We continue today with our final post highlighting the creative work and Akin spirit of five artists from our beloved St. Clair Studio! Introducing Natalie Plociennik and Rumi! Continue reading to learn more about these artists, their art practices, and why they love working in an Akin studio! Click here to visit part one of this blog post where we met three other Akin St Clair artists.

Natalie Plociennik (she/her)

Image above: Natalie is working on a painting with curved shapes in an imaginary landscape. She has a paintbrush and palette in her hands and a painting smock on covered in paint. She is turning to look at the camera and smiling.

Natalie is a Toronto-based fine artist that paints playful, organic and utopic environments. Her artwork is influenced by her education in Earth and Environmental Science at McMaster University and Fine Arts Studio at Centennial College. Often involved in creative projects with mental wellness or natural science themes, Natalie’s dream is to create an authentic career out her artwork and is grateful to the communities that support her in that dream. Aside from fine art, Natalie also works as an illustrator and designer to help fund her painting. She is a passionate badminton player and volunteers as an executive at Leaside Badminton Club.

Natalie’s paintings are an expression of her personal utopia: a world with no edges and corners, fantastical lands made of voluptuous biomorphic forms that envelop you like a comforting cocoon. Her idealistic visions first take shape on paper, through a process similar to automatic drawing. The ensuing compositions spring forth serendipitously, almost unconsciously. The images come, go, and transform organically.

Natalie describes her work is “an act of kindness to myself”. In these foolproof universes, she feels safe, loved and protected. Her paintings invite us to sit comfortably and enjoy our surroundings, without any pressure or distraction. Natalie is often reflecting on her ability to give her presence and love to people and situations. She believes people need time alone to think, to feel, to reflect. “I believe a full human experience is not a ‘flat’ experience, and I extend the yearning for that depth into my extensive biomorphic landscapes and forms.

Follow Natlie on instagram: @nataliegallery or visit her website: www.natalie.gallery

*Image above: A painting by Natalie Pl*ociennik with swooping shapes all in a similar green colour. Some of the shapes appear as birds, fish, or waves.

What's your favourite part about being an Akin member?
Having a creative community to help bounce ideas from and grow together. This has been tremendously uplifting, especially when I joined during the pandemic after a long time trying to work alone from home. I love to work in a space that is alive and where ideas are born. I feel stagnant without my creative community.

What's your favourite part about being in Akin St. Clair?
My favorite part about Akin St.Clair are the bonds I’ve created with my studio mates. Our dynamic is unique and makes me feel safe and supported. Whenever I am stuck overthinking, there’s always someone to talk me through a creative decision. It has been a great experience to nudge each other in positive and ambitious directions. Aside from my awesome mates, I also enjoy a short streetcar commute and the cozy character that our environment exudes.

What's something you bring into the Akin community?
I am often an optimistic and uplifting cheerleader in the community. I am happy to see my studio mates develop new ideas, creative works and achieve success. I always champion them! I also offer meaningful critiques when asked, by first trying to understand what everyone’s personal creative mission is. It feels great to be a part of the collective growth at Akin!

Rumi (he/him)

Image above: A close up portrait of Rumi. He has headphones on and is looking at the camera. In the background we see his studio space with painbrushes, paints and other tools and materials on shelves and a table.

Nawaaz, ak.a. Rumi, has always appreciated the arts and drawn inspiration from all art forms, especially music and dance. He’s dabbled here and there with many art forms, but never found one he felt particularly drawn to, and he certainly never considered himself an artist. All of that changed in 2017 when he simultaneously learned Ebru from his friend, Hafiz Printer, and he decided to take a leap of faith and travel to India for the first time in his life to learn tabla (Northern Indian percussion) under the tutelage of his Guru, Chiranjit Mukherjee. This is what led to the creation of CQC Arts, an emerging arts-based platform. The idea of CQC Arts began in 2018 when he began practicing Ebru seriously, finding it to be a unique, spiritual and creative outlet with a lot of versatility. Nawaaz wanted to find a way to share his love for art and encourage others to search for meaning in their lives.

Rumi loves the hidden meanings contained all over the world, and his spirituality is manifested through his artwork. He enjoys incorporating stories, playfulness, and music into the creation of his work, and has learned to embrace imperfection as part of the artistic process. Nawaaz’s practice of Ebru is also a practice of mindfulness and spirituality. He meditates while he creates his pieces, and puts his positive intentions into all aspects of his art.

Follow Rumi on Instagram: @cqcarts or visit his website www.cqcarts.ca

*Image above: an abstract painting by Rumi with a purple background, colourful dots, and a white swirl that spirals in the centre and is reminiscant of a figure that is dancing or spinning.*

What's your favourite part about being an Akin member?
The opportunities to be part of a larger community of artists across the city is unique. Akin offers so many different kinds of programming to network, spotlight our work, share with other artists and so much more. I also love how the @akinprokects Instagram advertises arts calls from around the city.

What's your favourite part about being in Akin St. Clair?
Nothing beats the sense of community at Akin St. Clair. Everyone is so nice and positive, I love going in and feeling like I’m in a home away from home. It’s also a great space to collaborate and problem solve with artists who have a different way of thinking and different skill sets.

What's something you bring into the Akin community?
I like to think I bring laughter and positivity into the space :)

Akin would like to thank Liliana, Tam, Rose, Natalie and Rumi for taking the time to share your work with us, and discussing your experience as Akin St Clair Members. Thank you to everyone at Akin St Clair for contributing to such a vibrant artist community!

Interested in becomming an Akin St Clair member? We still have a few dedicated studios available! Email info@akincollective.com for more information!