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Posted 1 month ago
Josh Chalmers Special to the Standard Johanna Jackins is a local Strathmore artist who is responsible for the sketches of the historical buildings on the banners seen on Lakeside Boulevard.
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Josh Chalmers
Special to the Standard
For Strathmore artist Johanna Jackins the value of her art isn't measured by the amount of money it's worth but rather by the lessons it can teach.
"Money doesn't motivate me," said Jackins. "I work from my heart and what my heart says is to try to teach some kind of lesson of getting back to family and community."
This is evident in the fact that many of Jackins' projects are on a volunteer basis, including her most recent and noticeable one, the new banners of old buildings on Lakeside Boulevard. The project was just the type of project that Jackins likes to work on.
"I like projects that have history, and that challenge me to expand my drawing skills," said Jackins.
When Communities in Bloom Committee Chairperson and Jackins personal friend Robert Breitwieser was looking for an artist, Jackins was his first choice.
"She's been great to work with," said Breitwieser. "She's a super lady, very clever, very talented and very precise."
Another historical project that Jackins worked on was with the Wheatland Lodge. Several years ago she illustrated a book, as a volunteer, that brought together the stories of the inhabitants.
"They built the streets in Strathmore, built the schools and built the churches and started the community here," said Jackins. "They have values to teach us about keeping families together, how communities should stick together and they love you whoever you are."
Even Jackins newest project, a children's book, is centered on five elderly people. Jackins has already written the book and just has to illustrate it.
She has also illustrated books on family history, one on her own and more recently one for a man in Calgary.
At the time when the book was made Jackins was working at the lodge, she now works part time at the Days Inn as a front desk clerk and volunteers at the lodge.
"Do you know how many of them (the lodge residents) are just sitting there day after day," said Jackins. "They have no visitors, their families are too busy. That's wasteful, those people still have something to offer."
Jackins, who has lived in Strathmore since 1980, immigrated to Ontario from the Netherlands at the age of one. She has been married to her husband Bob for almost 25 years. The two have two children, Emily and Brian, and a young grandchild, Lucas.
Jackins said that her love of art began at a young age.
"I've done art my whole entire life, when I was young I would sit by the beach and just draw," said Jackins.
While her art is not something that she makes a living off of, she does have formal training in the form of two years of commercial art training as well as having taken watercolour, acrylic painting, and cartooning courses.
Jackins said that she has tried many different ventures to do art for a living. Including painting recycled furniture, she sold over 100 pieces at Christmas art shows over a seven year period, as well as teaching painting, selling greeting card lines and more recently scrapbooking.
Jackins said that the arts community in Strathmore is strong in the arts side, but the commercial side is lacking. She points to a place like Bragg Creek as something to strive to, where the community supports its artists.
"When people buy your art you want to talk to them about it, like I said it's not about the money," said Jackins. "It would be nice if you could do that in Strathmore, in Calgary you're just a number."
Jackins said she approached town council about putting up an arts bulletin board, as a central place to find arts and artists. She said that council at first agreed to put one up in Kinsmen Park, but later decided not to.
Jackins said that the growth of Strathmore doesn't help the artists because most of the new communities are filled with commuters.
"That doesn't keep Strathmore together," said Jackins.
Jackins is currently teaching classes on upcycling, where she reuses materials such as cereal boxes to create art. The classes are 1-2 hours and can be set up at your leisure. To contact Jackins about an upcycling class, or any other project, you can contact her by e-mail at j.jackins@shaw.ca or by phone at (403)934-9280.
