A remarkable connection between rural roots, reclaimed materials and artistic ambition comes into clear focus with Winnipeg-based metal sculptor Pierrette Sherwood. With a deep-seated nostalgia for farm life and a finely-honed vision for up-cycled artistry, Sherwood has pivoted from a corporate career into creating bold, textured works that resonate with prairie heritage and contemporary aesthetic.<\/p>\n
Rural inspiration and reclaimed metals<\/p>\n
Sherwood says she draws most of her material from old agricultural metal because she grew up on a dairy farm and the work \u201cbrings me back to my roots.\u201d She explains that she feels an ongoing relationship with patina\u2014rust, weather-worn textures and layered tones\u2014and she especially enjoys the reaction of farmers who recognise old implement parts coming alive through her art.<\/p>\n
She notes that she tends to gravitate toward rural settings for her exhibitions. \u201cI certainly do have lots of people from urban centres who are attracted to my art, but I do have a soft spot for agricultural communities.\u201d That is one of the reasons she selected the town of Portage la Prairie for her current show: \u201cthe folks here certainly know what that\u2019s all about, so I\u2019m happy to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evolving work and layered technique<\/p>\n
Sherwood says she has more than thirty pieces prepared for her show, including a feature wall she calls a \u201cforest scene\u201d crafted from old hand-saws. \u201cI have a forest scene that I kind of am reproducing on one feature wall \u2026 above that, some larger kind of birds of prey \u2026 all made of up-cycled, recycled old saws.\u201d She explains that those pieces are \u201cvery accessible in terms of price point\u201d and they will appeal to buyers heading into the Christmas season.<\/p>\n
She adds that in addition to those smaller works she is exploring larger scale sculpture: \u201cI\u2019ve gone really big on some of them \u2026 because I just find that that has a stronger visual impact \u2026 I\u2019m exploring colours more \u2026 by that I mean rustic colours for the most part \u2026 I\u2019ve taken apart old car hoods with a nice rustic patina \u2026 integrated some colours into some kind of landscape scenes \u2026 there are various layers \u2026 highlighting the rust \u2026 as my focal points mostly, but with some nice colour back-drops.\u201d<\/p>\n
A career transformation rooted in metal<\/p>\n
Sherwood explains she has been working in metal since 2007. \u201cI took my welding course back in 2007 at Red River College with the very specific intent to do a large dimensional sculpture made of up-cycled old wheels from the farm.\u201d But her artistic interests go back further: she says she discovered her love for pencil, ink, line work and contrast when she was 11 years old, with a Christmas art kit full of how-to shadowing exercises.<\/p>\n
She notes that prior to fully launching her metal-work career she worked in tourism and the public service in Ottawa and Montreal. After federal government cut-backs in 2012 she took what she describes as an opportune moment to pivot. \u201cI had already taken my welding course \u2026 I thought, oh, you know, why not? This is the time. So I ventured out \u2026 for three years I had a little shop, a little boutique in St. Anne, and I did art in vintage, my own art and other people\u2019s art too \u2026 and that still kind of helps to sustain my work today.\u201d<\/p>\n
She adds that she remains grateful for her early supporters: \u201cI still have people who follow me and support me, even from those days, from the very beginning \u2026 I feel pretty privileged \u2026 It\u2019s been a long time coming. I\u2019ve put a lot of work into it too \u2026 it doesn\u2019t happen by itself, but it\u2019s really a joy for me to do what I love.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Sherwood continues that she is determined to keep pushing her artistic boundaries by stepping out of her comfort zone. \u201cI think if you\u2019re starting to get too comfortable as an artist, then maybe you\u2019re not pushing yourself enough.\u201d She says she has more projects and plans than she will likely have time for, and adds that it is \u201cgood to be here and nice to be able to share this with the public \u2026 it\u2019s always exciting to have a new show.\u201d<\/p>\n
With roots in rural Manitoba, a foundation in welding and a growing reputation in recycled-metal sculpture, Pierrette Sherwood is building a distinctive bridge between the farm past and the art future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A remarkable connection between rural roots, reclaimed materials and artistic ambition comes into clear focus with Winnipeg-based metal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132620,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-132619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132619\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}