Sandy Stewart is an expressive art educator with an enthusiasm for rich colour and traditional images, her subjects vary from common place to the eclectic. Although “landlocked” in upper Canada for years, she has moved back to the Maritimes (Nova
Scotia- Pictou County) and her work is reflective of her love of the sea, maritime people and their traditions. Her earlier formal education was at Mount Allison University where she obtained her B.F.A, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design where she received a B.E.D. specializing in art education and art therapy.

After initial teaching in Nova Scotia school system, she accepted a position at the Toronto French School, in Toronto, Ontario. There
she started the art program at the school and also introduced the International Baccalaureate (IB). Today, she is one of the IB examiners, and workshop leaders for Canada and the U.S in the area of visual arts. She has been making her way back to the Maritimes, teaching at Rothesay Netherwood School, and the past few years has been running and teaching at the art department at King’s Edgehill School, in Windsor, Nova Scotia.

Sandy has been influenced by Monet, Matisse, pioneer woman artists (such as Emily Carr and Georgia O’Keeffe) and the post impressionists. her intensive use of colour has been influenced by travel and her love of culture and also a regular pilgrim to many “temples” of
contemporary art in New York, Italy, England, Paris and Chicago. Many of her students have gone on to pursue successful careers of their own in architecture, film, animation and the arts.

Carole Anne Burris is a musician who has recently moved to the town of Pictou. Beadwork is one of her passions – she has been beading for the past 45 years. What sparked her was a box of broken jewellery that her mom gave her at a young age.

Carolyn Bedford has exhibited in various group shows in Nova Scotia and had many solo shows of her paintings which have seen reviews and now, exhibits her sculpture work. She does her own bronze work and had a small foundry to produce the pieces and also fires her own clay work. She also does some photography having run her own wet lab, and writes poetry often in collaboration of her exhibit titles. Carolyn was apprenticed in the bronze and believes strongly with hands on throughout the process of any medium. For over 50 years, Carolyn has also worked in the advancement of the arts, working on provincial boards, operating a Co-op gallery, organizing a symposium, giving presentations, teaching and keeping her interest in local art events. She was on the board of CAR/FAC and on the board as Vice Chair, of Creative Pictou council.

Carolyn’s successful completion of the public sculpture piece, “The Village Well” in the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre was a culmination of five years of study and apprenticeship of the lost wax process of bronze sculpture and a recent venture into the public art sector. Now with new collaboration colleagues and teachers Randy Sutherland and Frank Parsonage ,she plans new sculpture pieces for the area.” Athena’s Owl” is a present metal sculpture showing in the Stellarton Community College. Still working in acrylic with live models, she has just been approved with a submission to produce a painting for the Pictou Culture Hub. Formally on the NS Rally Map, she still runs an open studio welcoming visitors to the art process. She continues to paint and sculpt for exhibition and pleasure.

A sense of meaning and connection is fundamental to fibre artist, Heather Kellerman, who also enjoys dabbling with paint and paper. Intuition is the path she follows to create colourful raised texture, often melted and layered. Heather’s work is influenced by the creative hand of her mother and grandmothers. Her weaving apprenticeship in the 80’s followed by years of playful experimentation has produced eclectic artwork in the form of garments, bags, toys, clerical stoles, jewelry and wall art. This variety demonstrates Heather’s keen appreciation for learning through the exploration of process and of materials, often which are found treasures ripe for repurposing. Current works generally take the form of wall art.

Heather has been a member of Textile Artists Collective of Nova Scotia (TACNS) since 2018. During spring, summer and fall she creates at her cottage on inspiring Caribou Island.

Jennifer Coveyduc is a Nova Scotian artist who is inspired by her love of all nature, the forests, fields and oceans and is influenced by their simple yet intricate beauty and the treasures they hold. With a background in Art and Biology she creates using a wide variety of mediums/ art forms and strives to incorporate a combination of natural, reclaimed or recycled material into her pieces to emphasize the importance of the environment and sustainability.

She is working towards setting up a small home studio for her business ‘Fringeweed Designs’ where she can continue to create in enameling, jewellery, weaving, collage, paper making, sewing, eco friendly gardening and more. When she is not creating she enjoys teaching and excitedly hopes to bring a variety of fun, creative, art and gardening classes to Pictou County.

Janice Carbert’s work continues to explore sense of place and how we negotiate our way through the seemingly ordinary paths of the everyday, incorporating images and phrases that reflect our relationship with our surroundings. Janice holds a BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design and has lived and worked in Toronto since 1985. She is a former Director of Open Studio and Operations Manager at Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Image Arts.

Born in Ontario, Ashley Farrell, is an ambitious artist that has been creating artwork since her early childhood. After becoming a stay at home mom of two children, pursuing instructional education and exploring alternative creative outlets has been her primary focus over the past few years. Boasting contrasting colours and singular focus her choice of mediums range from acrylics to coloured pencils and bridge fantasy and wildlife as one. She has been broadening her artist exposure by taking part in several local exhibitions and looks forward to going bigger and bolder in the next coming year.

Inga Khan is an artist living in Pictou County.

Rosalyn Coulter grew up in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia, and spent over 30 years in Ontario raising her family before returning to her roots. Her love of art began in the home of her grandparents—both talented artists—who nurtured her creativity from a young age. Rosalyn’s grandmother, in particular, had a deep love for watercolour, and they would spend countless hours exploring books and discussing ideas. Although she passed away in 2019 before seeing Rosalyn fully embrace painting, her influence remains at the heart of her work.

Over the past few years, she has focused on developing her skills in watercolour—her grandmother’s favorite medium—through courses and workshops with artists like Joy Laking, Brian Atyeo, and Bill Rogers. These experiences have helped shape her approach and deepen her understanding of the medium.

Rosalyn’s work has been exhibited at several venues across Nova Scotia, including the MacLellan & Moffatt Financial Gallery, the McCarthy Gallery at NSCC Truro, Gallery 215 in Maitland, the Fraser Gallery, and the Corridor Gallery at the Colchester East Hants Health Centre. She has also shown pieces at local libraries, cafes, and community galleries.

She is inspired by the vivid colours of nature and love painting animals, landscapes, portraits, and still life. Each subject offers a new way to explore light, texture, and emotion through colour. She is currently a member of the Truro Art Society, Northumberland Arts Council (The Fraser), Gallery 215, The Attic Painters, and Visual Arts Nova Scotia (VANS).