2021 Artist Spotlights
Be sure to access Bleeding Heart’s social media channels from February onward as we showcase a new feature artist each month! We will amplify a variety of voices and give a platform to talented artists who can share their insights and show their artistic process. Each month will be as unique as the artists we have selected and we believe what they share will spark interest and curiosity even within the dark days of winter, well into the warmth of the summer. Hit that follow button and join us for what will be a truly enriching experience!
Breanna Barrington - June
I am a Multimedia artist based in Amiskwaciy-Wâskahikan ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ on Treaty 6 territory. Since earning my Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Alberta (2018) I have been active in local art and environmental communities, volunteered extensively, and am currently on the planning committee for the 7th annual Resilience Festival hosted by the Edmonton Permaculture Guild.
Through painting, printmaking, performance, and bricolage I arrange visual metaphors which explore the relationship between modern urbanity, and the not-so-distant past. Creating work to invoke a whimsical awareness and an ethos of care around our shared environmental heritage.
Art materials don’t have to be costly to have poetic value! And recycling is always nice, I reuse(clean) matter from back alleys, the River Valley, my personal archives, and thrift stores to give them a new poetic context.
Breanna Barrington(she/her):
Instagram @prairie_bre
Web: https://www.breannabarrington.com/
Resilience: https://www.edmontonresiliencefestival.com/
Macha Abdallah - May
I am an Edmonton based, Canadian born, contemporary artist of Rwandan descent. I am a self-taught painter and started exploring my hidden talent at the Inema Art Centre in Kigali, Rwanda, during a year-long trip in 2016-2017. Since then I have been painting using acrylics on canvas. In the beginning, I mostly did commissioned work. More recently I started working on more creative projects. I especially enjoy painting portraits of real or imagined people. I draw a lot of my inspiration from my faith in Christ.
My aim is to add beauty to the world through painting. I love to use rich, captivating colours, contrasted with muted neutrals. I am excited to spend the month with you all and explore some new ideas!
Amanda Ames - April
“My name is Amanda Ames and I’m super excited to be the April artist of the month for Bleeding Heart Art Space! ️
My background in animal health and a love for animals very much reflects in my art trying to capture the spirit of every creature I try to paint, with a lens of appreciation for natural beauty, dignity and the vulnerability of living creatures.
Also the freedom and strength they bring to us mixed with dealing with the unexpected struggles that life during these times brings and the beauty you can find in between”.
Freyja Catton - March
We are excited to continue our Bleeding Heart Art Space artist feature into March with the spotlight on Freyja Catton. Read on to learn more about Freyja!
Freyja Catton (he/him or they/them) is a visual artist, author, librarian, and archivist. Catton has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Studio) from the University of Lethbridge (2012), and a Masters in Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta (2021). They are a nonbinary, queer, pagan, hard-of-hearing immigrant, and they currently live in Treaty 7 territory in Canada.
Catton’s artwork focuses on the connection between language and art. Catton specializes in an informal and playful style of production, treating words and language as both material and inspiration with the intent to challenge and engage viewers in internal and external conversations. For Catton, writing and drawing are synonymous, and art is simply another way of synthesizing information and learning about the world around us.
In 2020, Catton self-published their first picture book as F.T. Catton. Independently published by Wordeater Publishing, The Adventures of Captain Zeal is a picture book following the adventures of hedgehog pirate Captain Zeal and his crew as they sail the Seven Seas. They hope you love it as much as they loved making it, and there will be more to come!
Catton is affiliated with The Conspiracy of Strange Girls and the Otherworldly Arts Collective, both art collectives based in Minneapolis, MN. Catton is also a member of the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS) and Harcourt House, an artist run centre in Edmonton, AB.
Links:
Website: http://thewordeater.com/
Instagram: the_wordeater
Artists In Canada profile (NGC): Freyja Catton
Goodreads: F.T. Catton
Ania Telfer - February
Ania is an intuitive Baha’i artist with roots in Poland, born in Toronto and living in ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᕀ/ amiskwaciy, Edmonton.
Ania belongs in the realm of abstraction and spirit. Time spent pursuing art is time spent in worship. She is passionate about the intersection between creativity, healing and spirituality and believes that when we engage creatively, we heal ourselves and by extension, the world. Ania has lived in diverse places, such as India, Israel, Switzerland, France and Korea, as well as many provinces in Canada. She speaks five languages and is a first generation Canadian. Ania finds spiritual inspiration in the Baha’i Faith and believes that truth is found in all faiths, so she samples truth as she finds it. Ania has a nomadic soul which is most at home wayfaring the landscapes of creativity, while painting, musing out the window, spending time in nature, practising yoga, drinking sweet and strong, milky chai, communing with the Creator, hanging out with animals, or nurturing children. Horses and dogs are her favourite animals. Her favourite colour is whatever is on the end of her brush at the time.
In Ania’s words: “Art is worship. Art can rescue the world. Our world is in desperate need of healing and I feel very passionately about the intersection of creativity, spirituality and healing. I work intuitively, paying attention to my inspirations and feelings. The colour, texture, movement, shape, words, style and tone combinations I choose are intuitively intentional to create a feeling of joy in my heart. I believe that one of the roles of art is to create a feeling of awe. As the artist, I feel awe when I look at my completed pieces, and I hope that the viewer can feel awe while standing in their presence. I believe that art is a gift from the Creator for our healing and this internal feeling of awe cannot be accessed but through art. When we are uplifted by awe and feel reverence and joy in our heart, we activate our healing potential. As a person who has experienced trauma, I know first-hand the healing power of creative energy.”
You can learn more about Ania and her work via her website at: https://www.aniatelfer.com