Mixed Media Ogham Leaf Gift Cards & Tags

• Date: Friday 23rd October 
• Time: 6pm - 8:30pm 
• Tutor: Joanne Feely DeGraaf
• Level: All levels welcome
• Materials: Materials included
• Participants: Maximum 8
• Suitable for: Beginners or those wishing to try mixed media techniques. No previous art experience is necessary. Adults and young people over 14.  
• Venue: Olive Stack Gallery V31 HW30

Workshop Description 

October is the perfect month to pause and reflect on the beauty of autumn leaves. As the earliest Irish form of written communication, we will use the Ogham tree alphabet and calendar as starting points to create hand-made gift cards and tags focused on the beauty of leaves. Using simple techniques, these delicate hand-made artworks can be gifted for special events and birthdays throughout the year. 

In this mixed media workshop, you will be guided through the process of nature relief printing using fresh leaves and archival waterproof ink. After printing, you will have the opportunity to paint your prints. Paper collage supplies will be provided to turn your painted prints into cards and gift tags that you will be proud to share. 

You can look forward to creating with the following mixed media: 

-Archival waterproof inks

-Ink based paints 

-Graphite paint

-Traditional watercolour paints

-Waterclour paper, 100% cotton rag

-Collage papers

-10 blank cards with envelopes per participant

All required tools will be provided. 

Concepts of paint colour mixing, and painting techniques will be discussed. 

Light snacks and refreshments will be provided during the workshop

Registration Policy:

Please note: Your payment secures your place in the workshop and is therefore non-refundable. A minimum number of participants is required for workshops to go ahead. If this number is not met, the workshop will be cancelled and a full refund will be issued.

About the Artist

Joanne Feely DeGraaf is a Canadian, second-generation Irish, multidisciplinary visual artist and arts educator. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Fine Art, a Bachelor of Education and an Honours Specialist. She has taught visual arts for over 30 years in the Ontario school system, all the while pushing her own creative practice further. 

Her diverse training and experience allows her to draw from a wide range of new and traditional art practices, allowing her media choices to contribute context to her artwork. Her favourite subjects and themes explore environmental, cultural and ethnobotanical connections. 

Her public artwork includes murals, installation and interactive events. She has exhibited at the Mississauga Festival of Trees (2022, 2025) and Toronto’s annual overnight art event, Nuit Blanche Toronto (2023). In 2024 she created a one-person multi-media forest art installation called Woods of Wonder - Cawthra Trail (2024) that included digital and hand painted art trail markers linked to online youtube recordings. Her many outdoor murals beautify public spaces across southern Ontario, Canada, including Mississauga, Etobicoke, Acton and Grimsby. 

Her smaller work on canvas and paper can be found in private collections. Many of her acrylic paintings have been exhibited by various galleries including the Mississauga Living Arts Centre, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Bradley Museum and Etobicoke Civic Centre.

Joanne’s artistic efforts are reflected in awards she has received such as Mississauga Arts Council Microgrants (2023 and 2024) and First Place, Beauty of Bees Art Exhibit, Streetsville Bread and Honey Festival (2022), Stonehooker Beer label contest (2020) and Peel District School Board Award of Excellence (2014 and 2026). She was one of three finalists in the Mississauga Arts Council, Multi-Media Art, Marty Award, 2025. 

This October 2026 will be Joanne’s first artist residency. It is very appropriate that it be at the Olive Stack Gallery in Listowel. Since her father was raised just north of Athea in west Limerick, this opportunity is very dear to her heart and deeply inspiring as an artist. This residency will provide a chance to reflect and connect in ways not possible on a tourist visit.