I have been drawing and painting since the age of five. My first award was in grade three, entitled “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic.” It was horrible, but I think my teacher felt sorry for me because I struggled with learning how to read.

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After graduating from high school, I went to Ottawa to study nursing, graduating three years later. Art became my “medicine” to relieve stress and keep me focused on my studies. It became my identity in residence.

I returned to Sault Ste. Marie and worked at the now decommissioned General Hospital and then the new Sault Area Hospital for a forty six year career, retiring in 2019. I continue working at Sault College as a lab/clinical teacher in nursing.

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But my fabric/leather creations, acrylic paintings, and calendars have been central to my mental health in life and in a very high stress career. Once in my space, I think only of my work, allowing my mind to rest. It was so medicinal.

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I am an award-winning artist, and my creations are one of a kind. My uncle Mike Forrester Jr. was a painter/photographer. My maternal grandmother was always knitting, crocheting and doing embroidery adorned with some of her beadwork.

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I create acrylic paintings, leather bags and purses adorned with embroidery and beads. Some are decorated with patterns created with pyrography. I also have art cards, and calendars in which each month is represented by the print of one of my paintings. These are keepsakes.

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I am also a freelance feature writer/columnist with the Sault Star, and my writings are both creative and controversial. These are all of my artistic creations and they keep me out of trouble. 

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Patricia F. Baker

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https://rainmakerscreativeworks.ca/

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