kahkiyaw pisiskiwak kâ-misikiticik asici kâ-apisîsisicik

“All Creatures Great And Small”
Cat Aldred

All Creatures Great and Small is open for public viewing starting November 20, 2024 until January 3, 2025. You can drop by St. Faith’s to see the works during regular office hours, Tuesday-Friday, or between services on Sundays.

From a young age, I loved animals of all shapes and sizes.  Being a shy, reserved child, I considered them my friends.  I had a special fondness for bugs.  My mom reminds me that when I was about 7 years old, I would bring ants home, wrapped in paper in my pocket and ask her for an empty margarine container to build a home for them. None survived, however I often wondered to myself, “who takes care of the little things?” I attribute a lot of this love of nature to my Indigenous heritage.  

In 2021, I found myself struggling significantly mentally, in large part due to Covid. It was then that I turned to my artwork to help myself cope. I had never experimented with Cree Indigenous style when painting before, and decided to give it a try.  Sloths were very popular at that time, and I had recently seen one in real life.  I thought, “what would a Cree style sloth look like?”.  My ancestors had no conception of exotic animals. In 2024, Indigenous artists have so much more to pull inspiration from. I wanted to think outside of the box.  And so, this series of animal paintings was born. My style takes cues from Cree, Metis and Ojibwe artists such as Ovid Bighetty, Jackie Traverse and Simone McLeod. All my animal paintings have 3 orbs in them, representing the Creator (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), and lines representing the interconnectedness of all things.

It was a love of Creation, my artwork, and divine intervention that brought me to a place of mental peace and stability.  Not all at once, but one mark, one brush stroke, one painting, one animal at a time.  It was my Indigenous identity that gave me the appreciation for the sacredness of all living things. In my culture, the appearance of animals in our lives has significant meaning. We respect the Animals like we would our own relatives.  They teach us lessons and guide us as we walk our paths.  Expressing the joy and movement of the animals I paint encourages me to seek that same joy in my own life. And so, my art has had a profound healing impact in my life and I hope to encourage others to turn to God’s creation for inspiration in their own healing journeys. 

Purchase Prints and Cards

Full-size prints and greeting cards featuring Cat’s artwork are available for purchase on her website, Pôsîs Creative.

About the Artist

Cat Aldred is a Cree and Metis artisan, scholar and aunty from Grande Prairie, AB, now living in Richmond, BC.  She has a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies and First Nations Bible translation from McGill University.  She enjoys trying to capture animals and their “joie de vivre” in her art.  Drawing inspiration from Cree, Metis and Ojibwe artists she is familiar with, she describes her style as “essentially Cree, with a hint of irony and a dash of whimsy.”  Her art has a theological bent, incorporating symbolism of the Creator and the spiritual interconnectedness of all of creation.  She has completed a number of commissions varying from portraiture, Illustration, murals and painted drums.  She also has a line of greeting cards featuring her animal paintings and their symbolic meanings which she sells at markets and events. Through her art, Cat hopes to promote awareness of Indigenous and mental health issues both locally and globally, and to empower the younger generation of Indigenous creatives and thinkers to recognize their inherent value and dream big.