Exhibition Guide: Cultivate | Instigate

Exhibition Guide

Cultivate | Instigate

cultivate | Instigate Alberta Craft Gallery – Calgary January 18 - March 21, 2020

Cultivate | Instigate is about the influential creatives at the forefront of post-secondary craft education in Alberta. The artists in this exhibition balance the dual roles of educator and professional practicing artist. Acting as torchbearers, they are bridging Alberta’s rich craft legacy with contemporary craft culture. They do so through the exceptional work they create, along with their passionate (and often resilient) commitment to imparting their knowledge, skills and dedication to emerging craft artists. Hailing from Alberta University of the Arts, Red Deer College, and Portage College, the faculty members in this exhibition are representing the excellent post-secondary craft educational opportunities around the province.

Participants include faculty from the ceramics, fibre, glass, and jewellery + metals programs at Alberta University of the Arts formerly known as Alberta College of Art + Design. Since 1926 AUArts has been a major contributor to Canada’s visual culture, with graduates gaining significant national and international reputations as artists, designers and creative leaders. In addition to credentialed undergraduate Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Design degrees, the University offers a graduate Master of Fine Arts in Craft Media, making it the only institution in the province to offer and confer university level undergraduate and graduate degree programs in art, craft, and design.

Taught at the Lac La Biche campus, Portage College’s Native Arts Program offers traditional and contemporary Aboriginal art forms through hands-on instruction. The skilled instructors have a vast knowledge of Aboriginal art from a cultural and historic point of view. Advanced courses in hide tanning, painting, drawing, carving, sewing, footwear, beading, and decorative arts are examined and studied throughout the program.

The visual arts program at Red Deer College offers a concentrated visual arts foundation in a two-year time span. The College offers state of the art studio spaces including a fully equipped ceramics studio. A broad range of visual experiences help students form a visual arts vocabulary and master skills in composition and technical areas. After the second year of study, students can transfer to the Alberta University of the Arts, NSCAD University, Emily Carr University of Art and Design or another Canadian university or art college.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS Alberta University of the Arts: Zimra Beiner, Ceramics, Reed Fagan, Jewellery + Metals, Marty Kaufman, Glass Mackenzie KellyFrère, Fibre, Martina Lantin, Ceramics, Bill Morton, Fibre Lyndsay Rice, Jewellery + Metals, Tyler Rock, Glass, Natali Rodrigues, Glass, Laura Vickerson, Fibre Portage College Native Arts and Culture Program: Trudie Allen, and Ruby Sweetman, Native Arts and Culture Program Red Deer College Trudy Golley, Ceramics Alberta Craft Council Curatorial Team: Jenna Stanton, Jessica Telford and Joanne Hamel Image on front: Painted Horse Tralking Stick by Trudie Allen

Ruby Sweetman

Portage College Native Arts and Culture Instructor and Coordinator Ruby Sweetman is of mixed Cree ancestry and has been a professional artist and an instructor in the Native Arts and Culture Program for over 20 years.

As one of the most experienced instructors of the traditional Woodland Cree hide tanning process, she creates traditional hide tanning art works representing the past.

What is your teaching philosophy and how has it evolved over time?

As an Indigenous learner, my thoughts on learning may differ than others , I grew up learning from Elders and their philosophy of look, listen and learn , hard work and a lot of practice to perfect a skill.

My Philosophy has always been similar on many points since I was a student. Now that I have been in the front of a class for twenty five years, I am now more aware of the diversity of learners and their varied abilities in learning. As an Instructor my role is to provide a supportive and encouraging learning environment, accommodate different ways of learning and be committed to the continuous improvement of my knowledge for the benefit of my students’ learning and Culture.

Training students in the Native Cultural Arts Field, is a very rewarding career, not only do the students learn about their culture they learn to have great pride in who they are as Indigenous and nonindigenous people. Many students contribute to society by passing on many lost art forms.

What are some emerging trends and/or career aspirations you see from your students?

I see aspiration and goals from successful students in the field of the Indigenous art world, when they combine their ideas with traditional and contemporary style art. Students have continued and gotten their MFAs in Visual Arts and have success in gallery shows National and Internationally. Some of our students have been recognized with high awards such as the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award, the William and Meredith

Saunerson Prize for Emerging Artists in Canada from the Hnatyshyn Foundation, REVEAL award from the Hnatyshyn Foundation and Sobeys Art Award nominees.

How have you balanced your creative practice with teaching?

I have always believed in higher education in my culture and teaching the old ways of our people in a creative practice that values Art and being creative.

I feel the more I can be successful in creating art as an artist not just an Instructor, the better it is for the students to see what can be achieved if they have the right mind set. Creating works of art in my free time is relaxing and helps me keep on top of age old skills of our ancestors.

Lyndsay Rice

Alberta University of the Arts Assistant Professor, Jewellery + Metals

I am strongly invested in the field of jewelry and metalsmithing, and believe in advocating for the field through academia. My role as an educator is to introduce students to the field, to new ideas, and help guide them in the development of their interests to an informed studio practice. This can be done in a multitude of ways - through course work, individual meetings and focused research.

Pedagogically, my goal is to assist students in merging technique with content. This is important to any studio practice but especially significant to the field of metalsmithing due of the field’s relationship to skill. I believe that one has to know how to make objects before they can explore the full potential of their media. Teaching is interpretive because of this, and I respond sensitively to different types of learners. I encourage students to use all types of techniques from riveting metals to laser cutting hydraulic press dies, encouraging them to find the technique that is appropriate for their ideas, goals and work. I believe multiple media and digital technology have a place in the field of metalsmithing as both a tool, and as threads of conceptual inquiry within one’s practice.

As an educator, I take advantage of university resources such as the campus art museum or the digital technology lab, libraries, other departments, and galleries. I structure courses that allow students to engage with the content in a range of ways. When introducing a new technique or project, I show students image presentations as well as tangible examples. I create handouts about new techniques and project expectations. Then allow students to perform research, and develop sketches and models as a means of formulizing their ideas. This gives them a collection of reference materials when working independently on their projects.

When developing curricular programing I look at the students overall education, try to asses there ultimate needs and break down those needs into manageable assignments, samples and goals to be addressed within their education.

In an introductory course, students attain the foundations of the field, like techniques such as sawing to through image presentation and basic conceptual triggers. When a student moves through the advanced level coursework they begin to attain specific skill sets like casting, explore reading and independent image research in relationship to process. Advanced Bachelor of Fine Art candidates are guided through there own course work, given feedback to develop their own practice and ultimately guided into developing their first formalized body of work. At thegraduate level students are independently motivated and my intention is to structure an environment where ideas take form within their work allowing them to locate their idiosyncratic practices.

I am always learning from my students as they have a great deal to offer in the teaching/learning environment. By understanding there is tremendous diversity in learning strategies as well as ability among students, I strive to have each student deepen their engagement in their education while in my classroom.

Tyler Rock

Alberta University of the Arts Associate Professor, Glass For the past 20 years Tyler Rock’s studio practice has been focused on vessel aesthetics and the exploration of the intrinsic properties of glass as a material.

Increasingly his interest within form and design in the glass blowing studio, has turned to the creation of sculptural objects that manipulate light and create immersive experiences.

Rock, who hails from western Canada, has been an instructor in the Glass program at the Alberta College of Art and Design glass program since 1995. He has served as the head of the Glass program at ACAD and as president of the Glass Art Association of Canada. He has taught workshops and lectured at schools, studios and institutions in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, France, Spain, and Japan.

What is your teaching philosophy and how has it evolved over time?

I have come to understand that people learn in different ways, at different rates, and that there are many ways in which people synthesize information as individuals. Glass is a very difficult medium to come to terms with and Glassblowing can take years of practice to hone the skills necessary to create sophisticated work. Glassblowing, and I would argue many craft processes, are unique in that the theory comes out of practice. Working with material and processes to create artwork in the studio is a responsive act that comes from learned awareness of limitations and possibilities. With Glass this response time and reaction to material and process often needs to happen within seconds. It can be humbling.

A bad choice in a short timeframe can lead to a catastrophic result. With experience and repetition, knowledge and theory can support awareness and innovation but this comes out of hands-on experience. So when I teach I try as much as possible to be responsive to students as individuals and meet them where they are in their journey helping them to build critical awareness and the skills they require.

I think the best way to learn craft as a student is to develop an individual focus while being supported. It is hard to learn Craft processes without mentorship.

The support helps students to think themselves out of corners and develop better skills and processes that can save years of development time in the long run.

I feel privileged to be able to teach craft at an art school. It is becoming increasingly rare in higher education to be able to work as an instructor with small groups and to have the time to work with individual students. I believe that the best education in our field occurs when working one on one with

students supporting them to directly apply knowledge and learning objectives to their own tangible goals. Through creative production, ongoing experimentation, research, and critical investigation, students become engaged in learning.

Through a course structure that is interesting and applicable to students, we train students to think in patterns, to assess information, to make choices, and to adapt to new circumstances.

Beyond teaching subjects (like Glass) at the postsecondary level we are teaching students to think.

Higher order learning is an essential life skill. It enables students to think laterally, to understand and apply complex concepts, and to manipulate information and ideas in ways that transform their meaning and implications. I’m fortunate to be able to participate in this process because while I’m contributing to this process I am also being enriched.

How have you balanced your creative practice with teaching?

I never had an ambition to teach. At the age of twenty one, after graduating from what was then ACA in 1989, I embarked on a career as a Glass Artist. The initial years as an emerging artist were a struggle and I began to teach evening classes at ACAD about four years later as means to support my practice.

It turns out I really valued teaching. It was something I was good at and that I enjoyed. Looking back, I see that most of my adult life I have been working with Glass and teaching Glassblowing. I have invested alot into both practices and while they are two very different enterprises, I think that they are reciprocal and that each feeds the other.

Laura Vickerson

Alberta University of the Arts Professor, Fibre Laura Vickerson is a multi-media installation artist and educator who lives and works in Calgary. She is critically acclaimed for her experiments in combining mixed media (including organza, dress pins, rose petals and other natural materials) to produce 3D fibre works.

Vickerson has exhibited extensively in Canada as well as in the U.S., Britain, Turkey, Poland and China.

She has also produced site-specific installations for various international exhibitions and venues, including the Istanbul Biennial, le Manifestation Internationale d’Art de Quebec, as well as a project through Locus + titled “Fairytales and Factories,” creating a work for an old Textiles mill in the Yorkshire Dales in Britain.

Member of ACAD Faculty since 1989.

Education: MFA Visual Arts, University of Victoria BFA, Art and Design, University of Alberta How have you balanced your creative practice with teaching?

To me, having a creative practice and teaching, at an art university, are companion activities. One feeds and challenges the other. I am able to bring my experience as a working artist to my teaching. Teaching inspires and tests my own approaches through an ever-surprising number of talented students who are continually posing new, thought-provoking questions. We learn from each other.

Marty Kaufman

Alberta University of the Arts Associate Professor, Glass, Drawing In 1974 Marty Kaufman traveled from Canada to Europe. There he enrolled in a Parisian stone-carving atelier. This pivotal experience drove him to pursue a broader arts education. He came back to Canada to attend classes at the Alberta College of Art & Design as a sculpture major. Just down the hall from the sculpture studios was the compelling roar of the glass hot shop.

When Marty first saw the blowing process, his imagination was captured. The relationship between the artist and the material was fascinating. This fascination prompted Marty to change his college major to Glass and the adaptability of glass has kept him involved since then.

Member of ACAD Faculty since 1986.

Education: Visual Art Diploma, SAIT-ACA Teaching philosophy Creating an environment where the student understands that they are responsible for their education is my priority. The student learning progression is achieved from only what the student does and thinks. They are not vessels that need to be filled but rather the major participant in a dynamic of knowledge building. I am a facilitator to help build their understanding of relative concepts and assess their learning skills. My primary role is to pose relevant questions that increase the depth of their investigation of intellectual objectives aiding in the process of making artwork that is significant.

My philosophy has not changed significantly over the years. It has become simplified and applied to even basic skill set knowledge attainment within a foundational focus.

Over the years what has changed is that students are actually looking for a map to a career. It was once about being an artist for arts’ sake, that thinking about abstract ideas like art and life were an end in itself, and whatever happened after that was achieved through that commitment.

My professional background of working within a fine art idiom, initially in sculpting stone, has transitioned to various materials that included many years of working with glass in different formats.

Teaching was an opportunity that I was offered which seemed a way of furthering my knowledge by assisting others in their pursuit of what is important to them.

The balance between teaching and my creative practice has always been onesided favouring my practice. I have never been concerned about this as my personal evolution as an individual, artist, and instructor springs from my commitment to my creative practice. It has formed the lens through which I perceive and consequently dictates the way in which I encounter and engage the world.

Trudy Golley BFA, MFA, RCA

Red Deer College Ceramics Instructor, School of Creative Arts Trudy Golley received her education in Ceramics at the Alberta College of Art and the University of Calgary (BFA) and the University of Tasmania (MFA) in Hobart, Australia. She has been invited to participate in ceramic residencies, lecture, and give workshops in Canada, the USA, Australia, Denmark, China, Scotland, Hong Kong and Malta.

Inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 2002, she is the recipient of grants from the Canada Council, Manitoba Arts Council and Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Her work is represented in numerous public and private collections in Canada, China, Denmark and Australia. Trudy has taught Ceramics and Visual Fundamentals in the Visual Art Department at RDC since 2000.

How have you balanced your creative practice with teaching?

I use the studio at the college to develop my own work outside of my teaching time. This allows me to be both available and to develop a more informal relationship with the students. Throughout all of my teaching positions, I have remained committed to working in the open studio in order to share my experience with my students in a more relaxed atmosphere. Some of the most meaningful exchanges — those that can’t be recreated in a classroom situation — are shared with students after-hours or on weekends. Often this helps students to reflect on what they are hearing and seeing and assists them to make up their minds about how to proceed with their own work. As an instructor I encourage students to find their own voice by taking risks and to challenge themselves; to find the pathway that makes sense to them, rather than emulating the work that they see me making. In fact, I feel that I have not succeeded as an instructor if I see a student making work that looks like mine.

The students’ exposure to their instructor making their personal work in the studio means that they

get to witness the professional pacing of a project or body of work. Students get to see the successes, as well as the failures, and this gives a more realistic view of what it is to work as a professional artist.

Now, in this time of diminishing hand skills, it is even more critical for students to see the commitment and determination that is required to build both mental and physical skill in this lifelong pursuit.

Reed Fagan

Alberta University of the Arts Jewellery + Metals

Reed Fagan is a metalsmith and artist working mostly in traditional silversmithing and goldsmithing processes. His research focuses on phenomena and abstractions in both advanced mathematics and sciences to create a form language that is translated into more permanent metal objects. By taking highly theoretical concepts and repurposing them into physical objects, Reed looks to blend art, science, and the utilitarian object into one. He is a member of the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) and other craft communities.

State University of New York at New Paltz Masters of Fine Art (Metals) Skidmore College Bachelor of Science Studio Art (Honors) Bachelor of Arts Mathematics (Double Major) Teaching philosophy Creating an environment where the student understands that they are responsible for their education is my priority. The student learning progression is achieved from only what the student does and thinks. They are not vessels that need to be filled but rather the major participant in a dynamic of knowledge building. I am a facilitator to help build their understanding of relative concepts and assess their learning skills. My primary role is to pose relevant questions that increase the depth of their investigation of intellectual objectives aiding in the process of making artwork that is significant.

My philosophy has not changed significantly over the years. It has become simplified and applied to even basic skill set knowledge attainment within a foundational focus.

Over the years what has changed is that students are actually looking for a map to a career. It was once about being an artist for arts’ sake, that thinking about abstract ideas like art and life were an end in itself, and whatever happened after that was achieved through that commitment.

My professional background of working within a fine art idiom, initially in sculpting stone, has transitioned to various materials that included many years of working with glass in different formats.

Teaching was an opportunity that I was offered which seemed a way of furthering my knowledge by assisting others in their pursuit of what is important to them.

The balance between teaching and my creative practice has always been onesided favouring my practice. I have never been concerned about this as my personal evolution as an individual, artist, and instructor springs from my commitment to my creative practice. It has formed the lens through which I perceive and consequently dictates the way in which I encounter and engage the world.

Natali Rodrigues

Alberta University of the Arts Associate Professor, Glass Grace is an experience of transcendence, an ephemeral moment, unexpected and not at all predictable. The moment occurs in an almost capricious manner. It mutes the cacophony of everyday life, lifts the veil of existence, revealing the invisible world beyond. This lightening moment is profoundly personal, yet it is a universal human experience, which needs neither spiritual training nor religious belief.

Stillness, quiet breath, fullness: these are some of the words I equate with grace. In this moment everything stops, and another world is revealed. When, with one breath, a step, or touch; the liminal becomes a physical experience. It is at this point, this nanosecond of time that we engage with something profoundly human and Other. It is a transformative moment. This is the moment that informs and shapes my practise.

My interest in and investigation of the experience of liminal space find voice through two distinct making practises: drawing and glass. I work with them in a coeval way, working with one method and then the other to map out the landscape of my hypothesis.

In working this way, I move between a meditative practise and one that is profoundly physical; placing myself in a state where the liminal can be engaged.

My work is an attempt to create a system of cartography of liminal space, where what is marked is not in reference to the physical but rather those points where the divine is encountered. It is an attempt to create a place where the numen can be experienced. My objects and drawings endeavor to become a tool for gnosis.

Education: MA(VA), Australian National University BFA, Alberta College of Art + Design

Mackenzie Kelly-frèrE Alberta University of the Arts Associate Professor, Fibre

Mackenzie Kelly-Frère is an artist, writer and educator currently living in Calgary, Canada. He has contributed texts to various Canadian and international publications including Craft Perception & Practice Vol III and recently to Textile: The Journal of Cloth and Culture. Mackenzie’s work has been exhibited across Canada, including the Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art: The News from Here in 2013 and Lieux de memoire: International biennale du lin du Portneuf in Deschambault-Grondines, Quebec in 2009. His international exhibitions have included China, Japan, Korea and the United States where he also participated in a residency at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, Oregon. In 2014 Mackenzie mounted a solo exhibition titled Frequency for GalleryGallery in Kyoto, Japan.

What are some emerging trends and/or career aspirations you see from your students?

Curiosity and passion are two words that come to mind when I think about graduating students at the Alberta University of the Arts. As an educator I am thrilled that I cannot single out a trend. Many are pursuing further education in the arts and curatorial MA programs. Others are seeking our specialized textile conservation degrees. Some are writing and contributing to Canadian craft discourse. As you may expect many are also setting up independent studios and cooperatives to keep making and developing their own work.

What is your professional background and what led you to teaching as a profession?

I was educated at the Alberta College of Art & Design in the mid-nineties and later at the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design in Halifax. At both institutions I was surrounded by generous instructors who inspired not only my work in the studio but also the growing field of craft theory and social history of textiles. Making in the studio is only one part of what I do professionally. My academic research practice allows me to contribute to the discourse around craft in general and textiles specifically.

It may seem a cliché, but in many ways teaching found me. As a graduate student I discovered that teaching was a creative practice in which you and your students may discover new things together. I

distinctly recall a seminar course that I took with Dr. Sandra Alfoldy titled “Ornamenting Space” in which it quickly became apparent that one could teach in a way that did not prescribe content to students, but rather allowed them to generate new ideas in a supportive learning environment. This, to me was a revelation. To this day I gauge my own success in the studio classroom by that formative experience.

How have you balanced your creative practice with teaching?

I’ll admit that this is tricky, but on balance I find that the sacrifices one makes - less time for research and studio - are worth what teaching and affiliation with AU Arts brings into my creative practice. Additionally, there is a predictable rhythm to an academic schedule that allows for concentrated periods of time where I am able to focus on the studio. At the same time it is no secret that all academics look forward to sabbatical and travel/conference opportunities. These are necessary aspects of professional development that benefit not only the studio but teaching as well.

Martina Lantin

Alberta University of the Arts Assistant Professor, Ceramics; Associate Chair, School of Craft + Emerging Media Born in Montreal, Canada, Martina Lantin has completed residencies in the United States and China and has taught throughout North America.

Martina has written articles for both Studio Potter and Pottery Making Illustrated. She also served as guest editor for the 90th issue of Studio Potter journal: Border and Boundaries in 2017.

Martina investigates the boundaries of functional ceramics through both thrown and hand built forms.

Slipped patterns partially conceal the richness of earthenware. These mutations of historical motifs prompt the consideration of the role repetition and rhythm have in the exploration of the everyday object.

She has been a member of ACAD’s Faculty since 2014.

Education: MFA, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

BA, Earlham College.

How have you balanced your creative practice with teaching?

As a student I was brought up with the legacy of Bernard Leach and the tradition of apprenticeships. Upon graduation I set off in search of such an opportunity in England and from there lived and work as an apprentice and production potter in 4 countries. I didn’t see myself returning to school for a second degree until I was an Artist in Residence at Baltimore Clayworks. It was there that I first taught adults and youth in a concentrated way. During that time, I realized the energy that can be generated through teaching what I myself am so passionate about. Since completing my MFA I have been fortunate to teach in a variety of educational settings. I joined the faculty at the Alberta University of the Arts in 2014. Here I continue to enjoy engaging with students on all levels and continue to fuel my own artistic practice through the act of teaching others.

Zimra Beiner

Alberta University of the Arts Assistant Professor, Ceramics Born in Toronto, Canada, Zimra Beiner has taught and exhibited his work throughout the United States and Canada. While he considers himself primarily an object maker, his work has increasingly embraced scale, composition, and the relationship between objects and space within a framework of the still life.

What is your teaching philosophy and how has it evolved over time?

graduating, I applied for numerous fellowships, residencies and a couple teaching jobs. I was very

My incentive as an educator in the arts is to create an energizing and supportive environment for students to think for themselves. An ideal teacher must be open-minded, patient and generous with their time and resources in order to accommodate the varied desires of their students. Directing students relies on navigating both the complexity of personal circumstance and an objective framework for critique- this is motivated by asking questions rather than making judgments.

Teaching over time has also involves adaptation to the students, the environment or institution you work in, and a healthy relationship to other faculty and staff.

What are some emerging trends and/or career aspirations you see from your students?

Students are increasingly interested in knowing a little about a lot of things. They want to understand their current context, and question their environment with the same complexity they observe. Students are constantly creating work that exists at new intersections I wouldn’t have been able to predict, and generate pressing questions about life today.

What is your professional background and what led you to teaching as a profession?

I began studying architectural studies, worked for numerous ceramic artists and entrepreneurs, and eventually studied ceramics at Sheridan College, NSCAD University, and Alfred University. While a Graduate student, I was a teaching assistant for Giselle Hicks, Matt Kelleher and Wayne Higby. This taught me numerous ways of constructing assignments, building trust, commanding authority, and most of all, communicating clearly.

My goal at the time was simply to find a sustainable way to make the work I wanted to make. Upon

fortunate to get a teaching job at Bowling Green State University, and I was quickly thrown into teaching three courses a semester in addition to being the program technician. The school gave me free materials and a studio for two years, and it worked really well for me to start my career as an educator and emerging artist. One thing has led to another, and I’ve become a better teacher over time, and am very grateful to be able to have the time and resources to continue making work.

How have you balanced your creative practice with teaching?

For the first five years out of school, I worked in the studio where I was teaching. This worked well because teaching and being an artist became interconnected. The students generated energy for me, and I generated energy for them. Since moving to Calgary, buying a house, and building a studio, my work has become more private and I work hard to be disciplined about making time for my work. I try to use the courses I teach, and the conversations I have with students to challenge my perception in order to continue to grow as an artist.

Bill Morton

Alberta University of the Arts Associate Professor, Fibre Bill Morton is a Calgary-based artist and teacher. His work is collected and shown in the United States, Japan, China and Canada. A graduate of the Alberta College of Art (1967), he studied in Japan from 1969 to 1983 including ten years apprenticing with a Master Dyer.

Member of ACAD faculty since 1983.

Education: Honours Diploma in Sculpture, Alberta College of Art, Calgary

Some thoughts on my teaching practice.

My training in Art was at the former Alberta College of Art ,circa 1967, with the encouragement of Katie Ohe. Before this, in the mid 1960s I was trained as a sign painter and did this work for 5 years. Having a deep interest in Japan, I arrived in Kyoto in 1969. Mr. Kunio Isa asked me to help him in his studio designing and executing hand dyed kimonos which I did until 1983.

I really was taught by example. In all these situations I learned from instruction but more importantly by hands on practice. I was very fortunate to have a lot of support and encouragement over this span of years. In teaching, I want to assist students to challenge themselves and find confidence in the process and trust their own potential.

Trudie Allen

Portage College Native Arts and Culture Program Instructor Trudie Allen taught at the Native Arts and Culture Program at Portage College for over twenty years.

She began teaching at Portage College in 1997 and retired in 2018. She identifies as Blackfoot and a member of the Blood tribe. Trudie is truly a lifelong maker, she began bead working and sewing at three years of age.

www.albertacraft.ab.ca