Annemarie Rogalsky
I am interested in nature that is accessible to everyone. That is, nature in the city or the bits of park land and wilderness we set aside within driving distance of it. Painting is a way of reflecting on nature and how we humans are part of it and interact with it to live. What I paint and how I paint are both important to me. Slowly building up the paint stroke by stroke compliments the narrative the painting tells. It helps me see that there is a rhythm to being alive. So I paint trees, who grow very slowly and swamps and the creatures and flowers in them that are out of sight and out of mind in our busy city work lives, to remind us that they are there. A few of my paintings are reflections of our contemporary human culture of technology and image within image. Can we store nature, control it and shape it? Is it ours to manipulate as we see fit? Do women and girls have a voice on how we use and nurture nature? Nature nurtures us. Will we have it in the future?
Annemarie Rogalsky was born in Volendam, Paraguay, South America in a Post-World War Mennonite Community. Even here, as a small child she enjoyed drawing. This enjoyment continued with her emigration to Canada in the 1960’s. But it was only valued as a child’s way of entertaining herself and as she matured, she left art behind for training that would make the world a better place, like nursing and using her energies in church and raising a family. However, after her children were born, it became apparent that she had a psychological and emotional need to do art. She used all her creativity to find a find a way to study art at the University of Waterloo, having taken a few courses at Goshen College in a “safe “ Mennonite setting that wetted her appetite for study and art. After 12 years of part-time studies she graduated with an Honours Fine Arts Degree with a Studio Specialization.
Since her graduation in 2007, she has kept a regular Art Practice in her Waterloo home studio. She seeks opportunities to use her art to be involved in and to further community. Presently, she finds speakers for Kitchener Waterloo Society of Artists (KWSA) and exhibits where ever she finds opportunity.
Annemarie Rogalsky was born in Volendam, Paraguay, South America in a Post-World War Mennonite Community. Even here, as a small child she enjoyed drawing. This enjoyment continued with her emigration to Canada in the 1960’s. But it was only valued as a child’s way of entertaining herself and as she matured, she left art behind for training that would make the world a better place, like nursing and using her energies in church and raising a family. However, after her children were born, it became apparent that she had a psychological and emotional need to do art. She used all her creativity to find a find a way to study art at the University of Waterloo, having taken a few courses at Goshen College in a “safe “ Mennonite setting that wetted her appetite for study and art. After 12 years of part-time studies she graduated with an Honours Fine Arts Degree with a Studio Specialization.
Since her graduation in 2007, she has kept a regular Art Practice in her Waterloo home studio. She seeks opportunities to use her art to be involved in and to further community. Presently, she finds speakers for Kitchener Waterloo Society of Artists (KWSA) and exhibits where ever she finds opportunity.