Biography of Kristen Scholfield-Sweet

Biography

Kristen Scholfield-Sweet is an artist and drum-maker living on Cortes Island in British Columbia, Canada. She came to Cortes in 1990 from Halifax where she taught Art Education and Fine Arts Foundation at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

While on the NSCAD faculty Kristen gained international recognition for her research into the creative process and had several acclaimed solo art shows of her large photo-realist paintings of close-up views of nature.

Kristen has been a dedicated shamanic student and practitioner for more than 30 years. This interest in Shamanism developed during her doctoral thesis research at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.

Kristen's love of craft developed during her years as a junior high school art teacher in the 1980's. She now expresses this in her exquisite handmade wood frame and deer hide shamanic journey drums. Kristen has taught her unique style of drum construction and shadow painting techniques to First Nations peoples as well as to non-native workshop participants in both Canada and the U.S.

Presently training with Martin Prechtel at his school of spiritual ecology in Ojo Caliente, New Mexico, Kristen’s vision of the magic and color of the desert has become an important new art subject in her work.

Kristen is currently active throughout the Discovery Islands of British Columbia as an art teacher, exhibitor, curator and mentor to aspiring artists. Her acrylic paintings, chalk pastels and water color pencil works are found in many private collections throughout the world.