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THE ARTIST'S STORY

Erin Stelmaschuk Biegel

Art has always been a passion.

Since childhood Erin has concentrated most of her time on creating art. Her very first studio was a child’s small getaway, behind the big chair in the corner of the living room. There she sat criss-cross and worked on tiny paper mâché creations and painted pieces to be given away as gifts. In high school her saving grace was Art Class and Industrial Arts, where she was first introduced to the medium and she would develop a lifelong relationship with, copper.

After completing the Fine Art Program at Grant MacEwan College her studio space expanded a little to any tabletop or free space she could claim, later taking up a corner in the basement for the larger works she created. After college she continued to work with copper in this way and it was so well received, “people enjoyed it as much as I loved creating with it” Erin says. She continued getting similar responses from people and galleries to the copper work. It was from that point on that Erin started creating full time and devoting herself to her creative pursuits.

Copper Tooling is how she quickly describes what she does, but at length it is a process of drawing or tracing a drawing onto the copper sheeting and then hand tooling the piece. Pressing the image out from the back and then the front and repeating this process until she has achieved the level of desired definition. Each piece is an original there are no stamps or templates used, and copies or prints are also not an option with the process. From there each piece gets treated with an acid patina to accelerate the aging process of the copper. The piece turns entirely black and wearing a respirator and using steel wool she scrubs the copper back to a beautiful shine. The crevices hold some of the patina giving it the definition that it needs to create depth. At times she also uses acrylic paint, oil pastels, alcohol ink, and resin to further a piece by adding colours and layers.

When the time came for her and her husband to start a family, she had an established studio that physically resided in their back yard and galleries that carried her copper pieces, while she stayed close to home to love on her babes and continue to create. In 2020 she proudly celebrated the 20th anniversary of Stelmaschuk Studio.

Growing up in the lush environment of rural northern Alberta, this is where her inspiration will always have its roots. But moving to Southern Alberta 19 years ago, there was instantly a new source to be taken in... one day driving home Erin suddenly understood, the term “big sky” as she felt like she was under a glass dome that stretched as far as she could see in every direction. As well as being closer to the mountains, as there is a very strong pull for her there, always fuelling her creative energy. To say Erin is inspired by nature, may be an understatement, it truly drives her to create! To take something that is so ephemeral as a petal, leaf or bud and essentially capture it in copper, to be passed through generations as a valued piece of artwork. There are no words to express how much this is a physical part of her, more of a need to create than just a desire.

Erin’s work is held in public and private collections around the world, and can be found anytime on her website, at her home gallery, and in a selection of galleries in Alberta and BC. She enjoys teaching and sharing her knowledge of the arts in any way she can, especially connecting with other creatives and supporters of the arts.