Down on the Farm - Art Gallery of Alberta

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The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition ProgramFarm Women Stories byDawn Saunders DahlAnne StevickIt was a brisk spring day when I visited Anne outside of Pincher Creek. It was my first visit to thearea and I was awestruck at the beauty of the land. The mountains were bright and I found ithard to not comment on the amazing landscape that surrounded her ranch. Anne gave me a tourof the property, where I discovered that she was one of the people interviewed for a book thatI acquired about Alberta’s farm and ranch women. As we chatted about the history of the area,she talked about how she and her husband hoped that who ever buys their ranch wouldcontinue their legacy. With great pride, she showed me the pens, the barns and equipment, andshe stated that at the end of the week they would be shipping their last 3 bulls to a Hutteritecolony. We went out towards the pen that held the 3 bulls and I took photos of one of the lasttimes that Anne would feed them.Lynn MacNeillLynn plays the lead role in the running of her farm south of Stettler, as her husband had beenvery sick for a number of years, and has passed away since I came to visit. Keeping up with herwas a challenge, as she quickly drove around from grain bins to fields, unwavered by the fact Iwas there to take photos of her. We climbed into a golf cart that took us to where the grain binswere located and where a truck had arrived to be unloaded. I was lucky to be there at this time,and it struck me that this was one of those moments on the farm that would get missed due tothe hecticness of the day. As I took photos of her and of the way the light captured the grain, Ifound myself wondering if farmers miss these moments within their daily routine or do they alsosecretly notice and find delight in the way the light hits the landscape at certain times of the day?Maureen EnnsMaureen was a former instructor of mine at ACAD, and for a number of summers I used tohouse sit for her while she was in Kamchatka studying Kodiak Grizzlies. It is always a great treatto go back to my “second home” outside of Cochrane and be able to spend time with her. I amawestruck with her ability to emit such a presence of calmness around animals. As we walkedtowards the pen that held her horses, I pulled out my camera and took a number of shots of herinstinctively reaching out and carefully pulling the ticks off of their backs, all while continuing totalk to me about her life growing up on ranches, art and the landscape.AFA Travelling Exhibition Program, Edmonton, AB. Ph: 780.428.3830 Fax: 780.421.0479youraga.ca
The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition ProgramFarm Women Stories byDawn Saunders DahlPauline ScheerschmidtPauline was one of the first women that I interviewed, who lived a short distance from myparents’ farm outside of Stettler. She is a very quiet woman, which was a challenge for me tofind a way to offer her an opportunity to talk openly in a relaxed manner. This was animportant moment in the development of the project, as I realized that in order to achievesuccess I would have to find a way for the subject to comfortably respond to the conversation,as well obtain natural photos that would reflect farm life. I came to the conclusion that I wouldhave to bring someone with me (who usually was my mom) to talk and distract the ladies. Thismethod worked and the ladies were able to relax and not feel self conscious to have their picturetaken. These photos are examples of these moments where some guard was let down in orderfor me to shoot her routine.Ruth WedmanA beautiful autumn day was spent deep in the trees, out side of Rocky Mountain House,visiting with Ruth. What I remember the most about this day was how open and calm Ruth wasin sharing her memories, and how eloquent of a story-teller she is. I enjoyed listening to the wayshe spoke, using her hands and recognizing her thoughtful comments about life and farming inAlberta. Her intense interest in the project was wonderful, as most of the women I had alreadyinterviewed were taken aback with my interest in their lives, but Ruth understood the importanceof documenting her story as well as others.Isault (Sawtie) KreyThis was one the coldest days I have ever spent outside. It was -35 degrees (not including thewind chill) at 6AM at Sawtie’s farm located north of Valleyview, up the road from my aunt’s farm.I was afraid that my camera was going to freeze! My aunt and I stayed with her for about anhour as she fed her sheep, and they gradually became at ease with me while I determined thebest angles to shoot from. It was at this point in the project where I began to notice the uniquerelationship these women had with their animals, whether they were cows, horses, dogs orsheep. Trust and understanding develops between owners and the animals. Sawtie’s sheepwere drawn to her, demonstrated in the way they followed her around and in the way shestroked them in just the right place.AFA Travelling Exhibition Program, Edmonton, AB. Ph: 780.428.3830 Fax: 780.421.0479youraga.ca
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