Artist, volunteer promotes self-care
By Adelle Ellis, Times Reporter
Adelle Ellis Photo
Kari Carriere, the local artist, mother, teacher, volunteer and encourager, has had nearly as long a journey painting the Three Sisters mountains as the four-by-six-foot acrylic painting will have had to its new home.
Carriere teaches both in-class students and 175 online students at the Golden Hills Learning Academy, volunteers her time teaching classes at the Wheatland Society of Arts (WSA) and is the president of the WSA Studio Gallery board.
Two years ago, during a parent-teacher meeting, Carriere met with Mary Beth who instantly fell in love with paintings Carriere had made that were hanging behind her desk. Soon after, the two became fast friends and it didn’t take long for Beth to commission the large piece of art, only stipulating the size and that she wanted it to depict the Three Sisters peaks located near Canmore.
“This is the largest one; I do commissions here and there, but this is by far the biggest one I’ve done in a long time,” said Carriere, who spent over 100 hours throughout the past year painting the mountain scene.
Her favourite part about working on the commissioned piece of art was the time she could spend in her home studio being creative and working on her own art.
“It’s good for my soul, it’s good for my self-care; I know this but I rarely get in there. So, when you have a commission that you’re working on that means a lot, you have to be there. Once I’m down in my studio, I feel 1,000 times better about everything. My least favourite thing was that I had to push myself because I wanted to give up many times, but then I would push through it and that’s why it was so important for me to get through it; I grew as a person to get that painting out,” said Carriere.
As a big believer in using the arts for self-care and therapy, Carriere also enjoys teaching wine and paint nights at WSA along with an introductory art series based on a variety of mediums, Saturday workshops, an art therapy series and other classes that WSA offers.
Carriere met with Beth several times throughout the year-long process for consultations and to get the art piece just right, a perfect reminder of home for the Texas family who have been living in Calgary for the past six years and who will be moving back to Texas in December.
Beth couldn’t be happier with both the outcome of the painting and the friendship she has gained throughout the process.
“She’s really talented, I have to say. I want the community to know what a good thing they’ve got with her … she goes above and beyond,” said Beth. “I don’t know that I’ve ever known someone that truly is like she is. She just does so much, and I think she does a lot with a humble heart and not expecting any recognition or pay, and I think those tendencies say more about her character; she’s a good friend.”
Carriere hopes more people can find joy in art just as she has as it helps with self-care, to make friends and just to feel good. For now, she looks forward to continuing to share her art, help her students make art, and is looking forward to another commissioned painting she will be making for a company in Edmonton because they learned about the one she just completed.
“I think art is very important for a community and we’re looking to get more community art out and around Strathmore. I just want everybody to have the ability to be creative in their own way; I think it’s good if we’re going to talk about well-being, your mental wellness and having that ability to be creative, and I want everybody to have that opportunity,” said Carriere.
Memberships to the WSA are $20 a year and include access to the studio, the opportunity to take classes at a discounted price and to get on the email list of what is happening at WSA. Visit wheatlandarts.ca for more information and for the class schedule.