Jennifer Leason

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Lifelong Learning Journeys

Four paintings were inspired from my children’s book, Meennunyakaa / Blueberry Patch (Theytus Books, 2019). They toured alongside the acrylic on paper mock-ups (9X12”) through galleries and are now permanently on display in the Taylor Institute atrium.

The paintings represent the four hills of life and lifelong learning: Conception / Child, Youth, Adult and Elder. The blueberries in the paintings are representative of lessons we learn throughout our lives. Throughout our journeys, we’re picking blueberries that are like little lessons and teachings that we’re collecting in our baskets of knowledge.

Knowledge is inherent in all things. The world is a library, and the books were the stones, leaves, grass, brooks and the birds and animals that shared the light with us, the storms and blessings of the Earth. We learn to do what only the student of nature ever learns to do, and that is to feel its beauty.

Chief Luther Standing Bear

Learning, or how we come to know, is a journey. It is not linear, but rather, our learning journeys are the connections and relations between our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual being, being with ourselves, our families, communities, nations, and expands beyond this realm and into the cosmos.

Like lifelong learning, these paintings serve as a reminder that we are always growing (like the flower), learning and transforming through the teachings of the land (dark blue on bottom) and water (turquoise) and that our ancestors, kinship and communities (hummingbirds) are here to help guide us. The yellow symbolizes the sunrise and the coming of a new day, new beginnings, hope and the passing of knowledge to future generations.

Conception

36″ x 48″
Acrylic on Canvas
Painted by: Jennifer Leason ©2018

Conception is the spark of the great spirit radiating out into the world.

Childhood/Youth

36″ x 48″
Acrylic on Canvas
Painted by: Jennifer Leason ©2018

In the painting you can see the parents sitting on the branch near the two little ones and the plant is just starting to bud. It’s the beginning of bewilderment and curiosity.

Adulthood

36″ x 48″
Acrylic on Canvas
Painted by: Jennifer Leason ©2018

As we grow, we continue to move away from the family. Eventually we move on, out of the nest, branching out into the world. The teachers become the teaching, the students become the teachers, and we keep fostering learning for generations to come.

Elder

36″ x 48″
Acrylic on Canvas
Painted by: Jennifer Leason ©2018

As time fades and the sun begins to set, we return back home to the ancestral stars. The flowers begin to wilt, circling back to conception at the beginning. A beautiful lifelong learning circle.

Show & Presentation

Media Coverage

March 31, 2023

Newly installed artwork in the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning sparks reflections on lifelong learning

Dr. Leslie Reid, PhD, vice-provost of teaching and learning, saw an opportunity for a permanent home for the work.
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