Claire maccormick & kaitlyn macdonald

We (Kaite and Claire) met here at St. Francis Xavier University in the Bachelor of Education program, and quickly became incredibly close friends, as we share many of the same interests, hobbies, and views—for us it seemed like a no-brainer to work together on this project. When beginning this process, our original intention was to create an interdisciplinary piece of art that showcased both our interests and identities. Our focus was to draw upon resources connected to nature and use leaves, bark, and wood as the medium for each of our respective art pieces. We both have a deep connection to nature, starting in our early lives, and wanted our stories to represent that connection and the deep respect we hold for the natural world.  

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Our process began with many conversations about how we could combine the written word and acrylic paintings to achieve a cohesive piece of art that represented both our stories, which was the most difficult aspect of this process. Eventually, we realized that poetry and painting could easily complement each other while representing two differing, but interconnected, stories. We then began to work towards the creation of each of our art pieces, which we constantly worked on together, to make sure we were able to authentically draw in both of our stories into each mode of art. It was incredibly important that both of our voices were able to be heard through our art. The process of constructing our piece was one of the easiest, as we had the idea of creating a birch frame as a display from our first brainstorm of the project.  

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In creating this work, it was important for us to incorporate aspects of nature into the project. For my (Kaite’s) contribution to the piece I chose oak leaves, taken from the property where I grew up. The leaves were intentionally painted and hung in an upside-down orientation, giving the viewer the illusion of falling leaves. Only one side of the leaves were painted to expose the natural color and dried texture to the viewer, as they walked around and experienced the movement of the piece, and to leave room for my growth as a person. On the leaves, I painted scenes and words that represented my connections to nature, my heritage, and my present self. I felt drawn and connected to Celtic symbols, such as the thistle flower, the Celtic knots, and triskelion. I am the last surviving member of my family with a connection to my family’s dead language: Scottish Gaelic. I used the language to represent who I am, something me and my family have lost, and how I feel most connected to my lost ancestors, writing my name, Caitlin NicDomhnallach (Kaitlyn MacDonald), and where I call home, Alba Nuadh (Nova Scotia/New Scotland). The remaining leaves represent significant places to my present self, in nature and in the institutions of which I am a part of, and how that connects to my family and heritage. 

However, collecting the pieces that compose both the frame and art was a step-by-step process. Gathering the leaves for Kaite’s paintings took a great deal of time, as we originally looked at birch leaves for painting. However, these leaves proved to be too thin to paint on. We then looked at collecting oak leaves, which had a leathery texture and dried with a smooth complexion, which proved easiest for painting. Oak trees are native to Scotland. We toyed with the idea of Claire writing her poems on these oak leaves. However, they were too fragile for the thin-tipped marker she used. Eventually, we chose to use birch bark for the poems, because they were hearty and did not break easily as she wrote, and we were able to collect more bark due to many downed trees from Hurricane Fiona. Birch is a native tree to Ireland which is a connection to both of our heritage. Overall, we chose to use birch and oak as they have deep connections to Scotland and Ireland, which allow us to further our own stories and understand our heritage.

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Finally, we presented our piece Identities Suspended.