Fairies

Growing up in Thunder Bay has been a source of creative inspiration for me and has guided my artistic path. My spiritual relationship to the land and the lake have encouraged me to take photographs of particular sites over the past thirty years. I have studied these spiritual sites with a variety of photographic media and I have now recorded them digitally. These photographs capture spirits that are embedded in the sites themselves. Thunder Bay residents are surrounded by this beautiful landscape. The Ojibway legend of the Great Spirit Nanabijou affected me at a young age as did the respect for the land and the lake. The rock, water, trees and your relationship to these is an experience that needs to be unpacked through time. By continuously returning to The Giant, Hidden Valley, Cascades, Rabbit Mountain and other sites I have been able to come to terms with the spirit that is inherent in each site. This understanding has inspired me in the past to create sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, musical instruments, performance art, and photography. I am now translating this understanding through digital photography. This digital media has the power to translate information into new forms. I am the medium through which the message of the spirit of the land and the lake has been translated.

Kathy received financial support for her Spirit of the North exhibition at the National Exhibition Centre, Thunder Bay, Ontario from the Ontario Arts Council and the National Exhibition Centre.