Q & A with Artist Tsista Kennedy
What inspired your artwork for this special card? What visual message did you have in mind?
When I’ve been in the libraries in London, I always noticed kids playing and reading with their parents and I saw how the curious and playful spirits of the children would draw their parents and families to these places of knowledge and learning. I was taught that children are the future of our communities. I decided to use woodland-style florals in my artwork, all of which sprout and grow from the children, and to show how everyone is looking at the flowers, watching as they flow from the children and the place they hold in our communities.
I think a sense of community is one of the most important things folks can have in life. I’d feel that sense of community seeing the families being together at the library, or the young adults planted around tables with their faces buried in all kinds of books. I wanted to portray that feeling I’ve had every time I’ve taken a moment to observe the environment around me in one of London’s public libraries.
Tell us about your journey to becoming an artist. What motivated you to start expressing yourself through art and to continue on that path?
My journey started at whatever age I began doodling and drawing on my schoolwork, but when I was 13 years old, I sold my first piece of art. It was a snapping turtle that I’d accidentally drawn in the woodland style. I say accidentally because it was just a freehand drawing to me, but, upon later reflection, I realized it adhered to the aesthetic elements of the woodland style. I continued to work with this style after discovering that people liked my variation of it enough to hang it on their walls.
How have you grown as an artist since then, in the development of your style and in the vision you’re expressing to the world?
In the past six years, I have grown as an artist in ways that I would never have anticipated. I’ve had many amazing opportunities and accomplishments come my way through doing what I love, and I can only give thanks to my constant drive to experiment and learn from mistakes as a young artist. My own variation of the woodland style has certainly developed and changed since that initial snapping turtle done in 2014. I was able to make it distinctive to myself as an artist and incorporate design elements that made my artwork unique from other woodland-style artists.
Because I’ve reached a level of confidence in working in this style, I find it easy to express my perspective as an Anishnaabe Onyota’ka man through it. I create my artwork with a hope that people will see it and feel that they’re taking a glimpse through the perspective of me as a modern Indigenous person living in Canada.
Congratulations on becoming a father! What thoughts do you have on being at the beginning of your journey as a father?
Becoming a father is one of the most beautiful gifts of life I could ever be given and it’s taught me a lot about how a man should carry himself through life. My daughter is going on 10 months now and, with every new milestone she meets, I’ve come to understand why I’d always hear the words, “they grow up so fast,” from my relatives when I was a kid. As my daughter continues to grow, I look forward to passing on all of the knowledge I’ve gathered throughout my life to aid her in wandering through her own.
I can’t wait to read my daughter books and eventually see her reading one alongside me. I’d want to nurture her development to the best of my ability too, and I think that trips to the library together to bring some good books home will help in doing so.
