First Friday Peterborough  (FFPTBO) is a self-guided art crawl of the downtown Peterborough art community that takes place on the first Friday of each month. This past Friday, March 3, Arthur took in the opening night festivities of Portals of Curiosity - the first solo art show of local emerging “art alchemist” and Trent alum, Raine Knudsen at the Jason Wilkins Factory. The main art space featured a live DJ, digital projections, and a generous refreshment area. There was also a lounge space which featured UV-reactive art. A full collection of Knudsen’s uniquely vibrant and dynamic paintings were on display, many of which were for sale in either original or print form. Colourful calendars of Knudsen’s work were also available as well as her psychedelically crocheted hats.

Knudsen refers to herself as an Alchemist of Visual Vibrationz – “an artist, creator, lover and magical woman.” Her Rain(e)bow paintings, mixed media works, jewellery, films, and other art creations are offered as “healing yantras and energetic medicine for the soul and human experience.” Knudsen, who greatly values the health and healing of the planet, has a degree in Environmental Studies and likes to experiment with various artistic approaches in her work such as upcycle and eco-art, which reduce art waste. Knudsen also prefers her healing artwork to be affordable to all art-loving budgets and offers both large and mini pieces.

During her time as an undergrad at Trent, Knudsen was a Lady Eaton College student and also an executive for the Trent Visual Arts Network or TVAN. As part of her degree, she studied environmental violence as well as invisible (or non-physical) forms of violence such as environmental racism. In Knudsen’s final year, she commissioned an upcycled art piece for Trent as a culminating research project where she combined old UNICEF filmstrips with other media into an abstract tree weaving. For Knudsen, the meaning behind the piece was that despite all the violence that happens, there is also so much growth that occurs throughout humanity. 

Arthur had the opportunity to interview Knudsen to gain some greater insight into Knudsen’s work. The vibrant and dynamic nature of Knudsen’s artwork was discussed in terms of her unique painting approach. The use of layering in combination with her intuitive process is how Knudsen creates vibrant aspects of lighting and colour, which resonate dynamically. 

“Every artist has their own way of navigating colour,” says Knudsen, who really likes how the layering of glazing over acrylic “brings out this extra element of pop.” Rather than planning her paintings, Knudsen takes an intuitive approach and allows her pieces to emerge on their own “to become their own paintings.”

Body positivity is a common theme in Knudsen’s artwork as she beautifully portrays the human form in all shapes and sizes. Her Creatoraine digital art collective began as a personal journey of developing a more loving relationship with her body by honouring herself through artistic expression, which she then extended to some close friends who she refers to as her Rain(e)bow Babes. 

“Your body is your home for your soul”, Knudsen says, “and there’s an interesting but unspoken connection between the soul and the body.” Anyone who wants to feel more wonderful in their bodies through Knudsen’s Creatoraine art collective can now arrange to have a private commission done and become a Rain(e)bow Babe – sign me up!

The vision for the Portals of Curiosity solo show was described by Knudsen as “sharing art that feels healing to people through a full-on experience.” By channeling the gift that she was given by the universe, Knudsen feels that her artwork is meant for the betterment of the collective of humanity. To be able to share her work by bringing an art-healing experience to the Peterborough community feels really wonderful to Knudsen. To lift someone’s spirits and “show them how beautiful they are, in an artistic way,” Knusden believes, can make a really positive difference. 

Knuden’s Portals of Curiosity will be on display for the remainder of March at the Jason Wilkins Factory, located downtown Peterborough at 188 Hunter St #7 (beside YoYo’s Frozen Yogurt). To learn more about Raine Knudsen and her art creations, visit her website at raineknudsen.com. To discover other local artists, visit firstfridayptbo.com.