Niverville resident ‘tangles’ in studio

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This article was published 18/12/2016 (2684 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A recent Niverville resident is bringing her passion for art to town and teaching the community how to tangle.

Deb Brissette facilitates Highland Art Studio out of her Niverville home, where she teaches children, teens and adults various art and crafting techniques through classes. She has also taught workshops, in neighbouring communities like St Pierre, Ste Agathe and St Malo, on techniques like tangling, which is a form of doodling.

Though Brissette is not trained in art and has worked in health care her whole life, she calls art her true love.

Brissette owned a craft store in the 1980s in Deloraine. She also owned an antique shop in Landmark until she moved to Niverville earlier this year.

“All those things were weekend things that I was planning on doing when I retired and then I changed my mind,” said Brissette, who is now semi-retired. “I wanted to go back to my true love, so that’s what I did.”

She opened her art studio to the public in October. Though tangling is arguably one of the most popular techniques she teaches, each class features something different.

“I started tangling, which is basically a technique in doodling. The kids really love that, but so do the adults. It’s a lot of fun and it’s very relaxing,” said Brissette.

Tangling is a technique to make cool designs that are similar to the popular adult colouring books.

“This was the original idea behind henna tattoos and a lot of those colouring books are the original patterns,” she said. “I call it texture doodle because if you don’t know the techniques, it doesn’t end up being the way you want it.”

Brissette said teaching her first art course at Lil’ Steps Miniatures and Wellness Farm in St Malo assured her she was on the right path.

“Lucy [the owner] had me out there and we all went looking at the animals to begin with. The kids were just so excited. I was a little bit concerned about how I was going to managed 21 children, because that was my very first course,” said Brissette.

“When I started, everybody was just so intent at doing their tangling. They were just great and we had a blast. That kind of made me think I was on the right path.”

Other techniques Brissette teaches include painting, beading and using oil pastels.

“It’s something different every week, so [my students] don’t have the chance to get bored with something,” said Brissette.

Brissette teaches two-hour classes to children aged six to eight on Wednesdays and children nine and older on Thursdays. She’s taught adult groups and is hoping to reach the younger adult crowd going forward into the New Year. She’s also hoping to open up her afternoon to seniors.

“I’ve found that art has always been there for me to relax, so that’s why I decided to do it. It’s part of a therapeutic feeling also,” said Brissette.

For inquiries or to register for art classes, call Brissette at 204-471-8710.