Shona Rae Re-Imagined Narratives

The Fine Craft community in Alberta is a uniquely connected one. After 20 years in the making, Shona Rae exhibited “Re-Imagined Narratives” at the University of Calgary Nickle Galleries from October – December 2018, a remarkable series of 22 rings that connects her metalwork training with a lifetime obsession of lore. Having been a member since 2004, the Alberta Craft Council has been following Shona’s journey from concept to completion. It was fortuitous that Dr. Jennifer E. Salahub was chosen to write the accompanying catalogue essay “Shona Rae: A Ring of Truth” as she was chosen as 2018’s recipient of the Tom McFall Honour Award.

“Shona Rae is not a story teller in the traditional sense. The narrative works that make up this exhibition are neither the elusive “winged words” of oral history nor are they simply re-presentations of existing stories. Rather they are the artist’s intricately reimagined narratives wrought mainly in metals and featuring characters from traditional fairy and folk tales and the tarot. […]

When asked about the concept behind her twenty-year commitment, the Calgary artist somewhat ingenuously suggests that she simply set out to meet a need — hinting that each ring serves, in effect, as a moral compass. For, as she explains “Fairy tales and the twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana (greater secrets) describe the journey of the human condition and thus are helpful in navigating our adult lives.” Nevertheless, these small sculptures are first and foremost exemplary works of fine craft, and while they may perform as rings, their very scale and complexity far exceeds our expectations regarding jewellery or body adornment — encouraging the viewer to reconsider the artist’s intentions. Is it jewellery? Is it story telling? Is it a lesson? Is it performance?”

- excerpt from “Shona Rae: A Ring of Truth” by Dr. Jennifer E. Salahub,

About Shona Rae

From 1976 to present Shona Rae has taken a multitude of classes and workshops in ceramics, theatre, dance, storytelling, puppetry, painting, fibre, vocals, and music. Influenced by a group of artists outside of Vancouver that became the movers and the shakers in the Canadian punk rock scene, she has dedicated her life to the practice of art and music.

Previously a professional clay sculptor, a series of dreams led her to begin studying goldsmithing and the metal arts in 1994. Since then, she has won numerous national and international awards, been awarded government grants, and received the 2015 Alberta Craft Excellence Award. Today, Shona continues her professional studio practice, teaches part-time, runs The Blackboard Gallery, and is the lead singer/songwriter for “Shona Rae and the VooDoo Hand,” a professional swamp-abilly rock band. A until I took an English class at ACAD about myths. When the professor would ask a question, everyone would turn to me because I often knew the answer. This class helped me come to an understanding that I needed to do my entire fairytale collection.

Check out the exhibition catalogue for Re-Imagined Narratives, available for purchase at the Alberta Craft Gallery.

Learn more about Shona and Meet the Maker.

Alberta Craft Council: Having studied ceramics, theatre, dance, storytelling, puppetry, painting, fibre, and music, how do you decide what to work on in a day?

Shona Rae: I don’t stick to one genre in art, nor will I do it in my music. While I admire artists who can make 30 of one sculpture, it’s just not who I am. I am constantly working on many things at once and I don’t mind if things take years to make, especially when one is immersed in such an intense and satisfying creative process.

ACC: How has your love of lore impacted your work? What is your favorite fairytale?

SR: I have been obsessively reading myths and stories from all cultures my entire life, but I didn’t realize how much knowledge had accumulated until I took an English class at ACAD about myths. When the professor would ask a question, everyone would turn to me because I often knew the answer. This class helped me come to an understanding that I needed to do my entire fairytale collection.

My favorite fairytale is “The Goose Girl,” although I don’t have work inspired by this tale in my collection. A close second would be “Bluebeard,” which I have created entire exhibitions about.

When I was studying jewellery in school, my instructor told me I had to make rings to make it in the industry, and I vowed never to make rings. But never say never.

ACC: Was there an important event that helped shaped your career?

SR : When I was studying jewellery in school, my instructor told me I had to make rings to make it in the industry, and I vowed never to make rings. But never say never. I had two exhibitions at the Alberta Craft Gallery (2006 and 2015) and both were part of a series of rings. I am thankful for the Alberta Craft Council for supporting my work, which navigates the boundaries between jewellery and sculpture.

ACC: What is your favorite thing in your studio?

SR: I have wolf and bear skulls in my studio. People bring me skulls and bones all the time and I can be seen sporting a carved bone or two on my person.