Chantell Juanita grew up in a small fishing town where most became a nurse or engineer (“both very creditable jobs”), somewhat forcefully leading her to study Nautical Science because art was not a talked about option as a career path. Chantell tells us; “I always felt like I was running away from the places where everyone knows everything about you, and if you were to do something slightly different it was frowned upon”. She would always make art (at the time it was painting or drawing) and kept a journal from the age of around 9.
As a child, going to her Aunt Barb’s house was an escape from the world for Chantell. Her Aunt was a very talented printmaker, and was the first person in her life who pushed her to continue making art. “I know that she is my biggest inspiration in taking the leap to study art, and put myself in places where I feel heard and valued,” says the printmaker.
Chantell moved to Montreal to study Fashion Marketing, but she describes; “I felt like I did when I was younger- like I had to be something I wasn’t to fit in”. So, she dropped out, and it was the best thing she could have done because it brought her back to her art practice. Chantell now had the opportunity to play around with other printing methods such as monotype printing. She states; “I liked parts of Fashion Marketing but it lacked the creative aspect that my heart longed for. My boyfriend went to Concordia University here in Montreal where he studied photography, and he would always tell me how much he liked the University, so I took at look at the types of art programs and I saw Print Media, applied, and now I am going onto my 3rd year.” Sadly, due to Covid, the first 2 years of her degree were at home. Chantell took screen printing and intaglio courses for her first few terms and received at home kits, where she could pull prints by rubbing a wooden spoon on the back of the paper.
This past term was Chantell’s first in the studio on campus; “It was, for the very first time in my life, a place where I felt like I belonged”. She took a photo-based print class where she learnt methods including photopolymer, cyanotype, and lithography. Chantell comments; “This, for me, was such a beautiful class where it was encouraged to mix mediums, and for me this was so
therapeutic. This feeling is exactly why I continue to make art: it’s a personal form of therapy.” She also took advanced screen printing, which she hated it at first because she was so used to making prints at home, which made using the studio equipment difficult for her. However, she caught on at the very end of the term, and now loves it.
The inspiration for her art stems from Chantell’s personal life experiences; “Like I said, art is so therapeutic for me, and a safe place for me to allow myself to feel and express whats within. I tend to lean towards more of a darker side when channeling what I should make but that’s just because of my multi-layered past. I’m trying to play around with more colours and things that are just fun now. I think actual therapy helped with the change of direction.”
Chantell wants to continue to include more textiles within her practice, and eventually have a collection of shirts from her work. She uses her at home screenprinting kit, and will continue to include more photobased print methods in the future as well. Chantell has also recently started adding video art to her work, which provides another layer of emotion that fits well with her style.
The artist concludes; “The future for me is really bright. At the end of the day all I truly want is to be happy in a place
where all I have to be is myself. My boyfriend and I started a little business where we develop film and make prints for some extra money, and I would love to put more time into this once I graduate to eventually open up our own studio where we would rent equipment in house, and offer classes for those who are interested in film or print making… I don’t want to make anything perfect, I make things that help me, and if people like it- amazing!”
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