Nutcracker-painting event aimed at helping downtown Sarnia

Emily Wright has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, specializing in drawing and painting, but decorating a 1.5-meter resin nutcracker, she says, was a first.

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Painting on canvas, flower pots and tote bags are among her usuals, said the Sarnia native and OCAD University graduate.

Painting straight lines on curved surfaces for her design in the Festive Nutcracker project through the nuSarnia Foundation was a bit harder than expected, she said.

“But I figured it out,” she said.

The artist behind Ily Art and Design said she spent more than 60 hours painting her vision, and was the top vote getter among six artists participating in the project of nuSarnia, a cycling and community advocacy group.

“I just feel very proud of myself and my nutcracker, and I really love that everyone else loved him, too,” Wright said.

The project, funded with a $10,000 My Main Street grant, through the Canadian Urban Institute and Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), was primarily about getting more people downtown, said nuSarnia executive director Tristan Bassett.

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Each artist received $1,000 and the rest went to marketing, event expenses and the nutcrackers, Bassett said.

“Our goal was to increase community vibrancy, increase community foot traffic to the area,” she said.

That was done with an artists’ call to which 15 designs were submitted; six were selected. The completed nutcrackers were unveiled at a launch event and were on display at downtown businesses and destinations during a nearly six-week period that wrapped up Dec. 27, Bassett said.

The increased foot traffic helped local businesses, but also increased the perception of community safety, and helped local artists get exposure, she said.

“It was great,” Bassett said. “We definitely had a good response from both the host businesses and the community.”

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The hazelnut on top was all the nutcrackers were auctioned off, she said, raising $1,700 for the Women’s Interval Home of Sarnia-Lambton.

Design submissions ranged from abstract and mosaic tile designs to more traditional, she said.

“We selected mostly traditional Christmas, holiday-themed designs,” she said.

While there aren’t plans to host another Festive Nutcracker event, other art projects are in the works, Bassett said, including a downtown mural project and incorporating artwork along a cycling trail with grant funding from Lambton County’s Creative County program.

“We do have some exciting art-based projects coming up where we’re working with local artists to bring those to life,” she said.

Wright’s “retro holiday floral” design took top spot after 600 votes were cast in the Festive Nutcracker project, she said.

Wright, who also works part-time as a barista, and as an art instructor at the Judith and Norman Alix Art Gallery in Sarnia, said she’s drawn to maximalist art that fills a canvas with as much color and design as possible.

For the nutcracker, that approach paid off, she said, though it came with a price.

“During the process I was like ‘Oh my gosh, whose idea was this?,’” she said.

“But I’m glad I had the ambition with it that I did.”

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