“A lot of times, I don’t make what is in my head because, as I go along, it even gets better. Maybe a lot of the artists are like me. They get stuck, and as they go along, it just comes.”
-Kenojuak Ashevak
A short time ago we were invited by a local Brownie group to come in and talk about a legend in Canadian art, Kenojuak Ashevak.
Kenojuak Ashevak was born in an igloo in 1927 in Ikerrasak, which is located on Southern Baffin Island. She began her career in Cape Dorset, Nunavut. She worked in graphite, coloured pencils and felt-tip pens, and occasionally used poster paints, watercolours and acrylics.
She created many carvings from soapstone and thousands of drawings, etching, stonecut prints — all sought after by museums and collectors.She designed several drawings for Canadian stamps and coins.
During our session, the Brownie’s worked with liquid watercolour paint to create the background of their piece. Next, we used foam plates to create our own owls in the style of Ashevak.
*Sources: the Canada Council for the Arts and Wikipedia.
