Karen Brownlee
Karen Brownlee is a Lethbridge-based artist who has maintained a full-time arts practice for thirty years. She works in various media and subject matter, and with numerous museums, art galleries and clients.
Karen studied Clinical Psychology, History and Art at the University of Lethbridge, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1976. From 1980 onwards, she worked as an art instructor at Lethbridge Community College, and as part of the Banff Centre’s “Artists and Teachers in the School” program, teaching various courses in Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1987, Karen gave up teaching art to focus on the maturation of her own work, which has been featured in books published by Red Deer Press, and included in several public and private collections. In 1998, Karen became the founder and initial artist of the Artist in Residency program for the City of Lethbridge.
Karen has participated in several corporate, solo and group exhibitions, including Edmonton’s The Works festival, the Rural Prairie Communities series (1992-2006), The Sakura Tree international exhibit (2007-2009), and Back Home 2005. She was also recently invited to be one of the two Feature Artists for the Western Showcase at the 2010 Calgary Stampede.
You can learn more about Karen and her work at www.karenbrownlee.com
Artwork Description
The artist chose a collage as the most fitting representation of the century long history in the profession of pharmacy in Alberta. The busy collage encourages the viewer to look closer into the artwork and explore the various artifacts and tools used over the years in the trade.
The hand and tools of the artist were combined with design, and a digitally created time line. This combination was chosen to compliment the evolution in the instruments and scope of practice of pharmacy in Alberta. The timeline itself was created to reflect and highlight various pharmacists’ achievements and advancements in Alberta and Canada.
Throughout the collage, the artist chose to have various words to convey complex concepts pertaining to the profession of pharmacy. Some of the words are in reference to present and future developments in the pharmaceutical field, where as others are historical and contemporary pharmaceutical terms.
Verne Busby
Verne has lived and worked most of his life in Edmonton. He received a Bachelor of Arts in 1972, and Secondary Education Teaching Certificate in 1974 from the University of Manitoba. He then received a secondary teaching certificate in British Columbia before returning to Edmonton to study Design Arts at Grant MacEwan University, and later, at the University of Alberta.
In 1981, after several years of agency experience, Verne joined Bella Totino to form Totino Busby Design Inc., an independent design and illustration studio. Verne has also taught as a part-time staff member at the University of Alberta in the Faculty of Art & Design, Visual Communications.
Verne has exhibited his works near and far – across the prairies, and as far as Los Angeles. He has participated in Edmonton’s The Works and Fringe festivals multiple times, and has had works in Edmonton’s City Hall, Citadel Theatre, and the Edmonton Art Gallery (now Art Gallery of Alberta). He is currently represented by galleries in Calgary, Vancouver, Saskatoon, Kelowna, Jasper, Banff and Whistler.
You can learn more about Verne and his work at www.vernebusby.com
Artwork Description
This abstract painting entitled Transitions symbolizes the impact a century of changes has had on the pharmacy profession. In the painting, layers of colors intermingle and new colors overlap old ones, reflecting how new ideas replace existing practice. Without using direct recognizable imagery, this work denotes the advancement of pharmacy in Alberta over the past 100 years as well as anticipating the changes in the future.
Ingrid Christensen
After studying Art and English at the University of British Columbia, Ingrid went on to teach these subjects at the junior and senior high school levels. She eventually quit teaching to pursue art full-time, making a living at first as a ceramic artist, and later as a metalsmith.
More recently, Ingrid’s focus has been on both oil and watercolour painting. She paints a variety of subjects, including landscapes and figurative works.
Ingrid has participated in a number of exhibitions across western Canada, including Artist’s Window at the Calgary Stampede, Human Figure (2007) at the Federation Gallery in Vancouver (where she won the Juror’s Choice award), and the 2009 Calgary Home and Garden Show. She is an active member of both the Federation of Canadian Artists, and the Alberta Society of Artists.
You can learn more about Ingrid and her work at www.icartstudios.com.
Artwork Description
This oil painting is a bold and contemporary piece of work that harmoniously depicts the vitality of interconnected collaboration between all health care professionals. Eyes are drawn immediately to the pharmacist in the painting as she is the only figure who is looking out of the picture. She is depicted to be counseling a patient in a relaxed and personable manner. On the left side of the painting, there is a man loading a syringe, who can represent a variety of health care professionals. He can be a nurse or a pharmacist in light of the profession’s new scope of practice in administering injections. Other health care professionals illustrated include a pharmacy technician, a dietician, a surgeon and a physiotherapist.
The colors used in this painting were purposely chosen to emphasize both the historical and modern aspects of pharmacy. Woven throughout the figures and the background in the top part of the painting is green. This is in reference to the natural world: the origin of medicine. On the left side, a cooler blue tone bathes the lab coats of the figures in representation of modern pharmacy practice.
Joanna Moore
Originally from Winnipeg, Joanna studied Interior Design at the University of Manitoba, and later Fine Arts at the Faculty of Extension, University of Alberta. She now resides in St. Albert, and currently serves as President of the Alberta Society of Artists.
Teaching is a large part of Joanna’s practice. She has taught for the Devonian Botanical Gardens, Red Deer College and the Revlon Arts in Medicine program at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton. Joanna has been teaching watercolour and drawing courses for fourteen years, for the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Extension Spring Session for Older Adults program.
Joanna has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the province since 1987. Her watercolours can be found in many private and public collections, including the Alberta Foundation for the Arts’ permanent collection.
You can learn more about Joanna and her work at www.artists-society.ab.ca/artists/default.aspx?id=2159.
Artwork Description
This piece is filled with symbolism that emphasizes the many aspects of pharmacy and the progression of the profession through its long history. The orange tulips make a strong congratulatory statement as well as being a sign of growth and new opportunities. On the bottom left corner of the painting is a photograph of the first Council of the Alberta Pharmaceutical Association in 1911. To the right of that is a chain of white paper figures illustrating a pharmacist’s link with other health care professionals. Above the chain of white dolls is a gift box with a black and white checkered design inspired by the floors in the Dentistry/Pharmacy building at the University of Alberta. Lastly, in the middle of the entire painting is a doll that represents a caring and friendly pharmacist.
Marc Siegner
Marc is a printmaker and artist living and working in Edmonton. In 2003, he completed a Master of Visual Arts from Norwich University, Vermont College. He previously received his undergraduate degree from the Ontario College of Art, Toronto, in 1979.
Marc’s print and installation works have been exhibited across Canada, as well as internationally. He has participated in a number of group and solo exhibitions, including the 2004-2005 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff, An Elephant in the Forest at the Edmonton Art Gallery (now Art Gallery of Alberta), and Edmonton Prints at the Edmonton International Print Biennial (2008). His works can be found in the collections of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Canada Council, the Art Gallery of Alberta and the University of Alberta.
Marc is the co-founder of the Society of Northern Alberta Print-Artists (SNAP), where he now serves as a board member. He currently works as a technician demonstrator in the printmaking division of the University of Alberta’s Department of Art & Design.
You can learn more about Mark and his work at www3.telus.net/public/msiegner/Marc_Siegner/.
Artwork Description
This particular piece provides an image that reflects the professions’ past achievements, while pointing to the future of practicing in a collaborative professional environment. The mixed-media work incorporates imagery from both historical and modern representation of pharmacy practice in Alberta.
Historical depictions include a portion of the Canon of Avicenna, a famous book in the history of medicine as well as a part of the sign from one of the first pharmacies that opened in Alberta, McCutcheon Drugs.
More contemporary images consist of charts and diagrams from the research done in Phenomics as this pertains to the future direction in pharmacy research. In looking towards the future of pharmacy practice, the artist also acknowledges the next generation of pharmacists by incorporating an image of the Alberta Pharmacy Students’ Association yearbook.