14
Wawatay News
December 22, 2011
ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ
Cree artist changes focus Rick Garrick
Wawatay News
submitted image
Cree artist Betty Albert (Wabimeguil) is focusing on Canada geese and wolves in her new works since moving to a new home on a lake north of Cochrane.
Cree artist Betty Albert has changed the focus of her work after working on “women’s art” over the past 20 years. “I’ve gotten away from my focus on women and the moon,” Albert said. “I’m into wildlife now.” Since moving to a new home with a studio about a year and a half ago that overlooks a lake outside Cochrane, Albert has been painting images of Canada geese and wolves. “I’ve done a lot of geese – it’s just something the people of northern Quebec just love,” Albert said. Although Albert was adopted and raised by a FrenchCanadian family in northern Ontario, she eventually discovered her father and birthright as a Cree. Since then she has become well known for her clan mother paintings, which she first began producing in 1994. “I think I’ve done three or four series of clan mothers over
the years and I’m about to start another one,” Albert said. Albert published a book in 1998 featuring the clan mothers, the Moon Journal and Dream Log. “It was a real success,” Albert said. “We sold over 9,000 copies of that Moon Journal.” Albert also produced a series of books in partnership with Emily Faries aimed at native organizations, schools and education authorities, with sales of more than 10,000 copies. Albert began selling lithograph prints of her artwork in 1992, marketing them across Canada and the United States. “We did extremely well,” Albert said. “I’ve been making a living from this and raising my family since 1992.” Albert praised her father for encouraging her to follow her dreams as an artist, noting that he gave her the name Wabimeguil, which means White Feather in Cree. “He was the one who said, ‘you don’t have to do anything but be an artist,’” Albert said.
“He helped me to market and publish everything that we’ve done over the last 20 years.” Albert began printing her own artwork in 2005 for sale in her own art gallery, the Wabimeguil Art Studio, which she opened in Cochrane with former Cochrane mayor Lawrence Martin. “That was a lot of fun,” she said, noting that she experimented with a variety of printing mediums, including different types of paper and canvas. “That was a real learning curve for me. I really enjoyed it.” But after a few years, Albert realized she was getting burnt out, so she decided to close the art gallery and focus on creating original pieces of art. “There were certain things that I needed to concentrate on being an artist,” Albert said. “I needed water, I needed bush and I needed silence. I needed a place where I could just focus on painting, so we found a beautiful cottage on a lake that’s 20 minutes north of Cochrane.”
WAWATAY NEWS
Northwestern Ontario youth win writers award Date Completed:
October X, 2010
Size:
4 COL x 41.5 AGATES
Completed by:
Matthew Bradley ID: 2010_10_28 MagaFon
To: ________________________
________________________ From: _____________________ @ Wawatay News
Chris Kornacki Please proof your ad and return
it today by fax, otherwise your ad
will run as it is on News this fax. Wawatay Choose 1 of the following:
Parker Waswa from Fort Run as is HopeRunand Charmaine Thomas ad with changes from Kitchenuhmaykoosib Require new proof Inninuwug are two of the six DO NOT RUN AD young Aboriginal writers from across Ontario that received a Ad cost: ______________________ James Bartleman Aboriginal To run: _______________________ Youth Creative Writing Award ______________________________ of Client’s Approval atSignature Queen’s Park Dec. 15. VISA/MASTERCARD Accepted The winners received $2,500 and a trip to Toronto with their families. “I am pleased to present these awards to some of Ontario’s most promising Aboriginal writers. Together we celebrate their outstanding talent for its imagination and inspiration,” David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, said. This year’s winning entries included a story of a young man who must save his village from (no additional proof required)
in for quote only
INSPECTION Plan Extension of One-Year Extension of Pic River Ojibway Forest (2006–2026) Forest Management Plan The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), GreenForest Management Inc. (on behalf of BDO Canada Ltd., as receiver for Great West Timber Ltd.) and the Local Citizen Committees (LCC), as part of the ongoing forest management planning process, would like to advise you that the one-year extension of the approved 2006 – 2026 Forest Management Plan (FMP) for the Pic River Ojibway Forest has been approved and is now available for inspection.
sickness, and a poem about the lack of control we can feel over our own lives. The other four winners were Jenna Camire from Kenora, Sophie Bender-Johnston from Toronto, Bineshiinh SmokeLeFort from Six Nations and Jared Bissaillion from Thessalon. Since 2008, the program has awarded 24 Aboriginal youth. James K. Bartleman was Ontario’s first Aboriginal lieutenant governor and he implemented four literacy initiatives for Aboriginal youth across Ontario during 2002-2007. “The excellent caliber of writing by this year’s recipients conveys profound stories about Aboriginal life in Ontario that touch the heart of anyone who has the privilege to read it,” Bartleman said in a press release.
Pre-Paid Local Telephone Service
The approved FMP extension includes a description and map of the area that will be available for operations during the term of the extension. How to Access the Approved Plan Extension
A Neighbourhood Connection
The approved FMP extension, approved FMP and summary are available for public inspection at the following locations: • the MNR public website ontario.ca/forestplans (note: plan extensions will be listed as plan amendments on this site. The original 2006–2026 Pic River Ojibway Forest plan documents are located on the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) public website: https://ozone.scholarsportal.info/ • ServiceOntario Centre in Toronto (777 Bay Street, Suite M212, Market Level, toll-free: 1-800-268-8758) which provides computer access to the MNR website at ontario.ca/forestplans and OCUL at https://ozone. scholarsportal.info/ • GreenForest Management Inc. (address and contact shown below) • the MNR Nipigon District Office (address and contact shown below) • the MNR Regional office, 435 South James Street, Suite 221A, Thunder Bay, ON P7E 6S8, tel: 807-475-1248, Attention: Chris Schaefer, Regional FMP Specialist
1-866-391-2700
Pinless pre-paid long distance starting at only 4 cents per minute.
$45.99 Monthly service $39.99 Transfer your current number FREE New number activation fee $39.99 Unlimited long distance Only $20.00
For further information, please contact: Raymond Weldon, Management Forester Ministry of Natural Resources 5 Wadsworth Drive Nipigon, ON P0T 2J0 tel: 807-887-5058 fax: 807-887-2993
Jeffrey Cameron, Plan Author GreenForest Management Inc. P.O. Box 22004 470 Hodder Avenue Thunder Bay, ON P7A 8A8 tel: 807-343-6581 fax: 807-343-6624
NO SECURITY DEPOSIT. $30 REFERRAL DISCOUNT TO CONNECT A FRIEND. WE ACCEPT CASH LINK PAYMENTS AT ALL GREAT NORTHERN STORES
Grant Goodwin PRPCC Chair Manitouwadge, ON tel: 807-826-3875
See the latest news briefs online at
Renseignements en français : Raymond Weldon, Management Forester, tel : 807-887-5058.
BLEED
www.wawataynews.ca