Bris Flanagan

Bris Flanagan was born in Toronto in 1960. She graduated from Selkirk College in Nelson, British Columbia, in 1992 with a diploma in fine woodworking. For several years she perfected her low-relief woodcarving techniques featuring animal motifs in small furnishings and other fine craft items. Her work has appeared in group shows across western Canada and was featured in a solo show at the National Exhibition Center in Castlegar, British Columbia in 1996. She has taught carving skills to groups and individuals of all ages and levels of ability.

In 2008 Ms Flanagan completed a diploma course in Therapeutic Recreation at SIAST in Saskatoon. Since then she has been employed by the Saskatoon Health Region and currently works at Sherbrooke Community Centre as a Recreation Therapist, as well as an artist in residence, facilitating an innovative program called Insight, exploring artmaking with individuals in various stages of dementia.

In her home studio Ms Flanagan works in acrylic paint, pastel, ink, printmaking, wood, clay and felt.

Much of my work has involved the use of animal motifs. Since childhood I have felt a deep affinity for all animals. I continue to strive to express that kinship in my art.

Seeing goes beyond the surface of a subject - there is a light within everything. I have come to understand that the creative spark is that spiritual light jumping across the space that separates me and my subject, igniting within me, and seeking a way to be expressed. I often contemplate what that spark looks like in each thing it touches, and how it looks as it travels.