"STILLNESS IN BLUE"

speaks to the connection of the colours found on the earth and within sky. I was
inspired by the ochre, pinks, greens, blues, yellows and green of plant and animal forms as well
as motifs that reference our atmosphere, such the sky, wetlands, rain, and insects. For this
piece I wanted to create a more representational depiction of a tmkwaliknej (Blue Heron) and
its wetlands environment. Tmkwaliknej has been inhabiting the wetlands around Stephenville
Crossing, my home community, for many years and with it comes its beauty and teachings. The
blue heron is known to be a patient hunter, often waiting motionless for long periods of time
before catching its prey, It shares nurturing duties as both the male and the female incubate
the eggs and feed the young, values that I hold dear in my life and that I live by. In this piece I reference other plant and animal life around the wetlands, such as willow, eelgrass, fiddleheads, dragonflies, and eels. Wetlands are not only home to such amazing beings as the blue heron, but they also protect us from flooding, drought, and climate change. They provide hundreds of species with food, shelter, and a place to raise young. They protect our water. When asked to create a piece for EIWFSC I leaned on ancestral Mi'kmaw visual language found in porcupine quill art to help portray and reflect on the important role that our matriarchs play as protectors of the water, teachers, leaders and storytellers to our home of Nujio'qoniik,Ktaqmkuk.