By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

“The creative process requires chaos before form emerges” is the tagline for Headwaters Arts' fifth open members' art show of 2025.

The exhibit, held in the Headwaters Arts Gallery in the Alton Mill Arts Centre, is titled “Chaos and Order.”

The show exhibits 25 works of art by 23 artists.

“The creation process is often a journey, following a crooked path filled with obstacles, perhaps even of our own making. But through this chaos, our art emerges triumphant,” says Headwaters Arts.

At the opening reception for the exhibit last week, artists shared their reasoning behind their presented works.

Bill Carroll, who has been a member of Headwaters Arts for a few years now, said he finished his piece before the title of the show emerged.

“When I heard of the title of the show, I thought, yeah, I've got exactly that,” said Carroll, adding he is not a “chaotic” artist.

His piece, titled “Quietly Contemplating Chaos,” is based on a photo his granddaughter sent him, depicting her standing in front of an abstract painting in Los Angeles.

He then painted the image, first creating a painting, then painting his granddaughter in front of it.

He shared that the painting his granddaughter is looking at represents the chaos.

One of his favourite parts of the exhibit, Carroll said, is being able to watch people look at all the paintings.

He shared that it's always interesting to hear a non-objective opinion about the work.

Being an artist, Carroll explained, is throwing something of “you” onto every canvas.

“That's why I love seeing all this stuff, and get into the brain of whoever's done it,” he says.

Each artist in “Chaos and Order” drew inspiration from different sources; some drew from real life.

Patty Maher, a Caledon artist, brought pieces to the exhibition from her series titled “The Salvage Mission.”

The pieces are inspired by a car graveyard in Rockwood, she shared, where she went one day and took pictures of the vehicles.

“It was really chaotic,” said Maher. “They're everywhere and they're overgrown with bushes and trees. But I really loved them, and I wanted to kind of give them a new life somewhere else.”

“There's nothing more chaotic than what I found there,” explained Maher when asked why she added these pieces to the exhibition.

She said the exhibition itself represents a wide range of talent that is here in Caledon and the surrounding areas.

“What I love about these group shows is that there's everything here. There are paintings and collages and woodworking and photography,” says Maher. “It really shows a wide range of talents and a wide range of mediums.”

One artist who used a different medium is Lynn Gilbank. 

In her piece at the exhibit, she used textiles to create the image.

“It's all textile, layering and over-layering and stitching of different fabrics to make it more of a painting, but using textile as paint,” explained Gilbank.

She has been a part of Headwaters Arts for a couple of years, and volunteers on the gallery committee.

Gilbank shared that the variety of artwork in the exhibition is “astounding.”

“There's lovely, lovely things, many different styles and types and ingredients that all go into it,” she says.

The exhibition will run until September 14, 2025; until then, everyone can see the variety of artworks available.