Tiffany Seymour

Tiffany Seymour was born in 1982 in Winnipeg, the youngest of five children. Growing up as the youngest in the family came with a few advantages, she found: "They all baby me a lot," chuckles Tiffany. "And growing up, when one of the other kids wanted something they'd always say 'hey Tiffany go ask Mom for this!' "

Tiffany's artistic talent may have had a genetic component, as both her parents are creative: her mother does bead work and her father has been a painter and portrait artist. Her parents separated when she was still young, and Tiffany and her siblings were raised by her Mother. Tiffany does keep in touch with and sees her father regularly and has an amiable relationship with him. Her Mother noticed Tiffany's artistic

Tiffany has lived in St. Vital (but she can't remember anything being too long ago), in Tuxedo, and in the North End. Growing up at home, Tiffany's mother provided encouragement of her interests and learning and would buy her new books regularly. At school, she was quiet and introverted and, in her own words 'didn't really click with people'. When she was given her first introduction to art she was naturally drawn to it. "After taking art classes in grades seven, I got really preoccupied with art and attached myself to the teachers and really wanted to learn more. Also, I won an award at school and got to take classes at Winnipeg Art Gallery. And my Mom noticed my artistic inclination so she tried to nurture that as much as she could."

She attended Arthur A Leach Junior High School and her art teacher there was James McLellan. Tiffany thought he was an outstanding teacher and benefited greatly from his tutelage. "He really encouraged me; and gave me special attention; he saw potential in me. I think he was an amazing teacher; he went out of his way to help me. He had so much faith in me and it was really encouraging. He was a major catalyst for me. He also helped me get my first Mural commission through Take Pride Winnipeg."

She also has kind words for Mandy van Leeuwen, who was the murals coordinator at Take Pride. "When I worked with Mandy I was kind of intimidated and I didn't really know what to do or what I was doing yet. She tried to help me on my first mural, and I didn't know how to instruct her to help me. She was very helpful in getting me stuff and starting me off."

She's not yet certain as to precisely where her career is headed, but "I'd like to do something art related. I'd really like to get into animation; I love Japanese animation and that would be interesting to do. I consider myself largely self-taught, and am learning through the experiences I've had. Through my murals I can learn from what I've done before. I think my murals have gotten better." Her interest in self-improvement is also evident from the coursework she takes through Winnipeg Adult Education.

Tiffany indicated to me that she tends to be more meticulous when working on a smaller scale. We flipped through a couple of her sketchbooks and several of her facial portraits were quite striking to me, particularly as to the amount of facial detail and realism. She wants to apply the same diligence to her mural work, but several of those commissions had placed serious time constraints on her.

She's critical of her own style and talents. "I do like what I draw but I need to branch out more. I usually draw what's visually appealing to me but I need to broaden my subject matter. I'd like to draw more nature scenes and animals. I have this tendency to lean toward the fantasy art, fairies, and those such things that give me inspiration. I'd like to focus more on real-life scenes, and explore some other styles and techniques."

I asked Tiffany if these other styles and techniques might include the aboriginal perspective; and her reply was decidedly unclear on this. It was not emphasized that much nor been much of a factor in her upbringing. She does plan to take Native Studies in the near future. Because she is a Christian, she hasn't assimilated certain aspects of indigenous teachings where they may conflict with her personal faith. She attends the Meeting Place, a contemporary Church in Downtown Winnipeg.

Tiffany likes Winnipeg just fine although she admits that she'd really doesn't have anything to compare it to. She would like to travel, to see different things and places and to enjoy these new experiences. Her sister and her have discussed a possible trip to Europe.

Today her friends are all artistic as well, so "we all receive encouragement from each other." She's also experimented with body painting using acrylics and onto the backs of friends! She's also tried Henna tattoos. She loves music; a friend is teaching her to play guitar. She's also taken violin lessons, but she had to rent the violin as she didn't own one-an expensive proposition. Now she really wants to buy one outright so she can start up again. She describes her taste in music as eclectic; ranging from Tori Amos, Nine Inch Nails, The Strokes, Violent Femmes, Propaghandi, and Bad Religion. She does Yoga posturing for flexibility, usually every other day. And she's quite a movie buff.

With six walls to her credit as of July 2003, Tiffany Seymour is one of Winnipeg's youngest muralists. Themes of her walls have been various: from a heritage scene, to an equal accessibility for disabled theme, to a tasteful tribute to Seargeant Tommy Prince. Tiffany is soft spoken, she's modest, and a bright budding young talent. We wish her the best, and hope to see lots more of her work around our city in the months and years to come!

Tiffany Seymour lives in Winnipeg's North End with her Mother.

Contact Tiffany Seymour at : tiff_seymour@yahoo.ca

Click here to view Tiffany Seymour's Winnipeg Murals.