Rita St. Amant is a skilled artist whose work will make you question your eyesight. She worked for 20 years as a cosmetology teacher, but has over 35 years of experience in total, working on stage, behind the stage and preparing people for stage. This artistic talent extends beyond faces and hair, and she has drawn and painted her entire life, working for 20 years in mixed media.
Her most recent works involve felting layers of wool, alpaca and silk threads into a piece of fabric, to create masterpieces. The felting machine is used like a paintbrush, to create the portrait. She is skilled in silk painting, window and wall scrolls, but her biggest creations are mind boggling. She completed a piece of work entitled the Stallion, which won the People’s Choice Award at the Manitoba Fibre Festival in Winnipeg, MB, and was one of the top 47 entries, out of 148 from across Canada in the National Fibre Association Juried Show in Portage la Prairie, MB. Marth Cole is a textile artist from Disley, SK who had an 8 x 10 feet elevator series that looked like a painting and was the inspiration behind St. Amant’s most recent works.
St. Amant has been working on a portrait of a deer for over a year, aided by Ken Frederickson, who has been teaching her about bone structure and formation. The deer has hundreds upon hundreds of hours of felting, using the wool to create depth and the silk threads to create highlights that draw your eye.
St. Amant will have an exhibition in Estevan in October where you will have an opportunity to see for yourself her incredible talent.
