Students voice their art

By Daisy Hunt

hunt0241@algonquincollege.com

Art surrounds us.

There’s no doubt that it’s everywhere in all forms, matter, shapes and sizes, and some Algonquin students are proving that an artistic passion can’t be held back by homework and assignments.

First-year small and medium business enterprise management student Drew Rankin, 20, is the vocalist for the popular local punk band, Acid Overdose. Rankin has been in bands since he was 14 and feels that music is his outlet.

“Our songs are about our interests. Zombies, inner-revolution and the challenge of establishment,” said Rankin. “I have been vocals for all the bands I have been in, but I also play drums and the harmonica...But only when I’m drunk.”

Out of the four bands Rankin has been in throughout his life, he feels that Acid Overdose is the best one yet. With an average of about one show a month, for a three-month-old band, “that’s pretty good,” expressed Mike Trash, the vocalist for another popular Ottawa-based punk band, The Sewer Rats.

While Rankin screams into a microphone to get his point across, second-year pre-media student Vanessa Copeland, 21, prefers to make beats on her Macintosh.

“Some bands I’m listening to right now are Radiohead, Explosions In The Sky, Girl Talk, Fleetwood Mac and Spies,” said Copeland regarding her inspiration for her interesting musical creations.

“I make beats that are more so electronica, but have a casual indie vibe.”

 Copeland hopes that one day she can collaborate with a well-known artist to get her music heard.

Someone who hears Copeland’s music all the time is her roommate and fellow artist, Jennifer Hardy, 19.

Hardy is a second-year hotel and restaurant management student who loves nothing more than painting and creating visual art.

“Basically, my family is really inspiring. They support me through everything. Nature is also inspiring to me. Most of my paintings have to do with nature,” said Hardy.

Hardy’s favourite piece is a life-size chair made of paper mache.

“I love to get right in there with the glue and the paint and really get into what I’m making,” noted Hardy. “When I was a baby I used to draw on the walls all the time and I loved to finger paint. As soon as I could stand my parents bought me an easel to paint on instead.”

Although creating art is Hardy’s favourite pastime, she doesn’t have any plans to incorporate it into her career in the future.