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Rita St. Amant is a local artist who works in mixed media with an expertise in textile arts

Rita St. Amant was born and raised in the Glentworth area of Saskatchewan. She has displayed and sold art across Canada and the U.S. For example, her work, Ken's Stallion, won the people's choice award at the Manitoba Fibre Festival last year.

Rita St. Amant was born and raised in the Glentworth area of Saskatchewan. She has displayed and sold art across Canada and the U.S. For example, her work, Ken's Stallion, won the people's choice award at the Manitoba Fibre Festival last year. She has also displayed her art at the Grand National Fibre Art & Quilt Exhibition in 2019. Presently, St. Amant sells work through different retail outlets in Saskatchewan and through her website at http://www.ritastamant.com/.

Further, St. Amant is a juried member of the Alberta Craft Council and Silk Painters International. St. Amant is also a juried member of the Saskatchewan Craft Council.

Additionally, St. Amant is active with the Assiniboia Arts Council and works as a bookkeeper for this local non-profit.

Her attraction to creating and producing art began in childhood.

“Drawing and painting has always been a part of my life since I was little,” she related.

Over a period, St. Amant became captivated with textile art – citing Disley-based textile artist Martha Cole as one of her many influences. She expanded her talents through mentoring sessions with Cole.

“I still like painting, but now I use the cloth and thread as a paintbrush. I dye my own cloth and use photos for inspiration.” 

She left her home in rural southern Saskatchewan and taught curriculum courses in cosmetology in Saskatoon and North Battleford for 20 years. During her time in Saskatoon as an instructor for teachers in cosmetology, St. Amant took night courses in art at the University of Saskatchewan for two years.

Although she teaches art, her art education is still ongoing. Over the span of her career, St. Amant has studied various forms of art and textiles.   

St. Amant has also investigated several mediums in an attempt to try every possible process when creating a surface. She uses various materials, including merino silk wool, alpaca wool and needle felting, in her creations. St. Amant also does silk paintings from wall art to wearables.

From a foundation based in drawing and painting, she has developed artistic conceptions through using other materials including cloth, cotton, wool or silk.

She relishes in depicting alternate realities whenever she’s creating art. Consequently, St. Amant’s new worlds are sometimes teeming with wild colours and unrestrained patterns.

Her creative techniques include painting, drawing, applique, felting and layering with threads and wool. The self-described multimedia artist chooses different materials and processes with each new body of work she’s produced.

Sometimes, she dyes her own cloth in the summers to use as bases for applications.

“The cloth is like a canvas,” St. Amant explained.

St. Amant is inspired by nature and landscapes. Her attachment to prairie scenery is noteworthy – St. Amant’s profound connections to nature and the prairies is a definite signature of her virtuosity. St. Amant frequently uses her love and connection with the prairies to produce both realistic and abstract conceptions.