Artist Statement
I have spent my life exploring the coastal seascapes of all three of Canada’s coasts, but I am most inspired by what I find in my backyard on ocean-side tundra and tidal flats of Frobisher Bay. As a mixed-media artist I seek to explore the relationship between nature, mythology and the modern world. My journey as an artist has largely been through self-discovery and experimentation. I started by painting the landscapes I saw around me; upcycling materials made more random art than I care to remember. Resin work gave me the opportunity to preserve nature’s treasures as I found them and a means to present those treasures in ways reflective of my life, the places I have traveled and the stories I have heard.
Information on Art
Seaweed is a universal ocean plant from coast to coast. The artist used seaweed drawn from the arctic ocean, sealed in many layers of resin and hung to drip dry and molded into the jewelry collection presented. Pearlized beads also hand casted by the artist using resin and micas. This process takes a few weeks of layering and molding, being careful to not break or puncture the final product.
Biography
Tania Dawn Scott was born in Nova Scotia, but grew up in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, having made Iqaluit their home in the early 90s.
As a child, their mother use to take them on walks in the woods of Nova Scotia to look for fairy circles, forget-me-knots and lady slippers. Looking for the tiny hidden things within the forest and the eastern shoreline of Drumhead, where the trees let go for rocks and beach scrub, and smells were salty and wild, became her passion. Soon that landscape gave way to the colder, barren tundra, with its tiny biomes, glacier valleys, freshwater streams, and big open skies.
Also inspired by her grandmother who use to recreate amazing square dance dresses and tole paintings from scratch. The moto of the family is “I can make that” so the artist is mostly self taught. Every opportunity to learn or improve the artist took advantage of when they could. Inuksuk High school offered an art class where the students had the wonderful experience of having local artist from water colours, jewellery making to print making and pottery taught to them, which inspired the artist to try many different types of medium.
The artist has always loved to paint landscapes, craft jewelry, upcycle clothing and furniture. Having participated in craft fairs in Nunavut for over 30 years with a variety of arts and crafts, in 2015 the artist was introduced to resin and began working with small, experimental pieces with flora and fauna collected from around her on the tundra. The artist has participated in an Etsy craft fair in 2019 and the Northern Lights trade show 2020, having applied for the newest show in 2023.
Using the tiny flowers and landscape bits from the tundra, Tundramoon Designs makes amazing Nunavut unique products sealed in resin.
You can see or purchase more of Tania's work here
