Nicole Preissl

In our third and final remote Open Studio with Nicole Preissl, Nicole leads us in a lantern making activity inspired by Nicole Kelly Westman’s exhibition *muddled mirage of memories escaping encapsulation*. For her *Waiting on Tomorrow* artworks, Nicole started with light, observing sunshine through trees and the shadows and shapes they cast on her walls as the light passed through her window.

Watch the video and follow along as Nicole creates a lantern out of parchment and tissue paper. She’ll share tips and tricks for working with paper, light and shadows to inspire your lantern designs.

### Materials

- parchment paper
- glue stick or white glue
- tissue paper
- tape
- Cardstock
- collage images
- Scissors

### Other materials you can use if you have them

- natural materials
- white glue
- other collage images

This activity is recommended for artists 4 and up. Adult supervision is recommended for working with scissors and natural materials. Please only use flashlights or electric candles to illuminate your lanterns. 


Shadow Lanterns with Nicole Preissl

Open Studio

For our second remote Open Studio with Nicole Preissl, Nicole leads us in a clay-making activity inspired by Christine Howard Sandoval’s exhibition *A wall is a shadow on the land*. Christine’s artwork uses adobe mud, a very old building material, made from a mixture of natural materials. Generations of women in Christine’s family were adobe brick makers.

Watch the video and follow along as Nicole creates a miniature house structure out of clay. She’ll share tips and tricks for working with clay and natural materials.

### Materials

- cardboard
- air-dry clay
- wooden or plastic knife
- popsicle sticks or dowels
- Scissors
- old rolling pin or bottle
- found and recycled objects
- natural materials like shells, moss, or pebbles
- Newspaper
- old cloth or paper towel
- glue

This activity is recommended for artists 4 and up. Adult supervision is recommended for working with clay and scissors. Please only work with natural materials you are familiar with and that are from a place you know!


Clay Houses with Nicole Preissl


For our first Open Studio with Nicole Preissl, Nicole leads us through a collage activity inspired by Corbin Union’s *OSOSO*, an exhibition exploring the land, the histories and the architecture of the abandoned townsite of Corbin, BC.

Watch the video and follow along as Nicole creates a collage out of local, natural materials gathered from a place that is meaningful to her. She’ll share tips and tricks on how to create your own eco collage that represents a special place to you. 

### Materials

- cardboard
- glue stick
- liquid white (tacky) glue
- natural materials collected from a special place (park, backyard, schoolyard)
- old newspapers (to cover your work surface)
- scissors

### Other materials you can use if you have them

- twine
- popsicle sticks
- old magazines or paper for collage materials

This activity is recommended for artists 3 and up. Adult supervision is recommended for scissor work and handling natural materials. Please only use natural materials you are familiar with and from a place you know!


Eco Collage with Nicole Preissl

Join us for a conversation between artists Valeen Jules, Jeffrey McNeil-Seymour, Nicole Preissl, and Maika‘i Tubbs with intersecting interests in land, language and futurity. This dialogue aims to engage in generative discussion towards sites of possible resurgence, centering prominent concerns within the practices of Indigenous artists based here and elsewhere.

Organized by the Contemporary Art Gallery and the Burnaby Art Gallery and hosted at the Native Education College.

### Related Exhibition

[*echoes*](https://www.burnaby.ca/things-to-do/arts-and-heritage/burnaby-art-gallery.html)
Burnaby Art Gallery


A photographic image of several roles of hemp ropes placed on a gray flat surface. 

thumbnail_2_Nicole_Preissl.jpg

2_Nicole_Preissl.jpg

Valeen Jules, Jeffrey McNeil-Seymour, Nicole Preissl,and Maika‘i Tubbs: Echoes & Reflections

Talk

Join us for a conversation on food sovereignty, environmental sustainability and knowledge transfer with artist Olivia Whetung, Indigenous governance scholar Clifford Atleo and exploratory designer Nicole Preissl, who will lead a research/creation project on plants and place at the Burnaby Art Gallery later this fall.

This event is organized by CAG in partnership with the [Burnaby Art Gallery](https://www.burnaby.ca/things-to-do/arts-and-heritage/burnaby-art-gallery.html) and [Emily Carr University of Art + Design](https://www.ecuad.ca/).

### Biographies 

Olivia Whetung is a member of Curve Lake First Nation and a citizen of the Nishnaabeg Nation. Her work has been the focus of solo exhibitions at Gallery 44, Toronto (2018); Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art, Kelowna (2018); Artspace, Peterborough (2017); and 180 Projects, Sault Ste. Marie. She has contributed to two-person and group exhibitions at Queen’s University, Kingston (2019); Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas (2018-19); Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto (2018); Art Gallery of Mississauga (2018); Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa (2017); Access Gallery, Vancouver (2016); Western Front, Vancouver (2016); Axe Neo 7, Gatineau; VIVO Media Arts Centre, Vancouver (2016); Open Space, Victoria (2014); and many others. She completed her BFA with a minor in Anishinaabemowin at Algoma University (2013) and her MFA in Visual Art at the University of British Columbia (2016). She was awarded the John Hartman Award in 2018, the William and Meredith Saunderson Prize for Emerging Artists in 2016, and is a recipient of a CGS-M Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Award and an Aboriginal Graduate Fellowship. In 2019 she was awarded a Joseph S. Stauffer Prize by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Clifford Atleo is a Tsimshian (Kitsumkalum/Kitselas) and Nuu-chah-nulth (Ahousaht) scholar who researches Indigenous governance, community development and political economy. His doctoral research focuses on the political economy of the Ahousaht on the west coast of Vancouver Island, in both historical and contemporary contexts. He is interested in how Indigenous communities navigate/adopt/resist mainstream capitalism while working to sustain their unique cultural identities, practices and worldviews. Atleo is particularly interested in how Indigenous communities and leaders continue to assert agency within the confines of settler colonial politics and economics. Atleo is an Assistant Professor in the School of Resource & Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University.

Nicole Preissl graduated from the ECUAD Bachelor of Design program in 2019, with a focus on indigenizing design creation and teaching. She is an explorative designer who uses natural materials to influence her work. From both Sto:lo and Squamish descent, Preissl began introducing traditional artistic customs into her practice as a means of connecting to her culture. She does this by passing along sacred teachings from elders and community members alike, while introducing people to natural ways of making with Indigenous materials. She currently works as an artist and instructor for the EartHand Gleaners Society and continues to lead participatory walks that include sharing knowledge and ethics of stewardship and foraging. Preissl is an active alumna and Emily Carr community member, passing on her knowledge to others through workshops in the Aboriginal Gathering Place. During Fall/Winter 2019/2020, she will be leading a research/creation commission with the Burnaby Art Gallery around local plants, foods, and stories embedded into place.


An image detail of a wood veneer panel with a rendering of flowers blooming. The rendering is composed of bead-embroidered and wood-burned lines.

Nicole Preissl

Talks & Events