September 9 – 27, 2026
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 12, 1 – 5 pm
Open until 9 pm on Thursday, September 24th for Canadian Art Hop
Artist Talk: Sunday, September 27, 2:30 – 3:30 pm
I am an inveterate, unrepentant trashure collector! (Trashure = trash + treasure)
The pieces in this show have been chosen to show a variety of junk I have collected over the years…trashures to me😊 My challenge was to breathe new life into material that was headed to the trash bin.
A trashure may sit in my collection for years or just days before inspiring me to give it a second or third purpose in life. Needless to say, I am constrained by my trashure palette, but therein lies the creative challenge as I play, explore, and experiment. I have so much fun dreaming up how to use these things.
The underlying themes I wish to explore have to do with my feelings about the wasteful climate-changing habits encouraged by our consumer society. However….making art with this stuff does give me an outlet to express my personal struggles and joys, and provides some respite from the anxieties of modern living in these troubled times.
I hope that my work might inspire visitors to consider how to reuse materials in their own homes before chucking them out.
Helena Wehrstein is a mostly self-taught artist working in Toronto and Hillsburgh, Ontario. She worked exclusively in textiles in the earlier years of her art career, incorporating old stuff from quite early on, but for the past 15 years has used recycled, pre-used stuff as much as possible.
She has exhibited work at: Toronto Outdoor Art Fair over many years, solo shows, studio tours, group shows, Petroff Gallery, The Jackalope Gallery, Gallery 1313 and Propeller Art Gallery.
Helena is also a musician, photographer, long-time volunteer for an environmental org, and a retired elementary school music teacher.
