Noella Somerville moved to Alberta from Quebec more than 20 years ago. Her life has changed quite a bit since then. Most notably, her love of art and healing found a place to flourish, and along with that, so has her ability to share her passion with everyone she encounters.
It started with a walking stick
As an artist, Noella started out quite unassumingly. Her brother-in-law encouraged her to take a wood and soapstone carving course at Lee Valley Tools in Edmonton. She completed the program and in doing so, came away with one of her first creations – a walking stick, soon to become a symbol of her journey that she keeps on display in her Lac La Biche boutique.
In 2003, the next phase of Noella’s training led her to Red Deer College where she studied wood carving one week each summer for 3 years in a row. It is here where she met her late husband who played such a significant role in her artistic development. As a taxidermist and artist himself, he continually encouraged Noella to pursue her talents and passion for a variety of arts and crafts, including leatherwork. There was no looking back, and Noella was soon teaching week-long leathercraft workshops.
The inspiration of stained glass
The next milestone on the journey took place when Noella and her husband were contracted with preparing 16, 3×6-foot stained glass windows for a church in Janvier, Alberta. Not only was the project a life-changing experience, taking two years to complete, it also provided a vehicle for their art to tell a story important to both the indigenous and non-indigenous communities.
Today, Noella offers a variety of workshops including stained glass, leather work, and drum making, to small groups of students. She practices and teaches the importance of holistic healing through art, reiki, and spiritual mentorship.
A virtual grand opening
On June 3rd, Noella is excited to be hosting a virtual opening of her économusée boutique, Healing à la Source, located at 10322-103 avenue in Lac La Biche. The boutique is one of just two Alberta members of Économusee, an international network of traditional artisans that are able to share their story with tourists and their community. If you would like to be part of the virtual opening of Healing à la Source on June 3rd, at 11 AM, please contact Marie at 780-573-4516 or email marie@lecdea.ca. A zoom link will be sent to you prior to the event. If you would like to learn more about the courses or gift store at Healing à la source call Noella at 780-404-5803, and visit her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/healingalasource/.
To find out more about the Économusée network visit www.economusees.com.
