Erin Freed, Artist

Erin's Biography

Erin Freed was born in Fort William, Ontario, and moved to Neepawa, Manitoba as a young child. Erin studied with the Manitoba Department Of Health as a Radiological Technologist in the early seventies. Upon receiving her diploma, Erin moved with her family to Calgary, Alberta.

As a young mom Erin raised her two daughters and continued her career in X-Ray technology, which is still her 'day job'. Erin spent her spare moments painting with acrylics.
In 1998 Erin applied and was accepted into Alberta College Of Art and Design. Studying part time, Erin graduated in 2006 with her BFA degree.In college, Erin majored in ceramics, and has since returned to painting as well. Erin seeks to unite her painting with her work in ceramics.

Artist's Statement

Artists engage the senses of touch, hearing and sight, and the emotions, in their audiences. When this happens, change occurs in that same audience. Modern day institutions work with interactive, hands on ideas to educate their viewers. Interaction also occurs in the public realm of large publicly funded and very public art institutions. Less public artists use interaction as well to engage their audience.
I like to engage the emotive senses while providing visual stimuli. I respond to nature, engaging myself as audience and artist simultaneously. Working with images of trees, I begin to relate tree limbs to the human body, a forest to society.
As a ceramic artist I primarily use low fire, cone four clay, and medium fire, cone six clay. With both temperatures I use underglazes, glazes and carving. I do some limited production, but am more interested in taking simple forms such as bowls to create one of a kind pieces.
In painting I use acrylics on canvas in a wide assortment of sizes. My colours are generally bright. I work with closeup photographs or still life arrangements to achieve a more intimate connection with the viewer.
At this point my practise moves forward, into self discovery. Self discovery leads to a deeper understanding of nature and the human condition. Self discovery leads even deeper to primal energy, that core energy of the universe.