DIANA BAHR

I graduated from OCAD University with a BFA in Drawing & Painting, and University of Toronto with a Masters of Education in Developmental Psychology & Education.  I use encaustic to explore ideas in nature, science and psychology. My series Traces considers ideas related to ancestral memory, and my new work, The Small Self, is about 'awe,' that sense we experience when in the presence of something vast, intimidating, beautiful and sometimes even terrifying.

Encaustic is a 2000-year old painting technique using melted beeswax mixed with pigment. The coloured wax is heated, applied with a brush or other tool to a surface, and ‘burned in’ (lightly fused) with a torch, heat gun or iron. Encaustic is a perfect medium to explore ideas in psychology: layers of wax can obscure or illuminate; it preserves but can also be excavated (like memory); and it can capture something as rare and fleeting as moments of awe. 

2023 Kissing Bridge Art Tour, Oct. 21 & 22, Waterloo

2023 Belmont Bestival, Sept. 15 & 16, Waterloo

2023 Art Market Waterloo, July 28, Waterloo

2023 Riverdale ArtWalk 25th Anniversary, May 17-June 4, Toronto

2022 Button Factory Arts, Annual Juried Exhibition, Sept. 22-Oct. 27, Waterloo

2022 Moving Forward, Three Sisters Cultural Centre, Apr.1-10, St. Jacobs

2020 The Artist Project, Untapped Emerging Artist, Feb. 20-23, Toronto

2019 ArtWalk in the Square, Sept 13-15, Toronto, AWARD: Honourable Mention

2019 Riverdale Art Walk, June 1 &2, Toronto

2019 Art Gems/Waddington's, Toronto

2018 ArtWorks, OCAD, November, Toronto

2018 Creative Space Residency Studio Tour, May, Toronto

2018 The Big Draw, OCAD, February, Toronto

2017 Emerging Perspectives, Mercedes Benz, Mississauga

2017 Artisans at Work, November 3, Toronto

2017 Creative Space Residency Program, October 5, Toronto

2017 Art Gems/Waddington's, Toronto

2016 Emerging Perspectives, Mercedes Benz, Mississauga

2016 The Brain Project, www.brainproject.ca, Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto

2016 Grad Ex, 101 Annual Graduate Exhibition, OCAD University

2016 Works in Progress, OCAD University

2015 Art in the Hub, Riverdale Hub, Toronto, ON

2015 Great Spirit Gallery, Toronto, ON

2014 Crated, Soho Arthouse. New York, US

2014 Hart House Camera Club 92nd Annual Exhibition of Photography, Toronto, ON

2010 "Anatomia," Ontario Science Centre Idea Gallery, Toronto, ON

2009 "We Made a Deal with the Devil," Brooklyn, NY; Nuit Blanche, Toronto, ON and various locations from Toronto to Halifax

2008 Drawing Group Show, Transit Space, OCAD University, Toronto, ON

OCAD University, BFA Drawing & Painting, Toronto, ON

OISE (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education), U of T, MEd Developmental Psychology & Education, Toronto, ON

ArtWalk in the Square, Honourable Mention

"Big Banff Fail," Honourable Mention, Hart House Camera Club 92nd Annual Exhibition of Photography

Sully Corth Memorial Fund Scholarship for Proficiency in Drawing & Painting

Workshops ("Financial Planning for Artists & Designers") at Akin, Xpace Cultural Centre, Ryerson, OCAD U, and Artists' Network

Articles: Creative Differences, Investment Executive

Creative Space Residency, Co-Director

OCAD University, Start Your Professional Practice Now (organizer)

4Cats Arts Studio, volunteer

Toronto Outdoor Arts Festival, volunteer

Planet in Focus Film Festival, volunteer

Hot Docs Film Festival, Toronto Documentary Forum publication design

The Harpweaver, Art & Photo Editor