My third 24x60 canvas is on its way to finding itself. The fascinating thing about this whole process for me is that I'm finally able to utilize the symbols and imagery that have been with me since my youth. Growing up in Northern Manitoba was a privilege - the first exhibit I viewed was artwork by Benjamin Chee Chee at the Exhibition Centre which led me to the works of the Woodlands School of painters including the vibrant work of Norval Morrisseau and Daphne Odjig. I was shown early pictographs drawn into the rocks along the Churchill River and experienced my first archeological dig near the rapids from which came the name of my community, Leaf Rapids. Our streets were given Cree names, I grew up on Nisku (Goose) Bay. Our Winter Carnival consisted of snowshoe races and bannock baking along with cheering on the dog sleds at Turnbull Lake. I was taught to bead and weave at the hands of the Cree and Metis women from whom I had the honour of learning. I hope to honour the past, my own and that of the First Nations, as I do this work because I still dream of the aurora borealis, of the forests and of the lakes of the north for which my heart cries to return.
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