Naaahsa is an Artist!

Written and illustrated by Hali Heavy Shield

Second Story Press

978-1-77260-346-0

24 pp.

Ages 6-8

October 2023 

 

Hali Heavy Shield's story, the winner of the Second Story Press Indigenous Writing Contest, is a special one for the depth of the child-grandmother relationship, but it is given life, colour, and texture through the author-illustrator's artwork.

From Naaahsa is an Artist!, written and illustrated by Hali Heavy Shield

A child recalls spending time with her grandmother, whom she calls Naaahsa, an artist. Naaahsa doesn't just babysit her grandchild. She opens doors for creativity and connection to culture, always encouraging the child to try her best. They bead together, sing together, draw together, cook, and paint, and more. They take walks to inspire them, with Naaahsa telling stories in Blackfoot, especially meaningful for her as she had been prohibited from using her language when forced into residential school. Now Naaahsa makes art to help her feel better.

From Naaahsa is an Artist!, written and illustrated by Hali Heavy Shield

Her art is healing but it extends beyond herself, earning her accolades and a show at the National Gallery. She shares that experience with her grandchild, the two travelling by plane to Ottawa. The child hears the praise for Naaahsa, proud of her accomplishments and the recognition she deserves, but it's the little things like her hugs and her inspiration that mean all the world to this child.

Hali Heavy Shield is a member of the Blood Tribe of Southern Alberta and the daughter of an acclaimed sculptor and installation artist. Perhaps Hali Heavy Shield took seeds of her story from life with her mother or a grandmother or someone else but what parts of Naaahsa is an Artist! are true or imagined is irrelevant. (We never see the grandmother's artwork.) What is important is the connection the child has with her Naaahsa that inspires her to do her art, and perhaps fuels the author-illustrator in her own artwork.  Naaahsa was able to use her art to heal and live beyond the tragic circumstances of the residential school experiences, and find work and joy in her art, while imparting those important lessons onto her grandchild.

Art is a language everyone understands.

From Naaahsa is an Artist!, written and illustrated by Hali Heavy Shield

Hali Heavy Shield is a multidisciplinary artist who has used digital media here to evoke both the simplicity and the intricacy of this grandmother-grandchild relationship. Their togetherness may be set on a grassy lawn or against the important Chief Mountain, in a kitchen or in a hotel room, but those landscapes are austere to keep the emphasis on the two as they paint, or walk, cook, or travel. The economy of Hali Heavy Shield's art helps us see the patterns in the child's dresses, the love in their eyes, and the enormity of the world beyond them. They are in their own bubble of love and art. They are, in fact, both artists who create with the inspiration of the other and more.

 

There is more than a story here. There is storytelling. But it goes beyond words and is firmly planted in the artwork of Hali Heavy Shield. There is a new voice and artistry with Hali Heavy Shield's debut picture book and I look forward to seeing more of it,

• • • • • • •

 

The dual-language (Blackfoot and English) edition, translated by Norma Jean Russell and Faye Heavy Shield, is also available as Naaahsa Aisinaki! / Naaahsa is an Artist!

The Ferryland Visitor: A mysterious tale

by Charis Cotter

Artwork by Gerald L. Squires

Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides

978-1-927917-05-3

36 pp.

Ages 7+

2016

This is a mysterious tale but a true one of a visitor to the Ferryland Newfoundland lighthouse taken over by artist Gerald L. Squires, his potter wife and two young daughters, Esther and Meranda, in the early 1970s.  Believe it or not.

“They could always see when somebody was coming to visit, because they could see most of the road from the kitchen window–curving through the downs, inching along the narrows, twisting up the hill and disappearing around the corner.” (pg. 6)

The Narrows on the Road to the Ferryland Lighthouse 

by Gerald L. Squires

From The Ferryland Visitor by Charis Cotter

So the family is surprised when a knock on the door heralds a large man in a long black coat and big boots. When he says “Your dog asked me to come in” (pg. 14) it seemed true, as Houndie was more pleased than alarmed by the stranger’s appearance on their doorstep.

A former policeman in Ferryland, the man regaled them with stories, including one about the death of a boy from pneumonia and his wake at the lighthouse.  But when he left, thanking them for their hospitality and acknowledging  “now I know you’ll be good for this lighthouse” (pg. 17), Esther couldn’t spot him on the road.

The next day when visiting  a neighbour on the other side of the hill, Esther and her father tell Arch about their visitor.  After asking a number of questions, Arch reveals that the man sounded like Dick Costello, a constable who had been good friends with the keeper.  But Dick Costello had died twenty years earlier.

The following year, Gerald L. Squires shared the story with the visiting daughter of Dick Costello who, though stunned, confirmed that her dad always said the same thing when he walked into someone’s house: “Your dog asked me to come in.”

The story of The Ferryland Visitor could well be considered a ghost tale, something Charis Cotter, whose own The Swallow: A Ghost Story (Tundra, 2014) won the 2015 IODE Canada Violet Downey Book Award, knows a thing or two about telling well.  But this is a true story, and one that publisher Marnie Parsons recounts hearing upon her own move to Newfoundland with her family.  Still, at its heart, it’s a story of family and community, and using Gerald L. Squires’ own artwork, as well as photographs, brings that sense of place and people to the story’s core.  There’s a feeling of desolation and isolation and expanse, along with surprise and magic, to the landscape and the story, told spookily but straight up.  The Ferryland Visitor is an amazing story for eerie October, the month in which the mysterious visitor came to call, or anytime young readers want to be transported to the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and stay for a good yarn.

Dark Cave Under the Light by Gerald L. Squires

From The Ferryland Visitor by Charis Cotter

Art in youngCanLit: Book List

It's been almost 350 years since the first public art exhibition took place. On April 9 in the year 1667,  members of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture contributed to a show at the Palais Royal in Paris.  Since then (and probably before), artwork has served civilization by, as Pablo Picasso acknowledged, "washing the dust of daily life off our souls." To that end, I offer up this book list of youngCanLit and films that relates to famous art and artists and making art.


Picture Books

Anna's Goat
by Janice Kukyk Keefer
Illustrated by Janet Wilson
Orca Book Publishers
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2000
World War II story of sculptor Anna Simon.

Art Room
by Susan Vande Griek
Illustrated by Pascal Milelli
Groundwood Books
24 pp.
Ages 4-9
2002
About the drawing and art classes artist Emily Carr held in her Art Room.

Art's Supplies
by Chris Tougas
Orca Book Publishers
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2008
Art supplies come to life for a boy named Art.

Augustine
by Mélanie Watt
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2006
A penguin is inspired by Picasso.

Canada Counts: A Charles Pachter Counting Book
by Charles Pachter
Dancing Cat Books
64 pp.
Ages 8+
2009
Numbers are displayed through Charles Pachter's art.

The Clay Ladies
by Michael Bedard
Illustrated by Les Tait
Tundra Books
40 pp.
1999, 2006
Story based loosely on lives of sculptors Frances Loring and Florence Wyle.

Emily Carr's Attic
by Diane Léger
Illustrated by Michael Léger
Orca Book Publishers
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2008
Story of a boy introduced to Emily Carr through her House of All Sorts.

Four Pictures by Emily Carr
by Nicolas Debon
Groundwood Books
40 pp.
Ages 9-12
2003
Graphic novel format about four of Emily Carr's important pieces of art.

Go Home Bay
by Susan Vande Griek
Illustrated by Pascal Milelli
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 6-9
2016
Based on the summer that artist Tom Thomson spent at Go Home Bay, Ontario.

Grant and Tillie Go Walking 
by Monica Kulling
Illustrated by Sydney Smith
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2015

Fictionalized account of modern artist Grant Wood.

I Wish I Could Draw
by Cary Fagan
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 6-10
2014

Cary Fagan encourages children to draw while self-deprecating his own efforts.

I'm Drawing a Picture
by Doretta Groenendyk
Acorn Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-10
2015
About finding inspiration for art.

Lumpito and the Painter from Spain
by Monica Kulling
Illustrated by Dean Griffiths
Pajama Press
32 pp.
Ages 5+
2012

Based on true story of Picasso and a dachshund who steals his heart.

The Master's Apprentice
by Rick Jacobson
Illustrated by Rick Jacobson and Laura Fernandez
Tundra Books
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2008
About a boy sent to apprentice with Michelangelo.

M is for Moose: A Charles Pachter Alphabet
by Charles Pachter
Dancing Cat Books
64 pp.
Ages 3-5
2008
An alphabet book illustrated with artwork of Canadian artist Charles Pachter.

The Mona Lisa Caper
by Rick Jacobson
Illustrated by Rick Jacobson and Laura Fernandez
Tundra
24 pp.
Ages 5-7
2005
Based on the theft of the famous painting in 1911.

Mr. Flux 
by Kyo Maclear
Illustrated by Matte Stephens
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages
2013
A tongue-in-cheek tale loosely inspired by the 1960s art movement known as Fluxus.

 

Mr. Gauguin's Heart
by Marie-Danielle Croteau
Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
Translated by Susan Ouriou
Tundra Books
24 pp.
Ages 7-10
2007
Based on true story of the inspiration for Paul Gauguin's first painting.

The Naked Lady
by Ian Wallace
Roaring Brook Press
32 pp.
Ages 7-10
2002
A young boy is inspired to become an artist from the sculptor who moves in next door.

The Paint Box
by Maxine Trottier
Illustrated by Stella East
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 6-11
2003
Story based on Renaissance artist Marietta Tintoretto.

Paris in the Spring with Picasso
by Joan Yolleck
Illustrated by Marjorie Priceman
Schwartz & Wade Books
32 pp.
Ages 5-13
2010
Story based on important 20th c. artists in Paris.

Picturescape
by Elisa Gutiérrez
Simply Read Books
32 pp.
Ages 5-11
2005
A visit to an art gallery takes a boy on a magical journey through the artwork of Emily Carr, Tom Thomson, J.E.MacDonald, David Blackwood, Alex Colville, Ivan Eyre, Lawrence Harris, E.J. Hughes, William Kurelek, J.P. Lemieux, Christopher Pratt, and Gaugnet.

A Prairie Boy's Summer
by William Kurelek
Tundra Books
48 pp.
Ages 8-12
1975
Summer as seen through the artwork of William Kurelek.

A Prairie Boy's Winter
by William Kurelek
Tundra Books
48 pp.
Ages 9+
1984
Winter depicted in the art pieces of William Kurelek.

The Sidewalk Rescue
by Hazel Hutchins
Illustrated by Ruth Ohi
Annick Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-9
2004
A sidewalk chalk drawing becomes a collaborative effort to help save the child drawn into it.

Virginia Wolf
by Kyo Maclear
Illustrated by  Isabelle Arsenault
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 5-10
2012
Depicts how artist Vanessa Bell uses art to help her sister, writer Virginia Wolf, through a depressive episode.

When Emily Carr Met Woo
by Monica Kulling
Illustrated by Dean Griffiths
Pajama Press
32 pp.
Ages 5+
2014
Story of Emily Carr's friendship with a little monkey named Woo.





Fiction

Caravaggio, Signed in Blood
by Mark David Smith
Tradewind Books
152 pp.
Ages 11-15
2014

Discovering Emily
by Jacqueline Pearce
Orca Book Publishers
97 pp.
Ages 8-10
2004

Emily Carr's Woo
by Constance Horne
Illustrated by Lissa Calvert
Oolichan books
72 pp.
Ages 9-11
1995

The Emily Carr Mystery
by Eric Wilson
HarperCollins Canada
192 pp.
Ages 8-12
2002

Emily's Dream
by Jacqueline Pearce
Orca Book Publishers
120 pp.
Ages 9-11
2005

Jackal in the Garden: An Encounter with Bihzad
by Deborah Ellis 
Watson-Guptill Publications
182 pp.
Ages 15+
2006

The Lost Sketch (Adventure.Net #1)
by Andrea Spalding and David Spalding
Whitecap Books
101 pp.
Ages 8-10
1999

The Prisoners and the Paintings (The Salt & Pepper Chronicles, #5)
by David A. Poulsen
Key Porter Books
173 pp.
Ages 8-12
2008

Sketches
by Eric Walters
Puffin
288 pp.
Ages 14+
2007

Tom Thomson’s Last Paddle (A Dani and Caitlin Mystery)

by Larry McCloskey

Sandcastle Books/Beach Holme

159 pp.

Ages 9-12

2002

Under Emily's Sky
by Ann Alma
Beach Holme
90 pp.
Ages 9-12
1997

Non-Fiction

Arctic Adventures: Tales from the Lives of Inuit Artists

by Raquel Rivera
Illustrated by Jirina Marton

Groundwood Books

48 pp.

Ages 8-12
2007

Astonishing Women Artists (The Women's Hall of Fame Series)

by Heather Ball

Second Story Press

120 pp.

Ages 11+

2007

Breaking Free: The Story of William Kurelek
by May Ebbitt Cutler
Illustrated by William Kurelek
Tundra
32 pp.
Ages 10+
2002

A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison
by Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson
Pajama Press
40 pp.
All ages
2014

Canadian Artists

by Maxine Trottier

Illustrated by Tony Meers

Scholastic Canada

46 pp.

Ages 7-9

2009

Capturing Joy: The story of Maud Lewis

by Jo Ellen Bogart
Illustrated by Mark Lang

Tundra Books
32 pp.
Ages 8-12

2002

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose: The story of a painting

by Hugh Brewster
kids Can Press
48 pp.
Ages 9-12
2007

Fictionalized account of one of John Singer Sargent's most famous paintings

The Children of China:  An Artist's Journey
by Song Nan Zhang
Tundra Books
32 pp.
Ages 8+
1995

Emily Carr: At the Edge of the World

by Jo Ellen Bogart
Illustrated by Maxwell Newhouse

Tundra Books
40 pp.
Ages 10+

2003

Emily Carr

by Rosemary Neering
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
200 pp.
Ages 9-12

2001

Emily Carr: Rebel Artist
by Kate Braid
XYZ Publishing
178 pp.
Ages 11+
2000

Images of nature: Canadian poets and the Group of Seven

by David Booth

Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 5+

1995

Inuksuk Journey: An Artist at the Top of the World

by Mary Wallace

Maple Tree Press

64 pp.

Ages 9+

2008

A Little Tiger in the Chinese Night: An Autobiography in Art

by Song Nan Zhang
Tundra Books
48 pp.
Ages 8-12
1993

Meet the Group of Seven

by David Wistow and Kelly McKinley

The Art Gallery of Ontario

Kids Can Press

48 pp.

Ages 9-13

1999

Photographing Greatness: The Story of Karsh
by Lian Godall
Napoleon
96 pp.
Ages 11-14
2008

Picasso: Soul on Fire

by Rick Jacobson
Illustrated by Laura Fernandez and Rick Jacobson
Tundra Books
32 pp.
Ages 10+
2004

Stones, Bones and Stitches:  Storytelling through Inuit Art
by Shelley Falconer and Shawna White
Tundra Books
48 pp.
Ages 11+
2007

William Blake: The Gates of Paradise

by Michael Bedard

Tundra
192 pp.
Ages 14+

2006

Film

Canvas of War: The Art of World War II
Directed by Michael Ostroff
Written by Seaton Findlay
Produced by Neil Bregman
Sound Venture Productions and the Canadian War Museum
46 min 48 sec
Ages 15+
2000

The Group of Seven...in Celebration
Directed by Allan Wargon
National Film Board of Canada
53 min 21 sec
1995
Compilation of short films about A. Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer and Frederick Varley

I Can Make Art ... Like Andrew Qappik
Directed and written by Jane Churchill
National Film Board of Canada
11 min 24 sec
Ages 9-13
2005
Andrew Qappik, Inuit print maker

I Can Make Art ... Like Emily Carr
Directed and written by Jane Churchill
National Film Board of Canada
10 min 44 sec
Ages 9-13
2005

I Can Make Art ... Like Kai Chan

Directed and written by Jane Churchill
National Film Board of Canada
11 min 24 sec
Ages 9-13

2005

Sculptor and textile artist Kai Chan

I Can Make Art ... Like Marcelle Ferron

Directed and written by Jane Churchill
National Film Board of Canada
10 min 43 sec
Ages 9-13

2005

Quebec-born painter and stained glass artist

I Can Make Art ... Like Maud Lewis

Directed and written by Jane Churchill
National Film Board of Canada
12 min 3 sec
Ages 9-13
2005

Nova Scotian folk artist Maud Lewis

I Can Make Art ... Like Ron Noganosh

Directed and written by Jane Churchill
National Film Board of Canada
15 min 43 sec
Ages 9-13
2005

Sculptor Ron Noganosh

Kurelek
Directed by William Pettigrew
Produced by Robert Verrall and Tom Daly
National Film Board of Canada
10 min 7 sec
1967
Painter William Kurelek

The Other Side of the Picture
Directed by Teresa MacInnes
Produced by Gillian Darling Kovanic
National Film Board of Canada
53 min
Ages 12+
1999
Women artists in Canada such as Mary Pratt, Joyce Weiland, Jane Ash Poitras and Landon Mackenzie