Scattered around Heidi ChartrandB次元官网网址檚 acreage in Metchosin are dozens of compost buckets B次元官网网址� but itB次元官网网址檚 whatB次元官网网址檚 inside the bins that is rather unusual.
Inside the bins are a number of animal heads including 13 ducks, two beavers, four chickens, a moose, two cows, two rams and four deer, which have been covered in horse manure and are in various stages of decomposition.
Once theyB次元官网网址檝e been cleaned, Chartrand will paint the heads and transform them into works of art.
B次元官网网址淭he whole thing is really bizarre, but it make me happy and itB次元官网网址檚 nice to reuse something that would be garbage,B次元官网网址� Chartrand said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 really just about making something thatB次元官网网址檚 eco-friendly and giving back to nature.B次元官网网址�
Chartrand is one of roughly 20 artists from around North America whose work has been selected to be on display at the Calgary StampedeB次元官网网址檚 art show July 6 to 15. Four of the cow heads Chartrand has painted will be on display, and she will be bringing a fifth cow head, which she will paint live on opening day.
B次元官网网址淚t was a big surprise when I got in,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭his is the best thing ever and IB次元官网网址檓 thrilled.B次元官网网址�
Having her work on display at the Stampede is an impressive feat considering she is relatively new to the arts scene.
Chartrand is a barefoot trimmer and trims horse hooves by trade. The animal lover has always had an intense passion for anatomy and looking at the structure of animals, and as a result many of her friends who are farmers gifted her skulls to examine over the years.
It wasnB次元官网网址檛 until she moved into her current home off Kangaroo Road when she decided she wanted to get creative and paint skulls.
But Chartrand admits it isnB次元官网网址檛 easy getting the skulls into the proper condition for them to be painted. Often sheB次元官网网址檚 given skulls in various conditions (some still have flesh on them), which need to be heavily cleaned B次元官网网址� a process that can take up to several months.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the work you have to put into it to have the honour of getting to paint it. For me thatB次元官网网址檚 all part of it,B次元官网网址� Chartrand said.
Over the past three years sheB次元官网网址檚 painted skulls of all sizes from small owl and chicken skulls, to coyote skulls from Alberta, to a large draft horse (also known as a work horse) skull, which took her about 130 hours to complete.
Some of her pieces were on display at the fine arts shows in Sidney and Sooke last year, and most recently Metchosin musician Jesse Roper commissioned a piece. According to Chartrand, Roper had hit an owl by accident, and after he had it blessed by the Pedder Bay First Nations, he brought it to her to paint.
For Chartrand, the value of her work is breathing new life into the animals.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 my way of relaxing. ThereB次元官网网址檚 no pressure when IB次元官网网址檓 doing it, whereas with my job thereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of pressure working with live animals, but then when I come home everything is already dead so no pressure,B次元官网网址� she laughed.
B次元官网网址淲hen I get to paint a skull, IB次元官网网址檓 giving the animal a second life because itB次元官网网址檚 taking something that nobody really wanted and turning it into something more useful.B次元官网网址�
For more information on her work visit HeidiChartrand on Instagram or email heidichartrand@shaw.ca.
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