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Hands in the earth . .
"I
live in a wonderful round house with 7 kids - one of whom
is actually a human - and spend a lot of time in my gardens.
There's something so very real about having your hands in
the earth, touching things that grow because you've loved
them enough to help them along. These simple things are
the things that mean the most to me."
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The
Artist's Life . . a
Biography
- Canadian Artist - Tammy MacKenzie
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I
was born in Barrie, Ontario in 1965 but I had a family with
moveable roots and we left for Vancouver Island before I was
old enough to hold memories of my first home. The military
also saw to it that I was given a 6 year European education,
before we returned to Ontario. I have since travelled between
the coasts across Canada, and many places in the United States
as well. Much of what I have seen and experienced has left
its mark and influence on my life.
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As a child
I was fascinated with the diverse creatures, plants and stones I
would find in my wanderings through woods and fields, beaches and
streams, and I would often bring one home for awhile. They brought
experience and learning to me in ways I would later understand on
a much larger scale but for the time being, they were my friends,
my confidants and councillors. Their effect on my life brought strange
and wonderful things to life on paper, and as I grow older, I have
never lost that fascination and deep connection.
I credit my high school teacher, Brian Millard, with showing me
how much freedom exploring the many mediums of artistic expression
could give me. That freedom allowed me to dive into the creative
kingdom that lived in my heart. From there, adventure came in the
form of imagination and found exit through my hands. I tried it
all - macrame, sculpture, pottery, etching, painting - and anything
else that presented itself to me.
My medium of choice today is watercolour, leather and beadwork,
but I am always puttering with new techniques and skills. Regardless
of whether I am sewing moccasins or painting from deep inspiration,
I feel intimately involved in an act of Creation, bringing something
into being that has some small part of me inside it.
I feel that the focus, energy and Spirit that I put into my work
is not so much a matter of making a thing, but of birthing it.
Walk In Beauty
Tammy
Contact Tammy at her Studio
Return
to the art of Red Otter Creations
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