Choleena DiTullio

I’m honoured to have had the news of my “Up-Cycling in Art” workshop ‘covered’ by the local newspaper, Your Community Voice — Carleton Place & Almonte. The event was literally ‘covered’, as I was fortunate enough to have my photo on the Cover!

Staff Writer, Derek Dunn, contacted me after seeing my notice of the workshop on social media. Derek’s relaxed interviewing style made for a very pleasant experience, especially for this shy artist. 🙂 How lovely it is to have the local news interested in the Arts and Recycling!

Below, is a screen capture of the article. The original was printed and distributed around the community. They also publish online, and here is a direct link to my article in the February 12, 2026 issue.

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I’m thrilled to have been invited back to Irene’s Pub in Ottawa. My show contains 26 pieces, plus  a wall of greeting cards and dry-erase prints. This marks the third year with my mosaics at the pub. The team there is amazing! We are in talks about another display of my art but this time with a focus on my painting and intaglio prints. Can’t wait!

Roughly 14 years ago, I made my first dragonfly artwork (pictured). It was an edition of 25, and in the colour palette of red-orange-yellow. I instantly knew that I wanted to make many more and all different colours.

However, as the photo suggests, I hit a brick wall when trying to decide if I wanted to start an edition for each new colour palette or do a variable edition (VE) where the colour varies per piece within the set. Plus, since I had struggled to find papers that provided a satisfying visual gradient from red to orange to yellow, I knew what I was up against. What might be a blip on the radar for some, can be a mid-air stall for others. I don’t know if it’s ‘artist brain’ or simply my brain, but I’m particularly susceptible. In the midst of a lovely moment of celebrating this colourful creature, the recesses of my brain were already whispering, ‘mayday, mayday’. I had other projects that needed my full attention, and I couldn’t afford to lose altitude. Before the whisper turned into a shout, I told myself to shut that down. ‘Roger-Wilco,’ I replied. (M.A.S.H. came to mind, and forced a cathartic smile. 😉 ) I set aside the idea for another day when I had the time to find more paper sources, or think through a solution.

Last month, that day finally came.

Completely unrelated, I needed to reproduce a watercolour gradient that I had made for the sky in one of my Sackville Iris mosaics. So, I looked through my bag of scraps with the hope that I kept a piece of it that I could use for reference. This bag is the repository for little bits of colourful paper that are so beautiful that I do not have the heart to throw them out. Happily, I found what I needed. Also happily, it triggered my memory of wishing to make more dragonflies but not knowing how to produce gradients from pre-dyed paper. Now I knew. Watercolour wings!

Not only did a solution suddenly present itself (is 14 years sudden?), but I finally had a use for some of these tiny pieces of paper. They were a good size for the small cells (the open parts between the wing veins) of a dragonfly.

Buzzing with excitement, I did an immediate experiment to see if the idea would fly. It was love at first flight.

Two problems solved. And, two questions answered: I chose variable edition and recycled watercolour gradients. With the variable edition underway, here is my progress so far:

Click for more

I hope that this little tail helps other artists know that a set-aside idea is not a fail. It’s a wise decision to stay cool and gain time to consider things. Tell your fears to take off, catch your second wind, and climb to a cruising speed that allows your projects to soar!