Inspirations Art Show can fill your home with beauty and colour

By Giedre ABromAitis mAnotick Art AssociAtion

Inspirations 2023, put on by the Manotick Art Association, is just around the corner and it’s not too soon to start thinking about where some beautiful new art would fit in your home. Are some of your older paintings fading, or have you moved into a different space, or just feel that a refresh is in order? We will have something for you. Do you want to be brave and put art on walls where there hasn’t been any yet? We will have something for you. Think about places in your home where you spend time, but where the walls are bare because, well, people just don’t put art there. Rooms like laundry areas, sunrooms, games rooms, music rooms, even kitchens. Some kind of art works in just about any setting in a home, and we will have something for you.

As you plan where to include some art, look at the shapes in your home and begin to think a little creatively. One large, long painting can fit beautifully over a sofa, a bed, or a dining hutch. But, in those same places, you can also group a collection of paintings that are similar in theme, colour, or texture. You can create your own grouping, or purchase diptychs or triptychs—groups of paintings that have been especially painted to go together. A bright splash of colour at the end of a darker hallway begs for a vertical piece, or even three or four square pieces hung vertically. The possibilities are endless!

When looking through the vast array of offerings that will be available at Inspirations, choose the paintings that grab you, that you fall in love with, that speak to your heart. Don’t worry whether it matches the carpet or the sofa or the paint on your walls. All art works everywhere! Does the piece remind you of a place you have visited? Does the rendering move your soul? Do you feel as though you are actually in the painting when you gaze at it? These are the kinds of things you need to be asking yourself when selecting art for your home because these pieces are meant to evoke feeling for a very long time. You want to know that you will still love them even after you change your décor. And these are the pieces that will always find a place somewhere in your home.

Buying original art directly from the artist is beneficial to both parties. You get to talk to the artist and learn what inspired them, why they chose the colours they did, why they interpreted the scene as they did, and how they turned something ordinary into something extraordinary. That intimate conversation isn’t something that you would find in a gallery setting. And let’s talk about price. Did you know that galleries double the price of a work of art? When you buy directly from an artist at a show like Inspirations, you will be getting that work for half of what it would cost you at a gallery. That’s a win

I think! And when you return to Inspirations every year, you can begin your own collection by revisiting your favourite artist.

This year’s Inspirations will offer art from 40 Ottawa area artists—there is bound to be something for everyone. The artists will all be there and will be happy to engage in conversation with you about how they create and from where they draw their inspiration. Do come pay us a visit April 21-23 at the Manotick Curling Club, 5519 South River Drive, Friday 6-9 PM, Saturday and Sunday 104. Free entry and parking.

Manotick 1 Bedroom Apartment

Main level - River Road, Manotick executive 1 bedroom apartment with full ensuite bathroom. Stackable washer & dryer. Open concept with fully equipped kitchen (flat top range with overhead fan, refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave) with 2 pantries. Dining and living room area with large picture windows overlooking private scenic setting. Areas available for garden, bonfire pit and barbequing. $1,850.00 per month (heat, hydro, water, internet, parking, separate storage included). April occupancy. Call 613-612-3653

The Ontario government is further expanding the number of medical school spots to historic highs while helping Ontario students become doctors in the province, whether they studied at home or abroad. Starting in 2023, the government is investing an additional $33 million over three years to add another 100 undergraduate medical school seats and another 154 postgraduate medical training seats beginning in 2024, both now prioritized for Ontario residents.

“Too many Ontario students are having to go abroad for medical school because they can’t find residency spots here in their home province while international students learn here then leave,” said Premier Doug Ford. “That’s why we’re expanding the number of undergraduate and graduate medical school spots and putting qualified Ontario students at the front of the line. We’re training the next generation of Ontario doctors right here in Ontario to stay here and care for Ontario communities.”

The new investment in Budget 2023 builds on the expansion of 160 undergraduate and 295 postgraduate medical training seats announced last year, the largest expansion of Ontario’s medical school system in over a decade.

“Medical seat expansion in the province’s postsecondary sector is a critical element of our plan to connect people to care close to home,” said Jill Dunlop, Minister of Colleges and Universities. “Expanding postsecondary education opportunities that prioritize Ontarians will make it easier for the homegrown doctors of tomorrow to receive training and provide world-class health care right in their own communities.”

This expansion is part of the government’s Your Health plan, which includes initiatives to hire more health care workers.

“Increasing the number of doctors and other health care workers will make it easier for Ontarians to connect to world class health care right in their own communities,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “We will continue to implement our bold plan to grow our health workforce so Ontarians can continue to receive care closer to home for years to come.”

“By investing in Ontario’s health workforce, our government is connecting people to the care they need where and when they need it,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance. “Training more doctors here in Ontario is part of our plan to build a strong Ontario that is supporting people today while laying a strong foundation for the future.”

The Ontario government’s 2023 budget, Building a Strong Ontario, is helping to drive economic growth, attract jobs and investments, and build key infrastructure projects faster. The government’s plan is also training skilled workers to fill in-demand jobs, keeping costs down for those that need it the most, and providing better health and public services for Ontario families.

“The University of Ottawa is pleased to receive new medical school seats at its Faculty of Medicine and help build strong and sustainable frontline healthcare services across the province, including in rural and northern communities,” said Jacques Frémont, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Ottawa. “The University trains over 90 per cent of Ontario’s bilingual health care professionals who are in great demand throughout the province’s healthcare system and provide francophones with critical services when they need them most.”

Quick Facts

- The government is also investing $100.8 million to expand and accelerate the rollout of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education that was announced as part of the 2022 Ontario Budget.

- 60 per cent of the new postgraduate training seats will be in primary care and 40 per cent will be in specialty care.

- The new medical expansion will bring the total number of undergraduate seats and postgraduate training seats to 1,212 and 1,637 respectively, by 2028.

- The province has expanded the Ontario Learn and Stay Grant which provides full, upfront funding for tuition, books and other direct educational costs to students in return for working in the region where they studied for a term of service after graduation. In addition to nursing programs, the grant will now include paramedic and medical laboratory technologist programs in priority communities.

- To strengthen the health and long-term care workforce, Ontario invested $342 million for 2021-22 to add over 5,000 new and upskilled registered nurses and registered practical nurses as well as 8,000 personal support workers. In addition, Ontario invested $57.6 million for 2022–23 to hire 225 nurse practitioners in the long-term care sector.

To learn more about careers in health care, please visit: https://www.ontario.ca/page/ careers-health-care.