Sheila- rae Design

Sheila- Rae is a Multidisciplinary Artist and Designer specializing in Acrylic Painting, Traditional Arts, and Creative Writing.

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Sheilarae.art.design@gmail.com

Sheila-Rae Designs

About the Artisit

Feminine Floral Collection

Woman in Strength Collection

Creative Writing

Contact the Artist

Traditional Art

About Sheila-Rae

Sheila Lowe is an artist who lives and works in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, and currently lives in the city of Surrey. Her colourful and distinctive style emanates emotion and mood into her art. She is always working on something new; challenging herself to incorporate new styles and techniques.

As a child, Sheila was always drawn to the arts. In high school, she helped curate an art exhibition at the Burnaby Museum. She collaborated with the Burnaby Minor Lacrosse Association to design the event program, t-shirts, and the opening ceremony banner when they hosted the Canadian Championships. In 2020, she designed a company logo for Woodpecker Designs. She also became a student in the art of tattoo.

Sheila is a self-taught painter. In 2021, after her father, who was always her biggest fan, passed, she enrolled in the NIPAT program at the En’owkin Centre. In the two year on-line program she explored all aspects of artistic development and dove into a more in-depth study of art practices. For Sheila, art is therapy. She discovered more about herself they she could have imagined. It was in this artistic circle where Sheila strengthened her connection to her Metis heritage.

The NIPAT program has influenced her creative energy in the most beautiful way. Immersed in the discovery of culture and her family’s story, she is a relentless researcher. Her family and Metis culture is reflected in her paintings. Using stunning colours and florals in a unique style, Sheila draws on her emotions and life experiences which she pours into everything she creates.

Whether it be painting, creative writing, drum making or traditional materials creations, Sheila is influenced by her life, her Metis culture and her own indigeneity.

“As you learn, you grow and change with emotions just as colours change through the seasons.”

t-shirts availber to order

Sheila- Rae

Orange Shirt

*Part of proceeds put back into community

No More Stolen Sisters

*Part of proceeds put back into Indigenous women's housing

#Boyswithbriads

***COMING SOON!!***

WomAn in Strength

Strength of a Woman

**SOLD**

New Moon

Sheila- Rae

Woman in Motion

New Life

Sheila-Rae Designs

Education

Selected Exhibitions

2024- Under My Wing -Anvil Centre

2023 – Ignite the Arts -Penticton Art Gallery

2023 - We Are Story: An Evening with Gregory

Scofield

2022 – Massey Arts Society -Cedar Sage and Sweetgrass

2022 – Pitt Meadows Art Gallery -Cedar Sage and Sweetgrass

2021 – Anvil Centre -Cedar Sage and Sweetgrass

2006 – Expressions (2) – Fashion show and Silent Art Auction

2005 – Expressions (1) – Fashion show and Silent Art Auction

2023 - I-Cedar Program

2023 - Birch Earring Making

2022 - Birch Basket Making

2021- 2023 - UVIC - Foundation In Indigenous Arts

2021-2023 - National Indigenous Professional Artist Training Program (NIPAT)

2020 - Elk Skin drum making

Grants & Awards

2021- 2023 NIPAT Scholarship

2022 – En’okwin Creative Writing Achievement Award

2023 - En’okwin Arts Achievement Award

Workshops Facilitated

2024 Aug 3rd - City of Surrey - Kids Medicine Wheels

2024 June 22nd - City of Surrey - Beaded Wristlets

2024 May 25th - FVMA - Beaded Wristlets

2024 March 2nd – Langley Arts Council - Cornhusk Doll s

2023 Dec 16th - Langley Arts Council - Beaded Christmas Bulbs

2023 Nov 17th - City of Surrey - Bead Fedoras

Sheila-Rae Design - Traditional Art

Parfleche Earrings

Soapstone Carving

Drum Making

Dot Paintings

Sheila- Rae

Sheila-Rae Design

Perspective Point Drawings

The principle of perspective drawing is to show how depth is conveyed in linear perspective are size of forms, overlap of forms, placement of forms and convergence of lines.

Creative Writing

Change of Seasons Within

Sometimes our lives have to be completely shaken up, changed, and rearranged to relocate us to the place that we are meant to be. When I moved to Calgary, living in Stampede City was a new adventure, but once settled, all I could think about was home.

I long for the change of seasons.

I long to hear leaves crunch under my feet and to smell the sugary scent of maple.

I long to see the subtle magic of green leaves change to vibrant shades of yellow, orange and fiery red; the faded brown of those leaves on the ground.

I long to see snow-capped mountains in the distance. How I love the dazzling results when sunlight hits the snow and a thousand diamonds sparkle and shine.

I long for rain! That delicious fresh smell the moment the first raindrops kiss the land. That is when the magic happens!

I, perhaps unconsciously, breathe in a little more deeply, and savor that wet, warm earthy smell.

I long for the briny smell of the ocean… that subtle scent of salty sea spray when the mist hits my skin. The sound of waves crashing as the tide rolls in. That first breathe of fresh coastal air that tastes as good as it feels. Just thinking about it, I sense the tension slip and slide off my body.

Stampede City was meant to be a fresh start, a new adventure, a time to discover myself. Yet, I often felt that I was losing everything that made me enjoy life. I slowly realized that a change of location can’t bring happiness. My happiness comes from within. Moving cities, provinces, and putting distance between my problems only brought me closer to the self-realization that while I could run from a place, and run from a person, I could not run from the thoughts in my mind.

So many sleepless nights when I could not turn my brain off. Nightmares that startled me awake. My body tangled up in sweat stained sheets. My hands on my chest to calm down my breathing. That awful moment I open my eyes and pray that I haven't disturbed anyone else’s sleep.

Stampede City became a place of nightmares. I drank alcohol to numb the pain that no one could see. My fake smile and liquid courage hid the broken shell of a person I had become. Instead of a fresh start, a new me, Calgary was the place I lost the person I used to be.

Six years of tears, broken friendships, failed love stories, and too many lonely nights where I pretended to be the life of the party. This meant I loved myself. Right?

Six long years. I longed for family and the change of seasons. I longed to shed the hurt and move past the feelings of losing Mike. Six years to realize I needed to be at home to face the truth of losing him. Six years of longing for the change of seasons within myself. I struggle to find a way to walk through life without my partner, my lover, my confidante, my Mike beside me. Grief and loss are strange. As I change and grow, I am able to shed those emotions along the way.

When faced with the loss of my father, I was so glad to be home. I am home. I am where I need to be as I go through this new challenge of loss. I won’t run. I won’t hide. I will watch the leaves change colours and fall to the ground next to an ocean while I look toward snow-capped mountains. I will breathe in the loss and allow my emotions to run wild. I will grieve. As I change and grow, I shed my emotions through the change of seasons inside me. I will learn to walk in this life without the most important man in my life. World, be kind with me as I maneuver this new season of my life.

By Sheila Lowe

Recent Work