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ABOUT THE ARTIST
"By the time I was nine, I had seen much of the world. Trees have been a consistent memory and source of inspiration for me.In England the ancient oaks protected and hid us during afternoons of childhood games. In dizzying contrast the date palms of Tripoli, shimmered high above us, reachable only in Arabian night flights of childhood dreams. Jamaica’s banana, orange and grapefruit groves awakened our young taste buds, longing to taste again the tree ripened fruit and explore the cool green depths below the canopy. My parents took us on a trip to Argentina, the country of their childhood memories. Driving across miles of flat sparse land, arriving at magical avenues of trees leading to a cool estancia, surrounded by more protective tree groves.
Our destiny eventually led us north, to the Canadian wilderness, where we discovered our first real home. On 160 acres of trees and some pasture, in wild and rugged British Columbia, I felt I could roam anywhere, and discovered enchanted openings deep in the forest. I designed my treehouse with views overlooking our pastures, where I made childish concoctions and pretend perfumes with the riches of the forest. In winter the pines and firs, wrapped in their snowy mantles, waited patiently for the spring thaw. I later I worked for the B.C. Forest service, playing a small part in the preservation of these great forests.
My artist mother named our farm ‘La Santa Rosa’. I spent long winter months making coloured ink drawings. In the summer I worked in an apple orchard, grafting new trees, tilling and caring for the young trees. My first show of my art work was with my mother, Sheila Timmins, in our log home.
I was drawn to Nova Scotia and began my formal art studies at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Field trips to gather natural dyestuffs enriched my interest in natural sources for a colour palette. I completed my formal art training at the Ontario College of Art. I returned to B.C., to my family and found a small cabin, where once again, I could wander alone in the forest to re-imagine my childhood dreams, surrounded by tall trees.
Now in the Northwest Territories, I continue to experience and be influenced by the land, the people, and the world of circumpolar art. Here the trees are small and twisted from the extremes of cold, heat and wind. Hiking across the sculptured landscape, the black spruce and birch hold tenaciously to the rock outcrop, one senses their presence and the wisdom of their survival – endless inspiration." - Ann Timmins
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