Marlena Wyman | But there were also flowers

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Marlena Wyman, “Another Terrible Dust Storm,” 2024

18" × 24" (courtesy of the Gallery)

Artist Statement

My paintings are inspired by the archival diaries and letters of early settler women on the prairies – historical documents that reveal first-person experiences in an often harsh land. These accounts speak of women who were strong and resilient, but there were also those who succumbed to the mental anguish that isolation and hardship brought. There were those who made do with their unfair lot, and those who took that unfairness and turned it around to fight for and win women’s rights – a groundswell that began on the prairies. We must continue their work and remain vigilant to keep hold of and press on for rights and freedoms for all.

The poem and song “Bread and Roses” reflects the mindset of many of these women: “Hearts starve as well as bodies: give us bread, but give us roses.” Their long days often included field work, followed by the constant work of keeping their families fed and clothes. They longed for the beauty of civilized life that many had left behind, but they also found beauty in the wildness of the prairies. They carved out time to plant beauty by nurturing flowers amidst the vegetables in their gardens, and they held beauty by adding embroidered touches to the humble clothing and household linens that they sewed from flour sacks.

Through my paintings, I honour these women’s considerable contributions and advocate for their rightful place in the historical record.