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Indigenous artist/painter, Sherry Crawford began her early life amongst a large group of kin folk living in a collection of residences close by Anderson Lake—a small body of water near the southern tip of the much larger Paudash Lake, 25 kilometers southwest of Bancroft. An early “art” memory is of her creating mud pies and decorating them with flowers and design elements. And going bigger, making extended surface designs in the sand of a nearby gravel pit. She doesn’t remember any art-making in the local public school she attended but did enjoy that activity when her family moved to Lakefield when she was in grade 7—receiving real art classes there and in high school. She found employment right after graduation and soon married—a relationship that ended rather quickly. Then before long found true connection in a marriage that lasts to this day. She and her husband moved to live in East York, Toronto and Sherry worked at numerous office jobs at a variety of businesses in Toronto over several decades before returning to the Peterborough area. And thrived working in advertising and other enterprises there. Now, although she was quite aware of her indigenous heritage, it wasn’t until the early 1990s that she started her journey of finding out about and embracing her native culture. It began with involving herself with a non-indigenous spiritualist woman who helped her with the cross-over into the importance of spiritual understanding and practice. Around that same time she discovered that her indigenous heritage is Algonquin and eventually was advised by an elder that her true name is White Bear Standing. She proceeded to engage in drumming and at pow wow events and, importantly, a native women healing journey workshop—plus numerous others that helped out her inherent indigenous understandings. Exposure to Indigenous art forms—and, especially the work of the legendary Norval Morriseau at the Tom Thomas Native Art Museum in Cobourg in 2010, got her attention and she began practicing her own artistic self-expression—launching into “mouse-works”—indigenous-subject Ipad creations that she could print-out and display. Eventually—inspired by legendary indigenous artist, Norval Morrisseau, she moved on to creating works in a style comparable to his—with the line work and imagery similar to those of the master–but with her own reflections on objects and linework and figures that presented her takes and understandings of Algonquin subjects and spirituality. She, as well, is very proud to actually own an important work by her artist hero, Morrisseau. |
With ever-increasing production of paintings, she began participating in exhibits in churches, vender events and indigenous day celebrations—mostly selling print on demand versions of her creations. And although she lives west of Peterborough, she has always wanted to participate in the studio tour in her hometown of Bancroft and is in the process of having a studio/display area created for her off Chemaushgon Road, just west of town. To connect with Sherry Crawford, send her a message at whitebearstanding@outlook.com (Profile writing and photo by Allan O’Marra) |
