun, no
less.”

5. Cathy and Lou Schnippering Cathy and Lou Schnippering have studied and been
involved in choral and instrumental music all through their
lives. Over the years Lou has played a number of instruments
with the HMCS York Navy Band, the North York Concert
Orchestra, various small dance bands and most recently
with the Pickering Community Concert Band.
They have both sung with the Etobicoke Centennial
Choir, the Amadeus Choir, The Joyful Noise, and
other small chamber choirs. They currently sing
with the Durham Philharmonic Choir in Oshawa
and the Dunbarton-Fairport United Church Senior
and Chamber Choirs in Pickering.
For the past 15 years Cathy was also the Music
Director and Producer for the Pickering
Perennials, a 30 voice senior’s chorus and band
where Lou sang, arranged music and played
Choral Music
guitar and clarinet.
In 1994 Cathy and Lou joined the PineRidge
(then Pickering) Arts Council, began
publishing a newsletter, and are now highly
active in the administration of the Council
where Cathy is president. They also sit as
consultants on the board of the Durham West
Art Centre Foundation.
When Cathy and Lou are not making music,
they are busy producing ArtScene, a bi-monthly
16 page tabloid for the PineRidge Arts Council.

6. Deanna Jones Deanna, a potter for longer than 35 years, now concentrates her
pottery creativity in her studio workshop in Greenwood, Ontario.
Passing on to others what she has learned over the years, she
also teaches pottery at the DWAC Potters Studion in the Pickering
Recreation Centre.
In the past, Deanna has participated in such shows as the One of
a Kind, the Toronto Outdoor Arts Exhibition, the Unionville Festival,
the Markham Festival, the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival and a
variety of other local festivals.
Deanna’s work can be found in private collections across
Canada, as well as in the United States, Europe and Australia.
The Potter’s Shed
She is especially proud that one of her pieces was
chosen for presentation to then-Lieutenant Gover-
nor Lincoln Alexander at the opening ceremonies
for the new Pickering Civic
Complex.
While many of her creations are of a practical
nature, Deanna enjoyed participating in a show
of whimsical teapots at the Durham West Arts
Cente. Additionally, she was commissioned to
create a number of pieces for presentation to
some of the more generous corporate sponsors
of the Centre.
Her creation TILL THE COWS COME HOME, won
Deanna an award in a group show at the
Whitby Station Gallery.
Deanna’s work is availabe at her studio
workshop and at the twice-annual shows
put on by the Durham Potters’ Guild.

7. Kijimba and Wood Sculpture
Dorsey James, now Canadian, was born and raised
Dorsey James in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After four years as a jet
aircraft mechanic in the US Air Force, he immigrated
to Toronto and eventually studied Visual Arts and
Education at York University. His sculptures have been
exhibited across Canada as well as in the United
States and Germany.
He lives with his family in Pickering, Ontario. He is
retired from teaching Fine Arts at Markham District
High School. Dorsey was awarded a commission by
the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the City
of Pickering for his waterfront sculpture
installation entitled “Home Place”. He
was also awarded The Outstanding Service
Award for 2003 by The York Region
District School Board. Dorsey is currently
commissioned by the City of Pickering to
refurbish the Home Place sculpture which
he installed in Pickering’s Alex Robertson
Park as a year 2000 millennium project.
Dorsey is currently working with Visual Arts
Ontario in Durham Region as well as with
the Durham Region District School Board
to teach at risk youth how to power
carve. The finished product may reflect
memories and/or significant aspects of
their past, present or future. Is their own
story, told by their hand via personal
symbolism carved into wood.

8. Esther Ford
Cultural Expressions
Esther Forde is owner and curator of Cultural Expressions Art
Gallery, located in historic Pickering Village, Ajax, Ontario. As a
strong patron of the arts, Esther is proud to promote new
Canadian artists, photographic art, unique ethnic carvings,
sculptures, and jewelry from a variety of countries and regions.
Born in Jamaica, Esther saw the lack of ethnic and cultural art in
her community at home in Canada and identified the potential
of opening a gallery. In an effort to make this dream a reality,
she enrolled in a business training program and upon completion
Cultural Expressions Art Gallery was born.
Opened in 2007, the Gallery gives artists of diverse backgrounds
a local place to display their art. The Gallery highlights and
promotes established and upcoming artists from
Canada and abroad, as well as artwork from
Africa, the Caribbean and other countries. The
Gallery has been highlighting a diversity of local
artists through special presentations. It contributes
to making arts and culture accessible to Durham
Region through on-site exhibits, and in such
public spaces as libraries, municipal offices and
schools.
In five shorts years, Esther has work diligently to
present a vibrant show of art and culture for
such annual celebrations as Black History Month.
The Gallery has also been part of the local Jazz
Festival in Pickering Village and has made the
Aboriginal Celebration Day in the Village a yearly
event.
Esther’s goal is to make a difference in the
community by providing art that showcases
our diverse communities of Canada.

9. Gary is a long-term resident of Ajax, a member of PRAC,
Station Gallery and Society of Canadian Artists. As direc-
Gary Faulkner tor of SilverStone Gallery in Pickering, Gary is proud of the
numerous talented artists in Durham and is happy to dis-
play the twenty-five artists who showcase their works in the
Gallery.
His painting inspirations come from the beauty of nature
and recently he seems to find satisfaction working more
with oil. His love of painting and music keeps him busy
SilverStone Gallery
throughout the year and fortunately Durham is becoming
a great place to showcase both these artistic disciplines.
Gary is also a board member of Durham West Arts Centre
Foundation working to fulfill the Foundation’s main goal of
building a performing and visual arts centre
in Pickering. The centre will be a wonderful
source of pride to the Durham area and
benefit the area economically.
Gary has also been classically trained in
voice in Toronto and has been performing
for years at a variety of venues and events
including Roy Thomson Hall, churches,
variety shows, senior residences, private
parties and fundraisers throughout the
GTA. “The type of music that interests me
is music that touches the heart and emo-
tions in people” he says. A few years ago
he produced a CD with total proceeds
of over $10,000 going towards a Evangel
Hall, a shelter for the homeless in Toronto.

10. As an award winning artist for many years,
Gwen Williams Gwen’s work hangs in private and corporate
collections in North America and abroad.
Represented by several galleries in both
Canada and New York State, her portrait
commissions include animals as well as people.
Winning Portraiture
While her love of portraiture is undiminished
since retiring, she has rediscovered landscape
painting and utilizes photography from her
travels for inspiration. Gwen has expanded her
choice of media to include watercolour, oils
and acrylics as a complement to
her first love, pastels.
Gwen is involved in many aspects
of the art scene. She is a member
of Ajax Creative Arts and Durham
West Arts Centre. She is also an
Honourary Member of the Pin-
eRidge Arts Council and holds
the positions on their executive
of Visual Arts Director and Vice
President.

11. Janice McHaffie Although Janice started in sculpture over 30
years ago and that was her love for years, she
usually only paints now. However she has not
left the texture of sculpting behind, as acrylics
Meditation Painting are now her favourite medium.
Janice likes to use colour to affect the
subconscious mind, to enhance work or rest.
She also teaches meditation painting as a
healing art and loves working with children.
Janice would like to see a large arts
centre added to the community to
hang work created locally and to
create a place to paint with other
artists any day of the week. Painting
with other artists stimulates different
creative thoughts as opposed to
painting by yourself. What she enjoys
most about being a member of
PineRidge Arts Council is that they
are very community oriented – they
allow us to live our art.

12. Goring The tag Christian graffiti artist might seem a little counter-
intuitive or contradictory but that is precisely what life-
long Pickering resident Jeff Goring calls himself.
Goring took art at Pine Ridge Secondary School, but it was
a hook up with a musician with several CDs to his credit --
who encouraged his graffiti doodling -- that got him
seriously started in the genre. He also began breakdancing
and became so good that he was engaged by the East
Shore Community Centre to give lessons to local youth. He
was eventually hired by the City as youth coordinator, in
charge of putting together programs of activities for kids
and teens. His wife, Charity, runs a dance group and he
often accompanies her on junkets to international
events in which she is a participant.
His own dancing and art has taken him to gigs
in England, Sweden, Norway and widely across
North America -- often to meet-ups with other
graffiti artists with whom he co-creates murals on
collaborative themes.
So what are the painting themes of a religious
JeffArt
graffiti artist, you may ask? Well, Goring does the
standard elaborations on names (his company
name is Sonz of God) and he has added
Biblical scriptures and imagery (the Book of
Revelations is a great source) to his repertoire.
He enthuses about the step up in technology
Graffiti
of the paint “bombs” that are now available --
paints that are in a kaleidoscope of colours and that spray
thick and solid without running.
Courtesy of Pickering News Advertiser/Allan
O’Marra

13. Kirsty Naray Kirsty Naray’s work with glass began in 1979 when she
attended a stained glass course at George Brown
College in Toronto. She began her career making
small objects and panels. Before long, as her skills
improved, she made larger windows for residences.
Later, Kirsty developed a fascination for kaleidoscopes
and added these to her repertoire. In an effort to make
unusual inclusions for the object containers of her
kaleidoscopes, she experimented
with bending glass in a flame and so
began her favourite-to-date phase
of glass working - making glass
beads.
Angels, fairies, mermaids, perfume
vessels, aquarium beads and a
variety of floral beads are the cur-
rent focus of her beadwork. She
styles her beads into unique pieces
of jewellery using sterling silver and
Bejeweled
gold-filled wire and beads to
accent her work.
Kirsty has been included in such
publications as Victoria magazine,
The Wire Artist Jeweller magazine
(twice) and Wire in Design - Modern Wire Art & Mixed
Media, by Barbara A McGuire as well as numerous
glass publications.
“It is my hope that my art pieces provide
many years of pleasure and enjoyment to
their new owners.”

14. Laura Warburton Laura is a Pickering based abstract artist with an
academic background in psychology. Believing that
artistic expression cannot be static, held or boxed,
her entire body of work to date is nearly impossible to
categorize under one simple title or style.
Whether the painting is a delicate, flowing and well
blended piece or a strong, bold linear piece, the use of
textures and mediums provides a raw organic like feel.
Brushed, sprayed, carved, splattered,
scraped or poured, the large scale,
(<4 ft) paintings are what has
become termed as Loft ArtWork.
Her paintings have exhibited in
Canada/ the USA and can be
found in corporate /medical offices,
private collections in Canada, United
Kingdom, Germany, continental
Abstraction
USA and Hawaii.
Loft Artwork paintings have been
debuted on HBO set designs,
featured in staging for real estate
showings/magazines and are
exhibited at the Distillery Districts’
RedEye Studio Gallery in Toronto.
As a self taught and self represented artist, Laura has
found a wonderfully creative, original spot within the
art world all while creating in her home studio
in Pickering, Ontario .

15. Mala Mahabir Mala Mahabir’s work revolves highly around children
Animal Alphabet Adventure
and their literacy skills as she believes reading is an
essential asset for success. She has been a creative
writer from a young age, and thrives on inspiring others
to do their best, be their best and give their best!
Through her volunteer work with the Pickering Reading
Program and Frontier College Literacy Workshops, she
observed many children having difficulty with basic
letter and sound recognition. She took on the challenge
to create a way for children to become
engaged and have fun while learning to
read. Out of this challenge came Animal
Alphabet Adventure which concentrates on
the vernacular of sound via story telling and
alphabet letter recognition. The alphabet
stories on each page are accompanied
with artwork created by Tasha Maraj,
which makes each letter come to life for
the reader.
Her life’s travels have taken her on many
personal and professional ventures. She
always knew she wanted to bring about
positive change to the lives of others and
give something back. When she made
the decision to write Animal Alphabet
Adventure she knew in an instant this was
the type of work she wanted to share
with children.

16. Mark Fordam
Mark Fordam studied Fine Art at York University and the Ontario
College of Art in the early ‘70s before moving on to study
dissections and advanced anatomy at the U of T. His first
exhibition was at Canada’s oldest established gallery, The
Roberts Gallery. He has also shown at the Drabinsky Gallery,
the David Mitchell Gallery and the Illuminary Gallery.
Mark emerged in the New York scene exhibiting at the Gerold
Wunderlich Gallery. As a figure in the Canadian realist movement,
Mark played a pivotal role in creating a strong interest amongst
the New York dealers, which enabled many Canadian realists to
have their first opportunity to show their work outside
of Canada.
His immersion into the world of Visual Effects was
Invisible Painting
inevitable, crediting the likes of Ray Harryhausen
and Albert Whitlock for his interest. After teaching
several courses at the Ontario College of Art and
world-renowned Sheridan College, Mark began
instructing artists in drawing, sculpture and realistic
creature design at Calibre Digital Pictures.
Mark displays his instinctive way of seeing the
subtlest nuances of colour, atmosphere and light in
landscape and architecture and brings this insight
to the screen in a dramatic fashion.
Mark has been accredited with several prestigious
awards including an Emmy nomination for the
WWII event mini-series Haven (d. John Gray), a
Gemini award for the war-torn Germany recreation in Nuremberg
(d, Yves Simoneau) and an impressive nomination from the Visual
Effects Society for Best Matte Painting in The Man Who Saved
Christmas (d. Sturla Gunnarson).
Mark is a member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and
Television and the Visual Effects Society.

17. Martha Brown Martha Brown is internationally recognized for
her award-winning art quilts, signified by
dramatic imagery and an eye for colour.
Martha’s work has been in over 50 shows and
Blue Moon Fabric Arts exhibitions, won over 20 awards and has been
purchased by over 200 collectors, in Canada,
the US, Switzerland, Japan and Germany.
Her work has also been featured
in gallery Solo Exhibitions, and for
several years at the One of a Kind
Christmas Show in Toronto. Her
degree in Art focused on figure
drawing and painting.
In recent years, her focus has
turned to three dimensional figura-
tive sculptures in the form of original
art dolls.
Born in Rochester, NY, she has
lived in several areas of the United
States. In 1999 she married a
Canadian, and now lives in
Pickering, Ontario.
She will have several of her dolls on
display for the day and will be happy
to answer any of your questions.

18. The Professional Photographer
Mary Cook
Mary Cook was a professional photographer
in Pickering from the late 70s until recently.
The majority of her work was with film but she
enjoys the freedom digital now provides.
Over the years she has photographed
sports and school groups, family portraits
and weddings. Some of her
commercial clients included
City of Pickering, OPG, Mazda
and Subaru. She now is most
often seen pointing her camera
at her three grandchildren,
PineRidge Arts Council
members and the SilverStone
Gallery.
In her spare time she works
with Angie Littlefield on the
provincial project Reading
and Remembrance.

19. Robert Hinves
Robert has always had an interest in art from an
early age. He pursued his interest by attending a
4 year Art Course at Danforth Technical School in
Toronto and one year at the Ontario College of Art
& Design.
His passion has been Ontario Landscapes. He
started off painting in oils, but later turned his efforts
to pen, ink and watercolour. It’s not
unusual to find him trudging through
a field with camera in hand. Once
a scene or subject appeals to him,
Ontario Landscapes
he then recreates it paying close
attention to composition.
As an alternative to the rigid
disciplines of his realistic work, Robert
takes a break and loosens up with a
series of textured abstracts in acrylic
on masonite.
Robert is currently on the Board of
the PineRidge Arts Council. He also is a member
of the Oshawa Art Association and the Art Guild of
Scarborough.
Robert has been involved in many different Art
Festivals throughout Ontario. His work can be
found in many private collections throughout
Ontario, United States and England.

20. LIving Library