|
| Local Attractions > Artist - Hika Wagner |
HIKA WAGNER.jpg)
Local folk artist Hika Wagner was born in Digby Nova Scotia in 1976. She has lived with her family in Weymouth North her entire life. Hika has worked different jobs through the years including being a gardener in the Weymouth area, and working with the local daycare. However, now she is known as the community’s local folk artist which takes up much of her time and has become her main source of employment. When Hika was 14 she began to create art through drawing and painting. At 16, she entered a drawing of a dragon in an art gallery contest in Halifax. The art gallery selected and displayed the drawings they considered to be the best and Hika’s dragon was one of those selected. She has always drawn; it was something she loved to do, so she decided to try her hand at painting. One of her first creations is featured in this biography. Her first paintings were done with oil paints which she had to travel to University St. Anne in Church Point to purchase. Soon she decided she would rather paint something different using acrylic paints which she could by locally in the community. At the same time Hika decided to change her style; instead of landscapes she began painting folk art. .jpg)
Many of Hika's creations are painted directly on driftwood that she finds on the beaches in and around the Weymouth area. She goes everyday to see what new pieces she can find. She has also started using masonite for some of her art and for the Acadian flags she paints. This gives her two types of pieces and she finds that each type sells differently in various areas. For example, the driftwood paintings sell very well in the Weymouth area and at the farm markets. However, the masonite paintings sell better at folk art festivals such as the annual folk art festival in Lunenburg. Creating these two types of paintings for two different venues keeps Hika very busy making sure she has enough stock ready for sale at each. Hika's reasons for beginning to paint were really quite simple – it was something she loved to do, she loved making things, and she found it relaxing and enjoyable. These are still her reasons for continuing to create her art, although she finds that sometimes she can be very busy especially when preparing for farm markets and local festivals. Her creative talent is all natural. She has had no professional training to do what she does. She did attend NSCAD after graduating from Weymouth Consolidated High School, but she found that the style of art they taught was not the same style she was interested in painting. As a result, she returned home and began her own business. Hika’s art is featured locally at Sissiboo Landing, and at the Toymaker in Digby. It is also featured provincially; for example at the Spotted Frog in Lunenburg. It has even sold as far away as Alberta, and at a place called From the Heart Folk Art in Toronto, Ontario. Her work is nolt only sold across Canada, but she has been told by some of the merchants who sell her art that people from all over the world have bought her pieces. Other than selling her art through various stores, Hika’s own marketing technique is to attend local farm markets such as the Belliveau Cove Farm Market on Saturday mornings in the summer, and to attend folk festivals around the province such as the Lunenburg Folk Art Festival. She also has her own yards sales on the lawn in front of her house throughout the summer so people driving by can stop in and see or purchase her art. If you would like to contact Hika with inquires or to purchase her art you can call her at (902) 837-5643 or visit 5186 Hwy 1 Weymouth. Thought by many to be the next Maud Lewis, Hika is making quite a name for herself in her own community, across the country, across the border, and even internationally through those who come from other countries and purchase her art. For those with a collection, or planning to start a collection of folk art, Hika is an artist not to be overlooked. For more photos of Hika's work see her category in the photo gallery. .jpg)
.jpg)
|
|
 |
||
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
