June 2019
Viewing the richness of the prairies from different perspectives
Point of View: Kathleen Slavin
The balance between the big sky and big land of Saskatchewan along with our dramatic climate and seasonal variations offers spectacular views from which I draw creative inspiration. I also have long family roots here which motivate me to visually explore this land.
In 2015 Northern Saskatchewan experienced a horrific and wide-spread forest fire. The Weyakwin Lake shoreline, a core subject of my art for many years, was unrecognizably changed. The spectre of the burned forest and the subsequent new growth has continued to haunt and to inform my work.
During the three decades that I have been showing work in Saskatchewan, I have benefitted from the critique of many established artists both at Emma Lake Kenderdine Campus and in the Saskatoon community.
Point of View: Paige Mortensen
Across the Saskatchewan landscape homesteads are deserted, granaries sit empty and elevators are rapidly disappearing. The texture of these old wooden buildings and the land surrounding them drew me in because texture is what brings life to my watercolour batik work.
As I worked my thoughts turned to the early settlers. How they struggled to build those structures and create a new life in this prairie landscape. I also think about the indigenous people who were here long before that. How their lives were completely changed when these new people came to this land.
This exhibition explores what we see today and invites us to be curious about the many points of view surrounding the history of this prairie architecture.