This June a new art exhibit is coming to the Kay Cristo Room at the Assiniboia and District Public Library sponsored by the Assiniboia and District Arts Council. Artist Debbie McCrea from Mankota will have her works on display for the month of June.
McCrea and her husband live on a ranch in the Mankota area. Her art education stems back to high school when she enrolled in a correspondence course by the Art Instruction School from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Since then, she鈥檚 been constantly honing her skills and advancing her education.
She鈥檚 taken workshops with Paul Cloutier, Gus Frose and Bernie Brown. She enrolled in a woodcarving bas relief course with Peter Huska. More recently, she studied art with Noni Dornstauder. Her art interest took her to Regina in 1978 where she worked at Centax Printers as a paste-up artist and in graphic design. This opportunity also allowed her to take University of Saskatchewan night classes in figure drawing.
McCrea employs several types of media for her works, including water colour, acrylics, pen and ink, and pencil. Her favourite formats are mosaics, carving wood and stone, and sculpture. This show will be exhibiting examples of each medium apart from paper mache sculptures. McCrea says that she is inspired to create her artistic works by people and the world around her.
McCrea has created a number of notable works. In 1977 her portrait entitled 鈥淥ur Wedding Day鈥� was one of 30 chosen by the Department of Culture and Youth in the Saskatchewan Talent Program that travelled the province in 1978. In 1994 the portrait 鈥淔lorence鈥� won honourable mention at the OSAC Juried Art Showing in Swift Current.
She is part of a collective of local artists that undertake various projects in the area. She was part of a group exhibit entitled 鈥淔irst 100 Years 鈥� Laughter and Tears鈥� at the Grand Coteau Heritage and Cultural Centre in Shaunavon.
In addition to creating art, McCrea has given instruction in art and has participated in craft and trade shows.
