Before I paint I have to go out onto the land.This is a feeling that overcomes me every spring as the earth begins to wake up from winter. It’s a need inside of me that I can’t ignore. I’m a conduit for the land to channel through me in my art making.
The rocks quite literally ground me, the trees whisper their secrets, and the lakes either gently caress my face or shout at me with their turbulent waves. The air smells green and there is a scent to water. You wouldn’t think there is a scent to water but there is. A fresh and clean ozone scent. The woods smell sweetly like cotton candy from the berries, flowers and roots and I always take time to taste a sun warmed wild strawberry or blueberry while thanking Mother Earth for her glorious gifts. There is an earthy pungency to cedar trees and pine needles underfoot as I hike trails looking for the perfect spot to take a rest and listen to my breath and the messages that the earth is giving to me. |
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My relationship with the land began early.I rode my bicycle everywhere in Cobourg, Ontario, where I grew up. I would visit Lake Ontario which was just around the corner and tell her my sorrows. I would tell her when I was sad or not fitting into school and I would sing to her out loud. I was a weird kid with a loving family but I had a sick mother and an Ojibwe father and I never felt like I fit in with other kids. But with nature I did. I was one of them. I was one with the trees and water.
I ran around barefoot and climbed trees. I looked for wildlife in the wetlands and forests near my home. I spent endless summers at the beach. Here’s why I think the land speaks to me: we are all creatures of the earth. And because of humans now is a time that nature doesn’t “fit in”. Nature is in man’s way and man is destroying her. I think it’s my turn to give back to the land what she gave to me when I was a skinny, scraped kneed, weirdo kid. |
That's me on the right.
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Jennifer Trefiak is a multidisciplinary Indigenous artist who paints what she describes as “intuitive landscapes”. She has been making art in some form since her very early childhood.
Her art explores underlying themes such as climate change, the sacred feminine, and the meaning of 'place' to First Nations people. In all of her work, Jennifer tries to reveal the spirit of the land of her ancestors and our human connectedness to Mother Earth. Jennifer is a self-taught visual artist and a trained musician. She is a member of the arts group The Spirit of the Hills and her work has been shown in the Art Gallery of Northumberland & the Colborne Art Gallery. Jennifer is also a trumpeter with the Northumberland Orchestra and Choir. She lives and works in Colborne (Cramahe), Ontario, Canada and is a member of Alderville First Nation. Her art has been collected throughout Canada, the USA and the UK. Jennifer's studio and gallery are open by appointment. |
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"We do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."
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