Lacombe artist Terry Walker can’t imagine a day without doing something of a creative nature.
And one of her latest projects is something truly unique.
She has transformed a trash receptacle at the Lacombe Memorial Centre into a gnome house – complete with a bedroom, a kitchen, ‘Reuben’ reading in his den, ‘Olaf’ in the kitchen, and more.
Walker’s first upcycled trash receptacle was a fairy house, and it proved a real hit with youngsters in particular. And the plan is for three more to be created in the coming months, she said.
Other samples of Walker’s works are at the LMC as well, including ‘Beaverly’, the Canadian beaver crafted from an exercise ball and a smaller fairy house which is in the library.
For her work, Walker uses mainly recycled paper for papier mache. The attention to detail, and her ability to use all kinds of other materials for the tiniest of details, is striking.
“A lot of the little forks in there I have made out of tin foil,” she said.
Walker also specializes in creating works utilizing resin, which hardens and looks like a very smooth water surface. Items are places in bowl of resin, and along with some meticulous painting, fascinating works emerge from this process as well.
The idea to delve into resin came about when a neighbour had asked her to include some of her pieces in a craft garage sale.
“She asked if I would put some of my work in her sale, and I said sure – but I wanted to do something different.”
She did some exploring on Youtube and discovered a clip of an artist who was using resin to create exquisite pieces of art.
As to her own artistic journey, Walker, who is originally from Lacombe, recalled being an ‘artsy’ youngster.
First, there was a fascination with pasticine.
“And tin foil! I loved tin foil, because I could make anything out of it,” she added with a laugh.
Over the years, she has taught herself everything from stained glass to acrylic painting.
“Really, just about anything I can get my hands on – I have a great imagination,” explained. “I see it, and it’s going to get done.”
Whatever she’s working on, Walker said she finds the process somewhat therapeutic, too.
“I do it when I’m happy, I do it when I’m sad, and (anywhere) in between,” she said. “It’s like a therapy – like my comfortable friend. It’s very healing.”
She also noted it’s rare that a day will pass without her having created something. And her passion is also something she’d like to encourage others with.
When asked what she would like folks to take way from viewing her work, she said a greater sense of the freedom of expression.
She also enjoys teaching – and encouraging prospective artists – to explore their own potential.
“I love to showcase different things, because you can see that light bulb come on (in others) as well.”
For more about Walker, find her on Facebook at ‘Terry Walker Studios’.
