Tanner van Vliet (they/she) is a young queer artist currently living and working in Kitchener-Waterloo. Tanner's preferred mediums include collage, abstract painting, and mixed media exploration. They love experimenting with new mediums and pushing the boundaries of what is possible in their artistic practice. Within their practice, Tanner strives to explore a child-like sense of play through their art by letting their impulses, mood, and enjoyment for creating motivate the direction of their works. In addition to their artistic practice, Tanner is one of the Co-Founders of the After School Snack Collective (2020 - present).
Tanner van Vliet
Exploring creative outlets has been a foundational component of Tanner's life from a young age. They grew up in a household where artistic interests were encouraged; spending their time crafting and creating with family members, playing in paint, and drawing on the walls. In addition to their passion for visual arts, Tanner is an avid theatre and performance art lover. So much so that Tanner went on to study Theatre Production Technology at Sheridan College, specializing in scenic painting and props making (2018-2021).
Tanner recently had their work Pansies published in Issue 09 of Petal Projections Magazine. They have participated in local juried public art projects; City of Waterloo's Neighbourhood Picnic Table Mural Project (2022 - 2024); works Fauna (2021) and In My Bones; Ribs (2020) featured in the City of Waterloo's Art Walk Promenade in Waterloo Park (2022 & 2023); participated in THE BEASTING, community art project, founded and hosted by local artist My Pet Skeleton (2023). Tanner participates in local events as an artist vendor, most recently in the City of Cambridge and City of Ayr's Pride celebration events.
Tanner's first public exhibition Picnic, (2023) was held in the Waterloo Tourism and Visitors Center. Picnic (2023) featured a selection of Tanner's works alongside works created by After School Snack Collective Co-Founders, Kate Short and Ella Latta Suazo.
Tanner has delivered workshops and courses on a wide array of mediums to various groups: collaging workshop, Waterloo Tourism and Visitors Center (2023); visual art camp for youth, Button Factory Arts (2023-2024); theatre and acting classes for children and youth, Stanley Park Community (2023-2024); visual art teacher and theatre teacher, Arts Abound (2021-2023).
The After School Snack Collective participated in the City of Waterloo's Artist in Neighbourhood Project (2024), connecting with a local neighbourhood to create a collaborative mural in a local park. As part of the Artists in Neighbourhood project, the After School Snack Collective painted the mural with local community members at their summertime kick-off event, Summer Salute 2024. The After School Snack Collective will be participating in the 2024 Lumen Festival held in the uptown area of Waterloo this fall.
As Guest Curator at Minds Eye Studio Art Gallery and Yoga Studio, I am pleased to present A Girl in the Garden, a solo exhibition of Tanner’s work at the gallery from July 28-August 25th. Private viewings are available on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 1 pm and 6 pm, and the artist reception will be on Friday August 23rd from 7:30-10pm. Event info is here.
Artist / Exhibition Statement
A Girl in the Garden is an accumulation of pieces I created over the past five years. Each piece is a part of my journey of rediscovering what creating art for myself looks and feels like — learning to have fun and play with art and new mediums without fear or pressure of being "good enough". While creating I let my impulses and cravings choose the medium I work with. Once I have chosen a medium I will work in a non-stop flow, usually doing the bulk of my creating in one sitting. When I can, I prefer to work outside. I find the ambience of the outdoors helps me feel calm, happy, and safe. In this space, I can be playful and explore the mediums around me.
My abstract paintings are a part of a series I worked on last spring. I was going through a season of change and processing things in my personal life. These abstract pieces allowed me to act on how my emotions wanted to be physically expressed. I apply paint with my hands; dipping into pots, squeezing tubes directly onto the canvas, and smearing paint with my fingertips. Applying the paint this way often feels primal and nostalgic, like I've become my younger self discovering what it feels like to paint for the first time. Paint has always been the one thing I’m comfortable having on my skin, it’s where I feel at peace and at home.
Collage is a medium I discovered more recently. I've always loved collecting old books, art magazines, and old art textbooks. I enjoy flipping through the pages, feeling the texture of the paper, and finding inspiration from the images within. I had been curious about collaging for a while and one day decided to experiment with it. It truly took creating one piece to become hooked, quickly becoming one of my favourite mediums to work in. The thing I love most about collaging is the process itself. Delicately and surgically cutting dainty flower stems and illustrations of human anatomy. Hunting for images, trying out different combinations and different arrangements until I find one that feels right. I'll find one to two images that I'm initially drawn to, then build the rest of the piece by hunting through my stacks of vintage magazines and books, to find textural elements and additional materials to cut together a larger image. Visuals and themes that I'm often drawn to in my collages are florals, fungi, and anatomy. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of picking flowers in our yard, feeling the soft texture of the petals and the sturdiness of the flower stems. Overflowing gardens that were a sea of texture and colour to be touched and collected. My interest in anatomy began in my teenagehood. I became curious about how the human body worked, how different muscles move, and how layers of bone and tissue intertwined and worked as one harmonious mechanism.
I truly love to create for the fun of exploring mediums and experimenting in the process of making as an extension of myself and my experiences. I'm looking forward to continuing to expand the mediums I work in and continue to have fun within my artistic practice.
“Overall, I feel like I’m in a big phase of growth and I’d love to continue to push myself and see what I’m capable of. ”
What have been some key moments or turning points in your rediscovery process of creating art for yourself?
A key moment or turning point would be experiencing the significant life changes and shifts that occurred in my personal life this past year and a bit. There was a point in time where I was honestly overwhelmed with what I was feeling and was really struggling to process everything. At the same time, my artist collective had just been offered a month-long slot to showcase our work in the Waterloo Visitors Information Centre and I knew I wanted to create larger-scale paintings specifically for our show.
Having the deadline of the exhibition really pushed me to jump back into art making and more specifically painting. I knew I didn’t have the capacity to dive into a long or complicated process, I wanted to paint but I didn’t know where to start. So instead of thinking, I picked colours I was drawn to and dipped my hands in the paint. It turned out to be exactly what I needed to jump-start my creativity again.
Does your artistic process differ when you are making art for your own projects vs. when you are making art as part of your artist collective?
It does, by nature we work very collaboratively. Being in the After School Snack Collective has given me the opportunity to do what I love with people that I really care about and share a passion for creating with. We’ve been able to accomplish a lot in the 4 years we’ve been working together, and I wouldn’t be where I am today in my career as an emerging artist without the collective. Having two friends in my corner as support and creative partners helped me build up confidence to apply to grant projects and open calls, and eventually start attending markets and other events as a solo vendor.
You describe your process for painting as primal and instinctual, vs your process for collage which is more delicate and meticulous. Have you ever wondered what the results would be if you switched processes?
I have! One of my goals for the next phase of my practice is to learn and experiment with oil painting in addition to exploring longer painting sessions. I’d really like to commit time to learning a new medium, and I feel like oils will present some really fun ways to combine my painting and collage style together. I’ve been finding myself craving something new and oils feel like the next way for me to push what I am capable off within my practice.
Can you give an example of a specific abstract piece in the exhibition and the emotions it was meant to express?
Tied 5 (yellow), is one of the pieces I created last spring. I created this piece while processing a lot of confusion, frustration, and anxiety, which I feel is expressed in the movement and “brushstrokes” (handprints) on the canvas.
As a long-time collector of old books and art magazines, do you think that you were subconsciously preparing yourself to step into collage?
I think so! A lot of the books and magazines I’ve collected over the years I got with the intention of using them as references and supporting materials when I am teaching but they also make the perfect collage materials. A lot of the books and magazines I have in my collection are art magazines, art history textbooks, or art and design books which tend to have great images. It can also be fun to see a piece of art that I found interesting and repurposing it and turning it into something new.
How do you see your artistic practice evolving and what are your hopes for the next phase of your creative journey?
I’d love to continue to pursue more opportunities for larger-scale works and public open calls. I’ve loved the process of painting the few murals I’ve been able to do and I just want more! Overall I feel like I’m in a big phase of growth and I’d love to continue to push myself and see what I’m capable of. In an ideal world I’d love to continue vending at art markets, painting murals, and working with local organizations but increase the frequency and scale.
What do you want people to take away from this exhibition?
I hope people learn to look for opportunities for fun and play in their lives, and to take time to enjoy the little things that make them happy.
Follow Tanner on Instagram.
Interview by Glodeane Brown
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