CAROL GAITAN

My ambition to create eventually lead me to pursue an education in Graphic Design at the university level. After university I attended LaSalle College in Montreal, Canada to study Fashion Design.  In addition to winning three fashion design contests, I won a highly coveted internship in Vedvaek, Denmark with Saga, a famous Danish leather and fur design institution. The highlight of my school years was my experience in Denmark and the rewarding feedback of being acknowledge Internationally. 

Back in Canada I opened my own bespoke menswear business and also established a sideline in furniture restoration.  Looking to keep up with modern technology, I entered the International Academy of Design in Toronto and took my Diploma in Digital Media Design. Soon after I was hired by the school as a lab instructor for incoming students and privately instructed new users in the use of design related software, like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere and Adobe Illustrator. 

From there I went to work at the CBC as an illustrator for web content.  Following that, I went to TVOntario to work on “The Nook,” their children’s block of television programming, designing and animating interactive teaching games for preschoolers.   I have been working in Canada for over 10 years as a freelancer Graphic Artist.

From the murals of Berlin to the ceilings of the Sistine Chapel, what amazes me about Europe is how great art and architecture are so much a part of the people’s everyday existence. While studying Fur Design at SAGA - International Design Centre - in Vedbaek, Denmark I had easy access to explore this fascinating city.  Up to this date, I take every opportunity I can to travel to the museums of France, Italy, Spain, England, Germany and Holland to see the paintings I studied in school face to face.  The meticulous attention to detail and the way people respect craftsmanship and quality in handmade products are ideals that inspire me when I create my own works. From seeing people riding their bikes to taking the time to linger over coffee, the pace of life is one of the things that makes Europe so appealing.  Through sketchbooks and photography I managed to preserve visual reminders of the amazing sites I witnessed to further inspire me in my work when I returned home.  

I took 4 months off school to explore Southeast Asia.  I rambled through Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.  I spent most of my time in Malaysia living and working with a local family, helping them run their Laksa stand on Penang Island.  I learned all about Malaysia cuisine and was involved in the complete process of food preparation.  We cleaned our own sardines and classified our own coriander everyday, six days a week at dawn before taking the cart out to market.  I also studied batik fabric printing from traditional Malaysia batik makers.  My experience led me to win first place in a Malaysian batik design contest.  What I learned there about textile-making, patterning, fabric design and combining unusual colours served me in good stead in creating a collection of twelve Asian inspired fashion design pieces for my culminating project when I returned to school.

What brought me to Africa was the opportunity to work for the nonprofit organization Dorkay House, centre for a group of black artists in the 1950s. Bantu Men’s Social Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was a historical centre for the arts for the local Bantu community. There I taught pattern-making, sewing and illustration to local tailors and dressmakers looking to upgrade their skills and improve their knowledge and together we developed costumes that were worn by performers at The Market Theatre in Johannesburg.

This opportunity led into my work for Spark Art Gallery a modern art facility, also in Johannesburg.  There I worked with local widows teaching them marketable skills in sewing and fabric painting to improve their socio-economic status.  This was an absolutely rewarding experience.  Afterwards I put my skills in clothing design into practice working as a costume designer for the Dorkey House Theatre in the Bantu Men’s Social Centre.

There is something about Africa that speaks to my inner self, drawing me in like a magnet.   I relished the opportunity to travel around the continent to Namibia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Lesotho and all over South Africa itself.  Actually, seeing animals in their natural habitat and connecting with nature taught me more about myself as an artist.  

I was in South Africa twice.  The first time I went to South Africa was on holiday before the end of Apartheid.  The second time was when I took the job at the Bantu Men’s Centre after the end of Apartheid and saw the changes in South African society first hand.   Taking courses in Sociology in university allowed me to reflect in depth on the evolution of civil rights in the twenty-first century that I was witnessing first hand.