First
Nations Art with James Madam
November
2013
It has been
awhile since we've posted to the blog!
I just thought I'd let you know some of the great things we got up to
at the kitchen in the Fall of 2013.
We are
fortunate in our small community to have many talented artists. One of our local First Nations artists, James
Madam, came to the kitchen over several sessions to provide background and
instruction in traditional techniques that he honed while attending the Freda
Diesing School of Northwest Coastal Art at Northwest Community College.
An integral
element of shape to the local First Nations art is the "Ovoid". James was a fun teacher and the kitchen
participants learned how to draw the ovoid and other elements of shape. Once our drawings were complete, we began
painting using some of the traditional colours, of which, black and red
dominate. James provided instruction in
basic brush and application techniques and how to prepare the paints for
use. The art sessions provided
participants opportunity to work in a creative medium that to most of us was
unfamiliar and somewhat uncomfortable. Many
of us do not think of ourselves as "artists" and as a result rarely create
art. The kitchen thanks James for
providing opportunity to explore our inner artists! 
