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BJ Lecours, Artist – PEI

BJ Lecours is an artist and educator dedicated to arts accessibility and finding creative ways to inject art into public life. Her artistic practice includes illustration, oil painting, performance, and installation. She has a keen interest in storytelling and community building. BJ has recently returned home to the unceded Mi’kmaq territory of Epekwitk / Prince Edward Island, following two decades as a pan-Canadian contract worker, based out of Charlottetown, Montreal and Edmonton. You can see her exhibit Paper thin at the Charlottetown Library until November 3.

  1. Cat high-fives

We adopted our cat, Dusty Springfield, at the height of the pandemic. Regular cat training and adoration has brought much needed levity to the most anxious and lonely parts of the past three years.

  1. Looking at light

I’ve had a lifelong fascination with light. I love taking time to observe the beauty of light, especially on glass jars and reflective surfaces. There is a simple slowness in watching light and shadow that I find calming and nourishing.

  1. Vintage wallpaper

I am into all old papers, but wallpaper is an especially sturdy and beautiful insight into designs of the past. I see it as a symbol of domesticity, which adds exactly what I want to say to a lot of compositions.

  1. Le perfectionnement linguistique

I teach in a French First Language School, which is a responsibility I take seriously in a minority language community. I’m fluent in French, but I do three hours a week of “perfectionnement linguistique” to try to fine-tune my accords. “Peindre” instead of “peinturer” is an anglicism I’ve been working on.

  1. Island stories

Epekwitk/PEI is a natural marvel. You likely know about the red cliffs and white sand beaches. Summer as an islander is a mixed blessing, as the pace of life changes drastically. There are endless strings of visitors, constant heartfelt reunions, nonstop cultural events, not to mention gardening, construction, cleaning, chatting with neighbors and all that. Collecting and telling Island stories is at its peak in the hectic bliss of island summer.

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