Canmore sculptor Peig Abbott takes a break in her Elk Run studio. photo by Pam Doyle/www.pamdoylephoto.com
Peig Abbott loves the process of sculpture.
Various stone, metal, clay and bronze pieces adorn her Canmore studio, which she opened in 2010. Originally from Montreal, she has lived in the Bow Valley since 2008.
Abbott believes art can help to relieve some of the stress caused by Covid-19 and the restrictions the Coronavirus has placed on daily life.
“Art is a way to healing on an individual and collective level. I feel a lot of people are displaced right now. No routine, along with fear and unknown circumstances have thrown everyone and everything off balance,” Abbott said. “Art seems to provide a ground to this instability, be it music, dance, literature, films, visual arts, etc.”
Art brings the global community together through various digital platforms, she said.
“It helps lift spirits, engage, and inspire. It helps us to touch base with and rebuild our humanness,” Abbott said. “Historically, whenever there has been mass disruption in the flow of being, be it disease, economic collapse, environmental catastrophes, warfare, etc., art and culture has always been the backbone of what has helped humanity heal.”
Public art can inspire.
“Because public art tends to be larger and more interactive for people to engage with, I believe it helps stimulate curiosity and conversation,” Abbott said. “It bridges connection and has the power to illuminate and transform beliefs, patterns, and consciousness. I believe viewing art helps bring the mind to the present and release the spiral the mind can trap us in. If the viewer allows themselves to take time and investigate the form and material before them, that curiosity can be an incredible gift of insight.”
She makes art from a variety of materials.
“As I have evolved as an artist, I began making work that explored my need to expand my knowledge of both the materials I was using, as well as my process to dig deeper into understanding my self,” Abbott said. “Many years later, I now have a strong desire and drive for my art to be of service for people, communities, and that of the greater good.
Art enhances life.
“I strongly believe art is a mirror for the viewer,” she said. “It can take them on a journey to explore and reflect diverse layers of perspective and consciousness of both personal and universal conditions.”
Her work is for sale in her studio in the Elk Run Industrial Park and offered in galleries. She has an installation in a group exhibition called Transitions, currently showing at artsPlace.
“I create both abstract and representational forms using primarily natural materials such as stone, clay, bronze and metal,” Abbott said. “However, I am open to the creative process and whatever materials needed to capture the right essence for the work.”
She fills these strange days adhering to the restrictions set forth due to the Coronavirus by doing yoga, meditation, reading, writing, sketching, walking and listening to the silence.
“Personally I find anything that involves the creative process meditating. It helps bring me back to the present moment,” she said.
Right now no one is sure what the future will bring but she hopes her art will be a part of it.
“I would like to start creating a bridge for my art to be more in the public sphere,” Abbott said. “It is something that both terrifies and inspires me but I know it is where a lot of my work belongs.”
Please visit https://www.peigabbottsculpture.com for more information.
