Scugog Arts presents HAZEL, an exhibition inspired by the rhythms and flow of everyday life and the natural world.
“The branches twisted and turned in unexpected ways, maneuvering themselves over, under, and around each other like figures in a choreographed dance. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I called her Hazel.”
— Laurie Lafrance
The exhibition opens on June 6th, 2026, with an artist reception from 1–3 PM.
Based just east of Toronto, Lafrance is an artist and arts educator whose vibrant work captures the energy and rhythms of everyday life, people, and the natural world.
She studied Visual Communications and Design at Medicine Hat College in 1980, followed by studies in Communications at the Ontario College of Art in 1984, and later at OCAD University in 2019.
Alongside her personal artistic practice, she built a long and successful career as a freelance illustrator, working with a wide range of notable clients including The Toronto Star, The New Yorker, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Scholastic, Oxford Press, the Royal Ontario Museum Gift Shop, and Canada Post.
This exhibition explores the marvelous and unique beauty of a twisted, tangled, and marred corkscrew hazelnut tree discarded by the side of the road. Laurie discovered it on a walk one day and decided to take it home, nurture it, study it, and recreate it through her work.
Something about this scraggly bit of hazelnut tree captured her, and in turn, she captured it again and again through drawing after drawing. Her lines convey the soul of her subject with a familiar, chaotic presence reminiscent of the imperfect and messy reality of existence. Life is fast—one thing after another, never-ending, filled with twists, turns, and quick gestural lines.
Her work captures not only this rawness, but also a deep gentleness. There is a careful eye that notices the curves of her subjects and the subtle shifts in light and shadow. Delicate branches spiral and dance with one another. Life can also be slow and relaxed, flowing like water in a brook or twisting in corkscrews like hazel branches.
Laurie’s work captures the full spirit of her subjects, combining both intensity and softness to create a soulful exhibition, a tribute to life, no matter the form it takes.
Join us at Scugog Arts Space to experience the magic of Laurie Lafrance’s HAZEL from June 6th–28th, 2026.
Artist reception: June 6th, 1–3 PM.
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