Aurora Ouellet
Photographed by Pablo Riquelme at Raw Artist Canada
Aurora Ouellet is Aseniwuche Winewak, or Rocky Mountain People who continued to live in the mountains north of Jasper Park innehiyaw pimâtisiwin, the Cree traditional way of life, until the 1960s. She was born in 1992 at Jasper Park, during a lightning storm. She is the first one born in Jasper since her ancestors were evicted from that area in 1910. From a young age she demonstrated her love for drawing and has continued to do so. At 14 she started developing her style. She drew a bird, showed her parents, and within a week she had a canvas and a paint set. She loves to capture the movement of energy. Putting a new spin on the Cree artistic style and showcases the movement in all living beings. Vivid colors in acrylic and oil are her medium of choice. Aurora is self-taught. She developed her style at a young age and chooses to access blood memory, rather than formal artistic training, as her family history and Jasper continue to form her style.