  Margaret Shelton (1915-1984)
Thirteen years ago, I read an article about a fascinating woman by the name of Margaret Shelton and couldn't believe I hadn't heard of her before. She grew up in the mid-central Alberta prairies (near Drumheller) and would ride her orange bike all the way to the Rockies to sketch and paint them along with everything else around her, both near and far, staying in her pup tent for the summer. Her work is quite stunning as she was able to capture the area with impeccable drawing skills and would then return home to create linocut and wood block prints along with larger watercolor and oil paintings. What an amazing role model to not only follow her dream as an artist, but to be so focused and driven to do what it takes to follow that dream. Even today, what she accomplished fills me with wonder and awe as I don't know that I could be so dedicated, so committed, so brave. In the summer of 2012, I headed into Calgary to visit The Collectors Gallery in Inglewood (always a pleasure) and saw my favorite pieces, a small watercolour sketch which sat beside its completed print. It was wonderful to see her bike (which she painted orange so that it wouldn't be stolen) in the exhibit along with the pochade and sketchbooks she travelled with - I wish these items would be placed in a museum for posterity. I wanted to take a ride on the bike and flip through her sketchbooks. I got to see another exhibit of her work at The Collectors Gallery recently, without her bike unfortunately, and was just as amazed as the first time.  Evanescence Gallery 2012 "Eventually I discovered for myself the utterly simple prescription for creativity;
be intensely yourself. Don't try to be outstanding; don't try to be a success; don't try to do pictures for others to look at - just please yourself." ~ Ralph Steiner  I wrote this on my blog & newsletter in 2012 & think it might be important to share again:
Awhile ago an artist was creating a video and asked a number of different women for a photo of themselves with a word or phrase that meant something to them. Her focus was empowerment and speaking of things to let go, such as fear, in order to move forward. I decided I wanted mine to be positive, a reflection of where I feel I've begun to see growth in my own life. Growing up I was painfully shy and was absolutely grateful for the group of girls that allowed me to speak and be fully myself. But otherwise, I didn't feel my contribution mattered - in fact, it felt as though as what I had to say was silly, non-consequential, almost a stain on any conversation. As an adult, with my paintings and writing being exhibited and published more frequently and also being asked to speak publicly more often, I am realizing that my voice does matter. That each one of us needs to share our 'song'. That without allowing everyone a chance for expression, we are missing a vital part of this wonderful journey in this world. Like Martha Graham once said, there is a life-force that runs through each and every one of us, and if we don't express it, the world will lose it. And what a shame that would be.  Mary Schäffer Warren (1861–1939) was an American-Canadian naturalist, illustrator, photographer, and writer. Schäffer collected botanical specimens and learned photography, collecting specimens for the University of Pennsylvania. In 1907 Alpine Flora of the Canadian Rocky Mountains was published, with text by Stewardson Brown and drawings and photographs by Schäffer. 1907 also saw Schäffer transition from using a folding camera and glass plate negatives for her work to using celluloid film. Upon completion of her botanical work, Schäffer and Adams decided that they wanted to explore further into the mountains. They convinced, a mountain guide named William "Billy" Warren and fellow guide Sidney Unwin to provide the outfit and knowledge necessary to try finding "Chaba Imne," a lake in an unexplored mountain valley that they had heard of from the Stoney First Nations people. As recorded in Mary's book, Old Indian Trails of the Canadian Rockies, a map drawn by Samson Beaver led to the first recorded visit to Jasper's Maligne Lake in 1908, which Mary describes as “an entire string of pearls.” Throughout her travels she continued to take photographs that she would hand-colour upon her return home and use to encourage others to travel in the Canadian Rockies. Schäffer's work was in part responsible for the incorporation of Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park. Had it not been for her, Maligne Lake may not have been preserved for the benefit of future generations. In 1912 Schäffer moved permanently to Banff, Alberta. In 1915 she married her longtime friend and mountain guide William "Billy" Warren, 20 years her junior. In 1909, a mountain in Yoho National Park was named Mount Schaffer in her honor. In 2003, the University of Alberta named their newest student residence Schäffer Hall as a tribute to Schäffer Warren. Janice Sanford Beck is the author of “No Ordinary Woman: The Story of Mary Schäffer Warren” (Rocky Mountain Books, 2001). Her latest works, “Life of the Trail 1” and “Life of the Trail 2”, are collaborations with Emerson Sanford that retrace the footsteps of early travelers (including David Thompson, Sir James Hector, and Mary Schäffer) in and around eastern Banff National Park and northern Yoho National Park.  As much as I love research, I am excited to get back to painting the portraits of these 'Women of the West'. It has been rather challenging finding photographs of some of the women who I have been introduced to, so I have been considering alternative ways of including them in this project. Possibly by adding their stories to 12x12 inch cradled panels instead of adding their portraits. We'll see. I have given myself lots of time. I was actually able to re-fit my watercolour palette to include all of the colours that I prefer to use when painting portraits (or even abstract landscapes or teacups for that matter). Anyway, I'm very excited to continue with this work.
 I know there will still be a few changes to this palette once I've used the paint that is currently in it, but right now this is working extremely well for the 'Women of the West' projects:
 Photography by Lancette Burton After almost 15 years of creating an online newsletter, I finally decided to retire it. It's part of a re-structuring and simplification in my life that I've been working on for awhile. As responsibilities lift and things leave our home, I feel so much lighter. My goal for the next 2 years is to focus on the 'Women of the West' watercolour portrait project and to complete my Bachelor of Arts degree in literature. I've also been travelling so much more over the past couple of years, so I want everything else in my life to be much simpler. As difficult as it can be to face changes, it's also very liberating.
 There has been an online art challenge in response to the high use of energy through replicating yourself as a doll using AI so I decided to join in a bit of a different manner. For my quick sketch I included a few of my favourite things:
Aritzia t-shirt Silver boyfriend jeans Birkenstock sandals Peg & Awl bag Travelers' Notebook calendar/sketchbook/journal Emma Bridgewater teacup Palette & cup from a local shop Beam Paints and a good book (The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte by Syrie James) It really was a fun, no pressure challenge. :)  Two of my favourite items from Mexico are the shell my husband picked up for me and a Mexican milagro. Milagros are small metal religious charms. The word milagro means “miracle”. I have always wanted a folk art piece and I love how this one was made out of reclaimed tin. It was even more meaningful since we arrived during Easter and the end of Holy Week. Plus, the bonus was that these included images of Frida Kahlo whose work I viewed in the Carr, Kahlo, O'Keeffe: Places of Their Own exhibit that I saw in Vancouver in 2002 and again at the MOMA in San Francisco last year. Once I returned home, I wanted to incorporate these two pieces into the weekly visual journal that I began in January. So far I have really enjoyed adding to this sketchbook. I think that just doing a spread once a week works well for me...no pressure. Using a small sketchbook (5.5" x 3.75") certainly helps. I typically have been adding an image whenever I feel like it and then incorporate writing on Sundays.  |
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