New Work

Tara Francis | Sophie Levesque | Dawn Steeves

Porcupine Quill work on birch bark / felt. $600 each

For thousands of years, my people, the Mi’kmaq, have lived in a mutual respect with these coastal lands, of Turtle Island, depending on the rich environment and resources to sustain our existence. Healthy forests, waterways, animals and fish being essential to our way of life. Our inherent connection to the land is the backbone to our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing. In just a few centuries, we have witnessed and been victim to the depletion and destruction of these resources, our Treaty rights being all but ignored and dismissed. I’ve created the pieces, in this series, to honour some of these precious resources: Jagej – Lobster, Tia'm - Moose, Plamu - Salmon as well as the Birch bark – Masgwi , Porcupine – Matues and collecting of the Sweet Grass – Msigue’get. These pieces are dedicated to those of us who are committed to standing up against the injustices and are working to preserve our way of life for the generations to come. A portion of the proceeds from this show will be donated to such causes. M’set no’kimaq (All my Relations) Oelaaliog

Tara Francis is from Elsipogtog, is a recognized Aboriginal artist in New Brunswick. She specializes in porcupine quill art and silk painting but also likes working with 3-dimensional pieces.

After graduating from High School , Tara received a bursary for art and an Aboriginal creation grant that became a pivotal moment in her career.

Tara practices the traditional technique of porcupine quill work but she doesn’t create traditional pieces.

Traditional creations would consist of baskets, cradles, geometric patterns, berets, etc. Tara puts her own touch on traditional porcupine quill work by thinking outside of the box. For example, one of her proudest creations is ‘the moth’ which took over 100 hours of work to complete. “I like to see what I can do with the traditional materials and take it to a new level as far as the artwork that I come up with,” Tara explained. Tara’s art speaks to others because of her ability to dig deep into her own spirituality and apply it to her art. “New themes and images come to me with more spiritual moments and ceremonies I attend. They are all a part of the ride,” said Tara. “My connection with nature plays a big part of my practise “

Sophie Levesque

Sophie Lévesque is an artist from North West New Brunswick, she is currently living in her native town where she enjoys painting the landscape. She also likes to paint still lifes that are inspired by objects she has found or has been given. She is known for her bold light and her brushstrokes. 

Sophie is inspired by the figurative expressionist movement, she has studied painting alongside professional artists of New Brunswick and also took classes in the visual arts at the University of St Thomas in New Brunswick. 

Sophie has had many solo and group shows in New-Brunswick and Quebec. She participates in symposiums and  has also won different national contests for emerging artists: Defining Moments 2012 and Generation Art 2011. Her paintings are found  in private collections in Canada and United States.

In the recent years Sophie has attended Plein air Festival and won first place at Paint the Past air festival for her painting “ Mary“ in 2017. She was awarded artist in residence for the year 2017- 2018. In 2018 she won second place for her painting “Perley’s Quest” at the paint the Past Plein Air festival.  

She is represented by Gallery On Queen in Fredericton and also at Galerie Quebec Art in Quebec City.

Dawn Steeves

“I am fascinated with the process of art making. My professional background consists of fibre arts, digital art, printmaking and design, but, my preferred artistic process is painting. With a few pigments I attempt to create believablenies, which assists me to expand upon my knowledge in colour theory and further develop my painting skills. I have had the pleasure to work with expert artists and teachers, particularly in the last five years, partially funded through the Charlotte Glencross scholarship in 2018 and a career development grant from ArtsNB in 2020.

My studio is a room of 160 square feet; a runway flooded in south-facing light. I understand that a studio ought to be oriented in a more north-facing lighting situation but I enjoy the warm, brief, moving light. I have two bright LED bulbs for when that sun gets so mesmerizing I can’t see what is on the easel and I have to block the window, and for when I work at night. There are many years’ worth of collected art supplies in this room, everything bristling with potential energy. 

I work in sequences and series. Each series is an exploration in colour dynamics, as well as a spin around a theme. The subject is merely a backdrop for what is happening with the palette and the materials. I try to push colours to the limit, experimenting with the types of affects they can produce together. One such project received a creation grant from ArtsNB in 2019. I am grateful for the opportunity to enjoy this type of experimentation.”