Art and Healing in The Quiet Rebuild

After Zachary died, I lost myself. This included ‘Alexis Marie Chute the artist.’ It wasn’t until I began to fight my way out of what I call my Year of Distraction that I rediscovered this part of myself. For the last year I have been the Artist in Residence at an Edmonton based gallery and artist run centre called Harcourt House.

Painting copyright Alexis Marie Chute

It is at Harcourt House that I have been creating a body of art called The Quiet Rebuild. This work centers on the idea that we humans have amazing resiliency to rebuild our lives after hardship. If you are reading this and have lost a child, you know what I mean. You are forced to move on without someone very precious to you. Even though you may scream in pain or weep away all your tears, the journey of rebuilding your life is a quiet, steady, onwards march.

Inside my studio at Harcourt House. Photograph copyright Alexis Marie Chute.

Just before The Quiet Rebuild opens in October, I will celebrate what would have been Zachary’s third birthday. As I write this I shake my head and wonder where that time went. Three years. It still feels like yesterday that I kissed my baby for the first and the last time.

Wood sculpture copyright Alexis Marie Chute.

In The Quiet Rebuild I have created paintings, sculpture, mixed media, and photographs that speak to my own rebuild but also the universal need of humans to pull themselves forward and reconstruct the parts of themselves that matter the most.

Artwork copyright Alexis Marie Chute.

I’d love to invite you to my exhibition. The Quiet Rebuild will be held in the main space at Harcourt House from October 24 to November 24, 2013. At the opening reception, Thursday, October 24, I will give an artist talk about my work.

Visit my art studio in the Harcourt House Art Education Centre before The Quiet Rebuild fills the gallery.

Please email me your contact info if you would like an invitation to this exhibition. I’d love to meet you. info@alexismariechute.com