Art Show at St. Faith's

What do a sloth, a turtle and a moose have to do with mental health and reconciliation? For artist Cat Aldred, the sloth and other animals were companions on a personal journey toward mental health that produced a series of paintings with a growing following. For St. Faith's Church and the community of St. Hildegard's Sanctuary, they represent a way to highlight the spaces where the arts and faith meet.
 
Aldred, who is Cree and Metis, says she was a shy, reserved child with a special fondness for animals, “especially ants.” She credits her Cree culture for shaping her to see animals – even the tiniest – as important beings. For years she openly embraced her indigenous cultures. It wasn’t until High School that she experienced racism and isolation due to her culture. Despite a clear inclination towards the arts and drawing she ended up in Bible College after high school and discovered biblical languages. This is where life started to get bumpy and the natural world began to present itself as a source of healing.
 
In her final year of college Aldred says, “I had a breakdown.” Living with her parents as she recovered, “everything on tv bothered me.” The only thing she could watch was the BBC’s nature series.  
Eventually Aldred recovered, graduated and received a scholarship to attend McGill University. After graduation she worked for the Bible Society, translating scripture into indigenous languages. “For the first time I felt I could contribute to my community.” But as a result of her job she had a close-up view of institutional racism. A life-long Christian and child of a pastor, for the first time church was no longer a safe space for her. “I hadn’t stopped believing in the Creator,” she says, it just wasn’t safe to live her faith in church. This period of her life coincided with mental health struggles. As she sought to find her balance and her place in the world, she returned to art.  

This time, she veered away from the realism and cartooning that her art had previously featured, and sought inspiration in her Cree culture. The subjects or her art? Animals.  

The first piece she created on her journey to wholeness was the sloth. Aldred incorporates the bold, black lines commonly found in Cree art, and elements of Ojibway art. She also incorporates three orbs in all her pieces. The orbs represent the “Creator in three parts.” 

As she progressed in her journey of healing she painted more animals, focusing on capturing the joy of animals playing in nature and introducing a touch of whimsy.  

For the parish, Aldred’s art was the right collection to invite in to inaugurate its new gallery space: it highlights one of the many ways art and faith can meet and it honours indigenous culture. The Rev. Ray Aldred – Cat’s father and clergy of the Diocese of New Westminster and Director of Indigenous Studies at the Vancouver School of Theology – opened the evening saying the journey of reconciliation is like a “drip of water on a stone”, one drop seems insignificant, but over time and followed by other drops, make an impression in the stone. Moments of sharing stories are like those drops.  

Cat Aldred’s collection of paintings “All Creatures Great and Small” will be on display at St. Faith’s church until early January. The church is open to the public Tuesday to Friday, from 9am to 4:30pm. All are welcome to experience Aldred’s work, free of charge.  

Prints and greeting cards are available through the artist’s website posiscreativeart.square.site