"Spirit by Nature" by Susie Brown

Spirit by Nature by Susie Brown

Opening Reception, Thursday, August 22, 7-10pm

Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 12-8; Wednesday, Friday, 12-5; Saturday 12-4pm

Exhibition closes Tuesday, September 23, 6pm

Inspired by the Lake of the Woods and Kenora area, my photography reveals the Spirit of our Boreal Forest and waters of Northern Ontario. Each day can bring great joy and appreciation, by just pausing to witness the beauty of forms and colours all around us. Wherever we live, whatever our circumstances, we are all a part of nature—we are all Spirit By Nature.

In Shoreline Spirits Series “unretouched” photographs of reflected shorelines, viewed vertically, reveal faces and animals within the structures created by Mother Nature. This series was created in hopes to inspire others in the importance of preserving these diverse forests, as a quiet refuge in an increasingly busy world, as we reconnect with Spirit and feel its healing influences as a calm reflection and positive reinforcement

Making handmade papers incorporating materials gathered from the forest, “brings home” a piece of the Mother Earth. Being awarded an Ontario Arts Council Grant in 2010, allowed experimentation in forging two mediums into one, printing my photos onto my handmade papers. This has added a new “dimension” to my images complimenting their organic spirit.

Susie Brown was born and raised in Kenora, Ontario, in the heart of the Boreal Forest and waters, exploring her Metis roots in subsequent years, and feeding her lifelong connection to this land and waters. After graduating from a three-year Fine Arts Course in Kingston, ON in 1978, with a major in Printmaking, she studied workshops in various mediums. She is mostly self-taught in Photography, and in making her Handmade Papers, that incorporate gathered materials from the surrounding forest.