Artist statement

For this exhibition, I thought long and hard about what would be the most informative type of painting that I could create.  Having been a teacher, I know the value of education, and felt this should be foremost in the message I wanted to share.

I was pleased to hear that in April 2023 the Toronto District School Board voted positively to include the works of Indigenous authors in the curriculum for the Grade 11 English credit, instead of the traditional study of Shakespeare’s plays. I felt that this was a beginning, and one step forward towards educating the settler population to understanding the true history of Canada under the Colonial regime.

I had read “Five Little Indians” by Michele Good several months before having heard about the Truth and Reconciliation exhibitions in Bancroft.  I was impressed with Good’s writing.  Her five characters are five Indigenous survivors from the Residential Schools.  They share their memories of losing their families, their language, traditions, and freedom. When they are released from the residential schools as teenagers they are abandoned without any support.  They face all kinds of difficulties attempting to survive as young adults and their unsuccessful attempts to build relationships.  She illustrated the physical and emotional trauma caused by the horrific conditions and cruelty experienced in these schools, causing PTSD in many.

Michelle Good graciously gave me permission to copy the cover of her book for this project.

This is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action statement that I chose when deciding on the subject matter for my painting:

Youth Programs

66. We call upon the federal government to establish multiyear funding for community-based youth organizations to deliver programs on reconciliation, and establish a national network to share information and best practices

About the artist

Ingrid has been fascinated with Art since her early teens in Northern Ireland. The theme running through most of Ingrid’s paintings is a love of nature and use of natural materials, such as rocks and driftwood. This fascination has led to creations that include wildlife paintings on canvas, quarry stone and naturally sculptured driftwood.

In her art, Ingrid focuses mainly on local flora and fauna.  One of her driftwood creations, Edgar the Raven, won first place in the 3-D category of the 2013 Annual Invitational Juried Art Show at the Art Gallery of Bancroft.  Many other of her favorite driftwood sculptures are displayed in her gardens and woods by the lake. A recent commission involved designing and painting foxes for Superior Propane to advertise their Smart Tank technology; they can be seen at both Tim Horton’s restaurants in Bancroft.

Having volunteered at the Fish Hatchery in Bancroft, and as a keen fisherwoman, she enjoys both catching and painting the fish from her lake.  Her painting, “Breakfast for Brookies” was chosen for the cover of the new “Bancroft & Area Stocked Lakes Access Guidebook”, written by the Bancroft Area Stewardship Council.