The hands behind the work

Award-winning artist Ted Stewart celebrates Ontario’s birds and wildlife through woodcarving and painting. His individually carved wildfowl reveal natural wood grain or exquisite painted detail, capturing birds in quiet repose or poised for flight. An original Rideau Lakes Studio Tour artist, Ted has served as an Artist in Residence in several national parks and judges regional woodcarving competitions. His work reflects an enduring fascination with nature’s beauty, character, and quiet presence, shaped by decades of observation.

Maggie Stewart is an Indigenous artist, teacher, and advocate from Kashechewan First Nation in Northern Ontario. Taught by her mother, aunties, and kookum, she creates beadwork, wearable art, traditional moccasins, and mittens. Now living in Newboro, Maggie shares her heritage through workshops and community gatherings. A founding member of Three Sisters, she supports Indigenous women and allies, celebrating traditional making as a source of healing, belonging, cultural connection, and stories carried through every careful stitch.

Diana Kemp discovered stained glass in the 1980s and has loved its colour, texture, and movement ever since. Through White Heather Glass Creations, she transforms carefully chosen glass into decorative pieces, gifts, and personalized commissions, each brought to life by natural light. Now based in Rideau Lakes, Diana also shares her skills through encouraging workshops, helping participants build confidence and experience the joy of creating something beautiful entirely by hand, one piece at a time.

Caitlin Burke has been creating art since her teens, exploring colour, pattern, and design. Her love of flowers and gardens connects her to family and inspires her work in watercolour, acrylic, and mixed media. An art teacher for over twenty-five years, Caitlin continues to discover her own artistic voice. She brings that curiosity to her teaching, welcoming experimentation and mistakes while helping participants find joy, connection, and well-being in the creative process.

A fine jeweller from Merrickville, Kenna reveals the natural works of art held within stone and transforms them into distinctive, wearable forms. A trained lapidarist and silversmith, she has cut gemstones and created copper and silver jewellery for more than 20 years. Her work has a profoundly Canadian focus, celebrating Canadian gemstones and the ancient landscapes from which they come. Guided by the individual colour, markings, and story of each stone, Kenna creates every piece with care, allowing the gemstone itself to shape the final design. Her commitment to ethically sourced materials, thoughtful processes, and one-of-a-kind or limited-edition work places TerrAdore Art Jewelry firmly within the slow fashion movement. Her jewellery has appeared in an international art and fashion magazine and received a Global Excellence Award from a UK luxury goods publication.

Lisa Paddle brings a lifelong love of wool to her felted creations and welcoming fibre classes. An avid, self-taught knitter, she explored sewing, crochet, and weaving before finding her passion for felting more than twenty years ago.

With degrees in Nursing and Public Administration from Queen’s University, Lisa brings curiosity about wool’s history and science to her artistic practice. In recent years, she has had time to study with accomplished fibre artists and deepen her skills.

Lisa celebrates the joy of making by hand, encouraging everyone to embrace imperfection, be brave, and discover the fulfilment of creating something beautiful.

Margaret Martin has drawn and made art since childhood, inspired in part by her mother, an amateur watercolourist, and her paternal grandmother, an accomplished oil painter. Encouraged by her father to study art seriously, Margaret graduated from the University of Guelph’s Fine Art program, specializing in visual art, and later earned a degree in Education from Queen’s University. Following a career teaching children, youth, and adults, she now devotes her time to painting, writing, and supporting the creative community of Rideau Lakes. She is a longtime member and current co-president of the Rideau Lakes Artists’ Association and is also the author of the poetry collection From Inside to Outside.