Sylvia Houle 

Born in Northern California, I grew up far away from the Turtle Mountain  Reservation, and thus I did not have any of the Anishinaabe cultural  teachings incorporated into my upbringing, leaving me often feeling alone  and misplaced without understanding why. In the past few years, I have  been using my artwork as a platform to process whatever I learn about my  heritage and culture combined with my life's journey through the use of  various art mediums, primarily soft pastels and charcoal on black or  colored surfaces. Ultimately, my thirst for knowledge, the challenge of  improving my artistic skills, and for the never ending journey to  understand where I come from, where I stand in life, what motivates and  inspires me to create my work.