As a little girl, Grace Nickel spent many happy hours exploring the trees surrounding her parents’ farm near Plum Coulee.
“It was really just a wind shelter, so all the trees had been planted,” the award-winning ceramic artist recalls.
“But to me, it was a magical forest, where I had all sorts of imaginative play. In a busy home with six children, this was my happy place. It shows the power of the child’s mind. When I tap into all those early influences now, I can see how so much of the things I create started there.”
She learned the value of hard work on that farm, where sustainability wasn’t a new concept—it was a way of life.
“We had a huge garden. Everything was produced on those 10 acres. It just was what it was.”
Her father also owned an excavating company, but still found time for creativity.
“He had sketchbooks lying around and did a lot of drawing. He was also a musician. As a child, it seemed quite natural.”
Nickel’s parents encouraged her interest in drawing.
“They bought me books, and I graduated to pastels. There weren’t any formal art classes in school at the time.”
Her earliest fascination with clay began at the site of her father’s excavations.
“I watched him dig and became aware of the beauty of Manitoba clay,” she recalls. “The texture and the movement. Those things stay with you. Those were the early beginnings.”
After high school, Nickel travelled across Europe, and decided to become an art teacher.
“I didn’t have the confidence to think I could be a professional artist. I loved school, so I started with a bachelor of education program in fine arts, but I soon realized that was not for me. Sculpture was not on campus at that time, so I chose ceramics and became enamored of it. There was quite a dedicated bunch of us, who practically lived at the studio.”
After college, her love of clay continued, but it was a long road. Nickel eventually found herself working at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, in their studio program.
“When I left the gallery, I always had teaching jobs in the arts, including a mentoring program for emerging women artists. But I always made sure I found the time and energy for the studio.”
When the University of Manitoba implemented a master’s in fine arts degree, Nickel spent two years in Nova Scotia for her graduate studies. It was here that her love of trees and her craft united.
“I was inspired by Point Pleasant Park. It had been hit by Hurricane Juan three years earlier, and 70,000 trees had been damaged. The people there were still devastated. I walked in the park and knew immediately that was going to be the focus of my thesis.”
The result was a tribute to the park called, Devastatus Rememorari. The porcelain forms are pieced together in sections, symbolizing nature’s attempt to mend and rebuild the ravaged trees. The installation went on to become a permanent collection at the Black Gallery in Nova Scotia.
Nickel’s 40-year art career is focused on sculptural ceramics and installation. She has gone on to claim numerous awards in competition and her work can be found in permanent collections in Japan, China, and Taiwan. She’s also had numerous solo exhibitions in Canada including at the Winnipeg Art Gallery and at Altona’s Gallery in the Park.
Last year, the ceramic artist was awarded Canada’s most prestigious distinction in fine crafts: the Saidye Bronfman Award, one of eight prizes in the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts.
Nickel received a $25,000 prize and a bronze medallion and her contribution to contemporary visual arts was honoured by the Canadian Museum of History.
“For a woman of my generation to become a professional artist and a full professor at a university is a big accomplishment,” Nickel reflected. “And now, receiving a GGArts is a crowning achievement. I’m also pretty sure that I’m the only Saidye Bronfman Award recipient who grew up in Plum Coulee, Manitoba, the same rural community as Saidye Bronfman herself. This is something I’m extremely proud of.”
Today, Nickel continues to teach at the University of Manitoba, and works at a studio in Winnipeg’s Exchange District.
She recently developed a fascination for Anabaptist pottery. In 2023, she took part in a six-week residency at the International Ceramics Studio in Hungary, learning about Haban ceramics, which originated in central Europe during the 16th century by Anabaptist artists.
Nickel’s next exhibition will take place this summer at the Prairieview Elevator Museum in Plum Coulee.
“It feels like coming full circle,” she said, noting that she plans to display some of her work in Anabaptist traditions.
Looking back, she says she’s been incredibly fortunate to have a career path that allowed her to follow her passions.
“It’s really a lot of hard work; there’s no magic to it. It’s putting the time in, with the courage and conviction to keep that level high. That’s the realistic image of the artist’s journey. I do a lot of mentoring for emerging artists. It’s important to encourage and guide and you need the affirmation, especially in those early stages. It’s part of a process, and I’ll just keep doing it. I’ve been fortunate to be recognized,” she said, adding, “A walk in the forest is still one of my favourite things. Growing up, I had a pretend forest, and I’ll always be grateful for that.”
