Tammy Henkel

Spirit Island, 2025

Magazine collage

Tammy was born and raised in Edmonton; exposed to both suburban and rural environments. Her affinity for nature and love of the western Canadian landscape came from her family. They also gave her an entrepreneurial spirit and a broad educational base. She studied Math & Economics before switching to Fine Arts at the University of Alberta; earning her bachelor degree in 1994. In 2003 she earned a Bachelor of Applied Interior Design from Mount Royal in Calgary. Tammy can draw, paint, and design but chooses to focus most of her energy these days on collage. She finds the process very meditative and helps to maintain a positive mood and outlook. With 30+ years of professional practice she maintains both representational and abstract artwork streams. Her first public art piece created in 2015 is a glass mural installation on the Strathcona County’s Bethel Transit terminal’s east end. Various other glass, print, painting, and collages can be found in both public and private collections throughout Alberta. She was included in : “For the Love of Collage, an international collection for World Collage Day 2024”. In 2025 she was included in the Arts to Hearts Project: 101 Art Book: Abstract Edition, 3rd Printing and in Suboart Magazine NR40 featured 5 of her collages.

I want to make happy and inspiring art that resonates joy in the viewer and myself. This piece in particular was produced to satisfy a connection craving with my late mother, who photographed Spirit Island almost yearly. The slow meditative process of collage allows introspection & trips down my memory lane.

2026 Acquisition
Strathcona County Art Collection

Dr. Paul Edward Hughes

Surreal Trees, 2025

Photograph 

I am a Canadian/British multidisciplinary artist—photographer, writer, and musician. For my PhD at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, I conducted a literary analysis of the ancient Hebrew version of the biblical exodus story. I am interested in narrative discourses in their various forms—textual to visual to sonic—and I blur the line between text and image (grounded in the historical ideographic origins of language). During my just under 12-year university professorship in British Columbia, I pioneered The Photography Society, which eventually grew into my starting the photography program in the arts department at that university, teaching both introductory-level courses in basic film analog/darkroom photography, and also engaging more theoretical courses that integrated visual theory with ideological and ethical concerns. I shoot both 35mm and medium format film. As a multi-instrumentalist having played in several bands, at present I compose contemplative ambient music with my tower of [probably too many] synthesizers, which I release through the moniker featherboard. As an exhibiting/practicing photographer, I have published in the field of visual theory with articles like the co-written “Wounded Vision and the Optics of Hope,” and “Seeing Hagar Seeing God: Leitwort and Petite Narrative in Genesis”.

Tristan Gooley’s How to Read a Tree: Clues and Patterns from Bark to Leaves (2023) reminds us that no two trees are alike. But over time, assisted by an elaborate system of symbiosis created by a fungal network, interconnected root systems of different trees become intertwined in what is called a mycorrhizal network. With proximity and time, the externals of trees can become grafted together as well (referred to as inosculation). The beautiful green of the natural yet enhanced environment invites us all into an interconnected sharing of common ground. This piece was taken at Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia in December, 2025, and has not been post- edited in its colouration.

2026 Acquisition
Strathcona County Art Collection

Sam Schembri

Mine, Yours, or Nothing, 2024

CMYK Screenprint

Sam Schembri is a queer artist from Ardrossan currently residing in Edmonton, Alberta. Sam began her BFA at the University of Alberta then transferred to Vancouver,BC to become a graduate of Emily Carr University of Art & Design in 2020. After graduation she moved to Toronto, ON and worked as an Art Installer then continued in the field after returning home to Edmonton. Her solo show “Iconic” at Slice of Life in Vancouver reimagined queer mythologies by utilizing printmaking methods on mirrors and painting on magnetic canvases to encourage viewer engagement. Iconic was meant to be its own space of worship, incorporating personal elements of fetishism in object-hood alongside iconic centerpieces to utilize the ritualistic behaviors of museums, domestic spaces, personal collections, queer expression, and narcissism. Sam was one of the Emerging Artists in Residence at SNAP Gallery with her group show “Threshold” August 31, 2024 which was influenced by local queer icons and drag artists in Edmonton. She photographed drag artists and printed them on a series of mirrors installed as a grid, to emulate stained glass windows, places of worship, and the dance scene in queer spaces.
 

CMYK process is creating a halftone of each color layer; cyan, yellow, magenta and black. These halftones are made of dots and overlay each other to create the resulting image. I am interested in the depictions of angels, most specifically, cherubim and the translation of these “winged babies” from mythology to religion and through a contemporary context. Many names have been given to angels such as Eros/Cupid, putti, angels and cherubs. Inspired by their genderless and metaphorical bodies, I have repurposed them, as history has, to fit a new meaning. I believe that adopting these angels and sharing their divinity in a new context will likely resonate with many viewers and pose questions to them about who their angels are. What would your angel look like? Where would they be? When do we need them? Many eras have chosen the answers to these questions, but now I want to reimagine their iconography. Despite our different backgrounds, we may all have the choice to adopt icons of history and adjust them to fit our lived experiences. What my angel is to me is different than what yours is to you, yet we share the common ground of their histories. This process of reclamation is healing for my queer history and is a playful reminder that we all have angels, and they can be just mine, yours or perhaps nothing.

2026 Acquisition
Strathcona County Art Collection

Heidi Irmgard Hughes

I Will Sing, 2026

Oil on canvas

I paint hope. I long to express hope and beauty through art. My work blends Abstract Expressionism with neo-Impressionism in a mood of tonal minimalism. The dynamic palette and layered washes create a mood of peace and transcendence. I mostly paint with oils, but also do watercolours. I am an Exhibiting Member of the Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA), an Associate Member of Oil Painters of America (OPA), an Active Member of the National Oil and Acrylic Painter's Society (NOAPS), an Associate Member of American Women Artists (AWA), and an International Premium Member of the London-based Visual Artists Association (VAA)—the majority of which are juried artsorganizations. And my works are in various private collections all over the world ( I have lived and studied in Canada, Switzerland, and Scotland. I have found inspiration both from nature, and also from many galleries and cultures in my travels through Belgium, France, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, all over the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. My formal training has covered history, theology, pottery, weaving, photography, drawing, and painting. For 12 years, I ran a business in the UK, designing, handmaking, and selling custom jewellery in over 40 shops and galleries in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. I continued this across Canada for some years, and then began to draw and paint under the tutelage of established Vancouver artist and university professor Erica L. Grimm (ericagrimm.com). After a nearly 2-decade career in a non-profit organization as a senior co-leader, I am now re-emerging as a full-time contemporary fine art landscape artist.

I Will Sing is from my current series, Hope Rising, which narrates the intense process of finding peace within a storm, and rises vertically toward illumination and a defiant beauty. I love to paint the sky and clouds because they are ever changing and unpredictable—just like life. With oil on canvas, I paint with a tonally minimal palette, utilizing multiple washes and layers, alongside scumbling and rubbing-off techniques, and some chiaroscuro. The softness of the sky’s colours metamorphose the mood across the picture plane, as if to say, “Look up and don’t give up.” The series’ latter pieces move from gravitas to levitas, rising toward a joyous and hopeful change, with the clouds reflecting the various colours of splayed and woven light. Hope Rising was birthed through a dark time in our family. My husband nearly died of Covid pneumonia in 2021, two family members had mental health crises, and my Mom passed away—all within a few years. I began to paint with a brighter palette and found myself painting dreamy cloudscapes and realized I needed both to hold onto hope, and also to release it in a broken world of suffering. I trust that you will experience hope as you view my work.

2026 Acquisition
Strathcona County Art Collection

Kirsten Levitt

Remedy, 2026 

Acrylic and marker

Kirsten is a visual artist based out of Strathcona County in Alberta, Canada. In 2006 she received a Fine Arts Diploma from Grant MacEwan University where she dabbled in a variety of mediums. It was painting that stole her heart and she hasn't looked back since. Kirsten's paintings are an exploration of feeling and memory with an emphasis on colour, light, and movement. Somewhere between abstract and realism, Kirsten bridges these two opposites to create engagement within the viewer. Many of her paintings are a reflection of our Canadian landscape or the plants & animals that animate this place she calls home.

This piece is named "remedy" to describe the importance of the bison and all that they have to offer our society - ecologically, culturally & spiritually. I painted this particular bison in a way that reflects his very nature being intertwined within the landscape around him. I hope to spark a sense of connection to these beautiful animals, encouraging a moment of stillness and wellbeing within the viewer.

2026 Acquisition
Strathcona County Art Collection

Stacey MacMillan

Otis, 2026

Oil

Stacey MacMillan is an Alberta based artist whose work focuses on animals and people. Her artistic training began in 1995 at the University of Alberta where she studied abstract and figurative sculpture. Stacey’s practice has evolved from sculpture into painting. She works primarily in acrylic and oil on wood panels, creating expressive, character-driven pieces that celebrate warmth, humour, and storytelling. Her work aims to spark joy — often capturing lighthearted, relatable moments that invite viewers to smile and connect. Stacey continues to exhibit her artwork throughout Alberta, building a body of work that blends technical foundation with a playful narrative.

As a local artist, my work is deeply inspired by both the natural environment around me and the joy I hope to bring into people’s everyday spaces. Animals are a central theme in my paintings, and the moose in this piece reflects a strong connection to our local landscape and identity. Moose are not only iconic to this region, but they also carry a quiet strength and presence that many in our community recognize and appreciate. Through my work, I aim to capture that familiarity while adding a sense of personality and warmth. My artistic style brings a playful and imaginative perspective to wildlife, inviting viewers to engage emotionally—often through a sense of curiosity, and even a smile. I believe that art in shared or public spaces should feel approachable and uplifting, creating moments of connection for those who encounter it. As someone who lives and works within this community, it is extra meaningful to contribute artwork that reflects both our environment and the people who call it home.

2026 Acquisition
Strathcona County Art Collection

David Shkolny

Evening Glow, 2025            

Pastel

David Shkolny grew up in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (1992). He has been teaching painting and drawing since 2001. David’s artwork is in collections across Europe and North America as well as the Canada Council. He placed first in the inaugural Canada Paints Plein Air in 2025, as well as three other plein air events in 2024 and 2025. "I grew up in the sprawling prairies of Alberta. Since I was a teenager, I have expressed my intimate connection to the plains, valleys, rivers, mountains and trees through painting. Influenced by Canadian artists like William Kurelek, David Milne, and the Group of Seven early on, I found my own voice using pastels in college and it has become my principal medium. Advances in the materials - more colours and sanded papers - have stretched the possibilities of what I can do, and has opened the doors for experimentation and become a much more painterly medium. Many of the locations for my pastel pieces are within a short days trip, if not closer to where I live. Experiencing the landscape over many years builds reverence for it so each piece - painted en plein air or done in the studio - becomes a celebration of its subtle beauty.

I love to capture the late light in the summer. Looking west, rain comes down gently in the distance, while a canola field glows beneath.

2026 Art Acquisition 

Strathcona County Art Collection 

Judy Madden

Treasure Hunters, 2025

Reduction linocut

Art has always been a part of my life. Formal education in art includes an introductory Art and Design course at the University of Alberta, to workshops offered by the Society of Northern Alberta Print Artists, and an online course offered by Karuizawa Mokuhanga School. As an amateur photographer I have won several prizes, including the McBain Camera Award for best Amateur Photograph. I eventually gravitated toward the fibre arts and designed several cross stitch and petit point patterns. Currently, I spend most of my time creating prints using a variety of printmaking techniques. Lino printing, mono printing, sosaku hanga and silkscreen printing are often combined with themselves and water colour painting. I have also started doing lithography. Needlework has not been left behind as I still have some longer term work on the go, and in the near future I will be working with a quilter, Odette Chalifoux on a quilt that combines needle work and quilting.

What child has not looked for treasure, whether it be a coin dropped on the street, a stone that glitters or something that has fallen between the cracks on a porch. The joys of finding a penny, a pencil stub or even a milk token (yes, I am that old!) with a friend while dreaming of bigger treasures.

2026 Acquisition
Strathcona County Art Collection

Edna Sayoto Cabalo

Misty Blue, 2026

Acrylic

Edna Sayoto Cabalo is a Sherwood Park Artist who works primarily in oil and acrylic. After retiring from a career in environmental science, Edna fully embraced the visual arts. Edna explores a variety of themes—including the human form, animals, flowers, and landscapes—through a lens shaped by her childhood in the Philippines and the one she built after immigrating to Alberta at 15.

 Misty Blue is inspired by one of my photographs taken during a staycation at Emerald Lake Lodge. The scene’s evening winter setting, lit by the glow of a cozy cabin, captured a feeling I wanted to revisit and translate into paint. The challenge and uniqueness of the process lay in portraying that specific balance—illustrating a landscape that feels both intimate and cold in the air, yet inviting quiet evening warmth. Ultimately, this piece invites reflection on the coexistence of evening stillness and life during winter’s quiet hours, finding beauty in subtle contrasts and textures that might otherwise go unnoticed.

2026 Acquisition
Strathcona County Art Collection

Sabine Hahnel

Dreaming in Yellow, 2025

Acrylic

Sabine loves being outdoors, forever looking for the next inspiration, to catch a glimpse of that something that makes her heart skip a beat. Nature is what she loves most for her subject matter and where she finds most of her ideas. She attempts to capture the beauty of this wonderful world using bright bold colors and textures combined with a contemporary, impressionistic approach. For Sabine, the beauty of painting is the freedom to alter reality to make it the way she would like it to be. Roots of this desire go back to her formative years living in a restrictive system in East Germany. Sabine worked full time as a Critical Care and Cardiac Rehabilitation Nurse. She is now retired and lives on a rural ranch with her husband of over 30 years, raising bison. Her art can be found in numerous collections in Canada, USA, Switzerland and Germany.  

This painting reflects my long-standing connection to Strathcona County and the surrounding Alberta landscape, where I lived for over 30 years and continue to maintain close personal and creative ties. The sweeping fields and distant mountains speak to the quiet transitions between rural and urban spaces that define the region. The winding road suggests movement, memory, and return—an ongoing relationship with place that continues to shape my work. Through vibrant colour and simplified forms, I aim to capture not just the physical landscape, but the emotional experience of being within it—the openness, light, and sense of continuity that connect past and present. This work is part of my broader exploration of Alberta’s landscapes as lived environments, shaped by both personal history and shared community experience.

2026 Acquisition
Strathcona County Art Collection

Kirby Price

The Rosette Nebula With Narrowband Filter, 2026

Photography 

I was born and grew up in Edmonton and have lived in Strathcona County for more than 30 years. Photography has always been an interest for me. I have been a member of the Images Alberta Camera Club since 2012 and this has enabled me to apply my photographic interests to many genres. My photographic capabilities has also improved over this time. While I enjoy most photographic genres, astrophotography is my passion. Since my astrophotography adventure began in 2018, I have been slowly improving my image capture and post processing techniques. The astrophotography adventure continues as I constantly strive to learn more about astrophotography.

The same sky is over our heads every night yet how often do we take the time to look up? Through amateur astrophotography I have discovered so much to image in the night sky ranging from objects in our local solar system to galaxies millions of light years away. It is truly humbling to witness the vastness of the universe and know that what I am capturing is history from where and when the light originated. It is even more awe inspiring that I can capture these fantastic images from my backyard in Sherwood Park. Astrophotography involves specialized hardware and software, but the weather is frequently the biggest barrier to success. It is a rare night that has no clouds, moon or wind, and temperatures above -20C. To create this image, I worked with very small amounts light from many individual images which are then combined to make one picture. The Rosette Nebula is about 100 light years across and located about 5,000 light years away. This picture of the Rosette Nebula is the result of about 2.75 hours exposure time. Image capture provides the raw data, but post processing is where the artistic interpretation creates the final astrographic depiction.

2026 Acquisition
Strathcona County Art Collection

Erik Johnson

Pumpjack Prairies, 2025

Acrylic

Erik Johnson (he/him) is a Sherwood Park-based painter and sculptor with a BFA from the University of Alberta. His paintings combine familiar local landscapes and locations with otherworldly sci-fi imagery, depicting a dystopian but familiar human-made environment where human beings feel unwelcome.

This painting depicts robotic, insectoid oil pumpjacks prowling the burning Albertan prairies. The piece exists in response to the inescapable presence of Albertan oil infrastructure, and the environmental apathy which can be developed in those accustomed to it. By twisting familiar infrastructure into something alien, the piece invites reflection on our relationship to the oil industry and to the land it exploits.

2026 Art Acquisition 

Strathcona County Permanent Art Collection

Terry Gregoraschuk

Undulations #2, 2025

Acrylic on panel

With over 45 years of exhibiting I have developed a reputation for supplying unique works of art in a variety of mediums and styles to both the private and corporate sectors. I have worked and collaborated together with Architects, Art Consultants, Engineers and Art Committees on several corporate or public art commissions including Canada Post Corporation, Environment Canada, The Royal Tyrrell Museum, The Strathcona Public Art Services Yard, The Misericordia Hospital and the Wensley Sporowski Architectural Group. My artwork has won numerous awards and has been exhibited at the Local, National and International levels including The Kennedy Centre in Washington DC, The National Museum of Natural Sciences in Ottawa, The Olympic Art Exhibitions in both L.A., California & Calgary, Alberta. My work is in the collections of The Alberta Foundation For The Arts, The Medicine Hat Museum, The City of Calgary and The Esso & Texaco Art Collections plus numerous hospitals throughout Western Canada.

This piece was created and inspired by listening to a new and yet to be released music soundtrack by the Swanherds. The flowing and interlocking patterns and colours represent sound of musical tones and melodies as they resonate through the air.

 2026 Art Acquisition 

Strathcona County Permanent Art Collection