Lori Ulriksen is seen with her exhibit at Marker 47 Cafe. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

the arts

Ulriksen showcases life and times of family with debut art exhibit

May 9, 2024 | 4:05 PM

Lori Ulriksen has her debut exhibit on display at La Ronge’s Marker 47 Cafe.

Following her retirement in 2021 as a teacher at Gordon Denny Community School, Ulriksen began focusing her attention towards art. Since then, she’s taken more than 20 online classes on the subject, as well as began a year-long mentorship with Canadian Artists’ Representation/Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC) under the direction of Saskatoon-based Kathy Bradshaw.

“Part of that is I had to do a body of work,” Ulriksen explained.

“I did a lot of portraits, but then I kind of chickened out last year and just mainly did people from behind or people doing things. She kind of encouraged me to just go back to portraits again and do people and not to be scared of it. This is the body of work I chose.”

Ulriksen, who has an interest in history and learning, decided she wanted to bring to life old black and white photographs of her family. She did so with oil-based paints and incorporated a collage background.

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“The collage tells the story of the time that the person existed and also some of their history like why they came or things about them like their nicknames or their story or things that they liked to do,” Ulriksen said.

Lori Ulriksen has been developing her skills as an artist for the last three years. (Submitted photo/Lori Ulriksen)

“They kind of tell the story of those aspects of the person you can’t really tell from the picture. A lot of it gets covered up, but I know it is there. If you look deep, you can see some of those things. Some of it shines through. You have to look carefully because a lot of it gets covered up or partly covered up.”

The finished result was about a dozen paintings Ulriksen completed at her home studio in Air Ronge. The artwork depicts relatives of hers, showcasing a snapshot in time. She noted the public response has been positive and many people have been surprised by the abilities she’s developed in a relatively short period.

“I’ve done a lot of other paintings. I usually just give them to people,” Ulriksen said.

“I’ve also done specific lessons on the hand, the eyes or the nose and the mouth. I’ve really broken it down into small scales and then built it up. I’m still learning. It’s still a journey.”

For her next project, Ulriksen will focus on Uranium City then and now.

“I grew up in Uranium City, so it’s going to be a story about Uranium City and the displacement of people after it closed,” she said.

“It’s going to be a combination of the buildings in disrepair and falling down now and people living when I was there. The memories of people alive inside of those buildings. It’s probably going to be another 10 or 15 pieces.”

Ulriksen is currently the vice-chair of the La Ronge Arts Council. She was invited to host an exhibit at Marker 47 Cafe by the Pixels@20Paces art collective, of whom she is thankful for both providing artists a safe and welcoming place to exhibit artwork.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

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