February 2024
Late Bloomer Retired principal Cathy Bible shifts her energy into an abstract art career WORDS BY MATTHEW STEPANIC PHOTOGRAPHY SUPPLIED
When Cathy Bible retired from her career
arthritis more of a gift than a hindrance, as
as a teacher, and later, principal, over a
she says, “Always in life, you have challenges
decade ago, she knew she would never
and you just have to find another way
find comfort spending the rest of her days
of dealing with them. I don't know if I
in a rocking chair. “I have a lot of energy,”
would've discovered abstract painting if I
she says, “so I tried a lot of art classes.” She
didn’t have it.”
began with stained glass, moved on to water colour, but found both to be quite
A self-described free spirit and intuitive
challenging with her rheumatoid arthritis.
artist, Bible fell in love with the freedom
“I couldn’t hold onto the brush,” she shares.
of the abstract medium. “I paint through
“I couldn’t do those neat strokes.” No
my soul and heart, and my head doesn’t
medium felt right until she took a course
do anything with it,” she shares. She knew
at Red Deer College for abstract painting.
she’d found a new calling when in only her second class, the instructor looked at her
The broad strokes and larger brushes she
painting drying on the floor and asked,
used in the class not only influenced her
“How much?” It was Bible’s first sale.
art but made it possible. She considers her
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