Whether she’s teaching first-year OCAD students, making art with long-term care residents, or leading a groovy drawing disco workshop, Erin Finley is happiest when she’s building community through art experiences.
Finley is a Toronto-based visual artist and a drawing instructor at OCAD University. This month, she will bring back her popular Drawing Disco workshop to Gladstone House. Participants are invited to sketch a live model decked out in disco attire, as Finley provides drawing prompts and guidance—all set to an infectious dance soundtrack.
“People can get glam, have fun, and unwind. I find that translates itself into the drawings,” says Finley. “They feel invited to have a little fun and be a little whimsical with the things they create.”
When Finley first launched the Drawing Disco in 2022, the event was a sold-out hit. Now, the workshop will be held as part of Art Week at Gladstone House, a 5-day series of art programming running from January 27-31. Gladstone House is Toronto’s oldest operating hotel, a hub for local and regional art, and in Finley’s experience, an inspiring environment to create in.
“There’s a whole lot of sparkle to the building. It’s stylish,” she says. “It lends itself to creativity and there’s a burst of energy when people dive into these creative spaces with music and drawing utensils.”
Community-building and wellness have always been central to Finley’s practice as an artist. She previously taught at CAMH in Toronto and currently teaches art to residents in long-term homes across the GTA, sharing a technique she developed called Memory Drawing.
Finley began this practice during the pandemic, when long-term care homes in Ontario made headlines with reports of widespread COVID outbreaks, deteriorating living conditions, and prolonged isolation. “I reached out and asked if there was anything I could do…ways of coming in and bringing some joy to communities that were isolated,” she says. “I didn’t want them to be forgotten.”
She started leading drawing workshops for long-term care residents, with a focus on recalling and strengthening memories. “We will focus on a beloved family member, a beloved place, or a beloved event—maybe a marriage, the birth of a grandchild—and they will draw that memory.”
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Memory Drawing activates the visual processing area of the brain which is also responsible for stimulating memory, Finley explains. Dr. John Whyte, chief medical officer of WebMD, has said Finley’s processes can improve a variety of cognitive abilities, promote neuroplasticity, and help older adults experiencing memory loss.
In 2023, the project received support from the Canada Council for the Arts, and is still going strong. Finley recently renamed the initiative “Project Elinor” in memory of her late mother, who was also an artist. Finley tells us that from a young age, her mother instilled in her not only a love of art, but the importance of community.
“She would often gather our friends, neighbours, and family members all together in the kitchen or backyard, and we would draw together,” she says, recalling the sheer joy of creating comic books or drawing tributes to Madonna. “That was me enjoying what it was like as a child to draw without this academic pressure—to just simply enjoy the movement of the hand.”
Finley is an expert at making drawing feel less daunting. Whether it’s nervous first-year art students, newbies at the Drawing Disco, or long-term care residents who are hesitant to jump in, she’s helped tons of people find the courage to start creating.
“I’m all about tapping into your inner child and returning to when you’re on a beach, age five, drawing in the sand with your finger,” says Finley. “I often have people remember the sheer joy of moving your hand across the surface and seeing where that takes you.”
As well as mental barriers, Finley also seeks to dismantle the notion that fancy, expensive materials are needed to create art. She regularly posts videos drawing with Sharpies or Crayola markers, and tells us some of her students have drawn with eyeliner, lipstick, and even orange soda!
“You can use anything to create a drawing,” she says. “That’s a really beautiful way of looking at drawing— that it isn’t relegated to these expensive, highly academic, highfalutin materials. They can be everyday, accessible materials.”
And she proved her point, right in front of us. Using only a few markers and stationery we had in our office, Finley created a beautifully detailed portrait in just a few minutes. Oh, and, she drew it using both hands—at the same time!
Ambidextrous drawing is another development that came out of the pandemic for Finley. During virtual classes, without a physical space to respond to, all she and her students had was what was right in front of them—their hands.
“I decided to create something that would be a real skill they could come away with, even though we weren’t together,” Finley says. “The students loved it. It is tricky at first, but it does get easier.”
Finley has been an instructor at OCAD since 2012 and has received two teaching awards from the university. She tells us teaching has added an entirely new dimension to her art career, one that’s not only fun, but fulfilling.
“You witness people’s growth and their emotional journey as they find that courage to make art and to overcome things they are going through,” she says.“I find art is such a great safe space for expressing yourself… you can find your way through lots of rather serious things that are happening right now by processing through art.”
It’s an apt reminder for the time we’re living in right now. Barriers to art do exist—whether physical, financial, or mental—but artists like Finley remind us that art doesn’t have to be an inaccessible, unaffordable luxury. Perhaps more than ever, art can be therapeutic, a solace for the dark days, or a way of connecting with others. For Finley, building these connections, providing creative outlets, and fostering community through art—that’s the dream.
“I actually see the long-term care work as not too disparate from the disco —as wild as that seems!” she says. “It’s about having lots of people together in a space, lots of conversations happening in these different pockets, and then we make great art at the same time. Everyone comes away with something they’re proud of…and feeling bolstered by creativity and the community aspect.”
The Drawing Disco with Erin Finley will take place on January 31 as part of Art Week at The Gladstone House. Tickets are available now.
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