Kyla Firby
Gallery Reception: Wednesday, July 4th | 7:00 - 9:00 pm | 9351 118 Ave | FREE | Details Here
Artist Bio
Life can be busy, stressful, and overwhelming at times. At least that is how I feel working as an engineer and raising young children, while battling depression. Marking art is my tiny bit of calm in the eye of the storm. A chance for creative expression and to reflect on the beauty in life.
While I have no formal arts training, I have made art since I can remember. I have only recently started to share my artwork with the general public, selling my first piece at the 2017 Kaleido Festival Gallery. I work mainly with ink and watercolours, and have began to experiment with acrylics. My drawing style developed organically from doodling in the margins of my school notebooks and my work as a face painter. I start with a pencil sketch of the image outline. I then start to fill in the spaces with individual shapes. It is like fitting a puzzle together. I love watching the image emerge as each piece falls into place.
I was born in Toronto and studied Environmental Engineering at the University of Guelph. I moved to Edmonton in 2008, where I worked as a professional engineer for ten years. While my post secondary education and career have been largely math and science focused, I have always had the need for creative expression. Drawing and painting allow me to use other parts of my brain and feel more balanced as a person.
Creative expression has been particularly value to me during periods of depression. When life seems overwhelming I retreat to my basement. I shut out the world and surround myself with art. Even when I have lost the ability to do many other things, I can still draw and paint. It makes me feel a little bit better that even if I am feeling down I can create something beautiful.
Check out more of Kyla's art here!
Flowers and Flyers: Artist Statement
Flowers and Flyers is a series of drawings done with ink on paper. These pieces were created in the late summer, when the world feels so alive with flowers blooming and creatures flying by. For me these drawings express feelings of freedom, movement, and a desire to be outside. They reflect not how I felt, but how I wanted to feel; light and imaginative, yet ordered and balanced.