The Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation is pleased to award the Fred Ross Scholarship to Saint John native, Maggie Higgins.
The High Honours Saint John High graduate plans to pursue a degree in Fine Arts at Mount Allison University in Sackville.
Maggie Higgins won high praise from the 2010 Scholarship jurors for her landscape series which exhibit both sensitivity to place and a willingness to explore a wide variety of mediums. Her deep interest in art history, both locally and internationally, is evident in her experimentation with style; yet her work is marked by a concentrated focus. Her series of landscapes, inspired by the unique architecture of early Saint John, reflect a maturing artistic sensibility. In expressing her love for the unique landscape of her native city, Ms. Higgins writes, “The clotheslines, the windows, crooked fences and jagged horizons were once domestic and common to me; now they have become characters speckling the hillsides and inspiring my art.”
The Fred Ross Scholarship was established to acknowledge the remarkable career of Fred Ross and to recognise his deep interest in helping artists of the future. Since 2001, The Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation has provided these scholarships to students pursuing a study of Fine Arts in any post secondary institution of choice.
Ms. Higgins is completing her studies as an International Baccalaureate Student at Saint John High School and has studied for two years at Saint John Arts Centre in the James Venner Russell sponsored Scholarship Program. For the last three years, this young artist has been deeply involved in the local community. Her volunteer service includes work with Run for the Cure, Children’s Wish Foundation,Youth in Action, Free the Children, Helping Hand for Haiti as well as student government. She is an active volunteer at Saint John Arts Centre, assisting in a children’s art class sponsored by the Joshua Group.
Ms. Higgins’s work draws inspiration from Saint John legends, Jack Humphrey and Fred Ross.
Saint John High School IB art teacher, Elizabeth Donnelly-Nelson commented on her strengths as a researcher evident in her exploration of the legacy of Jack Humphrey and Fred Ross. Higgins also credits local artist Sarah Jones as a source of inspiration in using art to express her appreciation for the unique qualities of Saint John. She compares the houses she paints to “characters speckling the hillsides.
Higgins had previously won a two year Portfolio Development Scholarship at Saint John Art Centre. She serves as an active volunteer at the local art centre and has been a volunteer art teacher with a children’s art program s
Photographer Greg Klassen Wins Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation Scholarship
The Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation is pleased to announce that Greg Klassen of Pollet River has been selected to receive the 2010 Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation Scholarship. The $5000. Scholarship will support his studies in the Master of Applied Arts Program at the Emily Carr Institute in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Mr. Klassen maintained a keen interest in photography throughout his scientific training where he earned a Ph.D in Ichthyology. He credits a workshop with Freeman Patterson in 2006 for inspiring a new creative direction in his life. He has participated in the Diploma of Advanced Studies at NBCCD under the mentorship of Peter Gross. In April, 2010, Greg was selected as a featured artist in the Beaverbrook Studio Watch Program. Currently, his panoramic composite portraits are on exhibition at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.
Jurors Susan Vida Judah, Adam MacDonald and Caroline Walker praised the narrative quality of his work noting the strong use of juxtaposition in his compositions. Klassen’s explorations with the technicalities of digital photography allow him to create provocative portraits with psychological, sociological and anthropological complexity.
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LeMesurier awarded Cox & Palmer commission
Emily LeMesurier, 2008 winner of the Fred Ross Scholarship, was commissioned by the legal firm Cox & Palmer to capture a distinctive profile of Moncton on canvas. Her large scale painting can be viewed at the firm's Moncton offices at 644 Main Street.
Ms. LeMesurier is continuing her studies at Mount Allison University.
The Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation salutes the Cox & Palmer legal firm for its commitment to the collection of New Brunswick art and the support of local emerging artists.
