Two young artists share one gallery — and two very different ways of seeing the world 

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Bluesky
• Share on X
• Copy Link

“I had trouble expressing myself in words, so art became the easiest way for me to show what I was feeling,” she said.

Fire investigations

Two churches destroyed by fire at Little Red Reserve

22m ago

SASKATCHEWAN'S LARGEST TREE

A landmark without its label: Sign disappears from beloved Popoff Tree

1h ago

Losing ground

Nisbet wildfire could cost $25M in timber losses

4h ago

When she sketches or paints, Barden said the tools feel like an extension of herself. After years of leaning toward black and white, she now embraces large blocks of colour and mixed media, saying brighter work has helped both her outlook and the emotional energy she puts into the world. 

“The colour makes a big difference,” she said. “It changes the way I feel when I’m working, and I think it changes what I put out into the world.”

She hopes to continue her education at SENTEP and is considering further studies that could lead her toward art therapy — a field that fits with her belief that art can help people express what words sometimes cannot. 

Peters approaches her work differently. Her collection, now on display at the public library, is intensely personal, though she said viewers are free to find their own meaning in it. 

“It means a lot to me, but I like that other people can see their own story in it too,” she said

Isabella Peters at the gallery with some of her art. (Image Credit: submitted)

She has seven canvas pieces in the show, along with sketches that reveal the thinking behind them. Peters said nearly everything begins on paper first, in the sketchbooks she carries with her, before an idea grows into a finished painting whenever inspiration and time allow. 

One of the central works in her collection is a piece called Mother, a forest landscape anchored by a large tree. Peters said she wanted it to stand at the centre of the exhibit as a reflection of the importance of land, especially in the North. 

“That piece is really about the land and how connected we are to it,” she said. “I wanted it in the middle because it feels like the heart of the whole collection.”

The display will be up for about one more week. (Image Credit: Submitted)

The exhibit is mounted at the Grace Campbell Gallery in the Prince Albert Public Library, a community space that regularly features local artists. For Barden and Peters, the shared show is both a public debut and a marker of what comes next — two young artists leaving high school with distinct voices and more room to grow. 

—

susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com