Les Hurlburt

Les Hurlburt is from North Battleford, Saskatchewan, although he spends the spring, summer and fall seasons at their cottage on Emma Lake.  Les worked for a number of years in northern Saskatchewan and developed a love of the boreal forest region.  The forest and lake environment guides and inspires his creativity.  His work could be termed “land based art.”  He works with the materials provided by nature.  His favoured medium is the bark from the white birch tree.  (“Waskwayahtik”, in the Cree  language.) The white birch tree is also the provincial tree of Saskatchewan.  He collects the bark from fallen trees, as well as  spruce roots and other materials found in the forest  He uses the bark in traditional ways to create baskets and containers.  He also uses the bark for sculptures, etching and collages.  He is constantly exploring new ways to use the materials that nature provides.  In keeping with his philosophy of using natural materials, he also believes in recycling frames and matting that he uses to highlight some of his work.  Les and his wife Liz, who is a Cree-Métis, have also created a “Cree Word A Day” perpetual desk calendar.  Through this calendar they hope  to promote a spirit of reconciliation and an understanding and appreciation of the Cree language.