About Us

Christeen Francis completed her BFA at NSCADU, spent nine years in New York City, and returned to her hometown of Montreal to complete her MFA at Concordia University. A printmaker and musician, she ran a print shop in Brooklyn and played in several bands. She is committed to social and political print that engages with local communities and the public at large. She has exhibited in Canada, the United States, Germany, and Iceland and is a member of the Justseeds Artist Cooperative. Her research interests include the right to the city, urban wildlife and wild spaces, and the homogenization of cities and culture.

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Christeen has admired SMP from afar for a long time but only recently visited and fell in love with the place and the members. As the new ED, Christeen is passionate about getting more people in the shop on a regular basis, seeing people try printmaking for the first time, as well as seeing how SMP can grow and transform as an ARC.

Luca is a mixed media artist and arts administrator, and a lifelong nomad: raised in Missouri, educated in B.C., and now residing in St. John’s. He received his BA from the University of Victoria, followed by a postgraduate degree in Office Administration from the College of the Rockies. He began his work in the non-profit arts realm in 2021 as a Gallery Assistant for POMOArts in Port Moody, B.C., and – in addition to his work at SMP – he now serves remotely as the Executive Director to the Esquimalt Community Arts Hub.
 

As an artist, Luca creates with acrylics, wood, and found objects to form surreal, three-dimensional, and texturally engaging works. In 2022, Luca had his first solo show at the Brittania Gallery in Vancouver and was a featured artist during the Hold Fast Contemporary Arts Festival. In 2023, he was short-listed for VANL-CARFAC’s Emerging Artist Award. Currently, he is working on a wood-carving project depicting deities and mythological characters from Polish Folklore, funded through the Canada Council for the Arts.

Diana is a multi-instrumentalist, performer, designer, storyteller and songwriter. Originally from St.John's, Newfoundland and Labrador she has lived and worked in British Columbia, Montréal and Nunavik. A lover of story through song, image, dance and spectacle, Diana has a keen interest in Printmaking and Ethnomusicology. Favorite projects that she has created include: The Fogo Island Song Share, the Lhasa de Sela Youth Stage for the Montréal Folk Festival, her EP "When Women Kill", being the "Femme d'Orchestre" for the puppet show "Kate Crackerberry", all of the musical experiences with her students in Puvirnituq and Kangirsuk as well as being the Managing Producer of the St. John’s International CircusFest for its initial five editions. Diana is one third of the Daly Family Collective where she gets to tell stories about her extraordinary family with her dear friends, Louise Moyes and Anne Troake in the stage show "If A Place Could Be Made". She is also the author of the book based on this show, “A Wonderful Bigness”, illustrated by Bruce Alcock and published by Running the Goat, Books and Broadsides. The medium of printmaking has always fascinated her for its magical elements and immediate graphic impact. HOW it is made is as exciting as the image itself. Creating image and texture in negative space. Diana is happy to devote time to this important cultural space and hopes that it continues to foster creation and camaraderie for artists in all stages of their careers. Diana lives quite happily on Signal Hill.

Karen Ann Pink (@kafpink) of Partridgeberry Press, is an interdisciplinary artist with a focus on experimental printmaking, digital/audio interactive collage, and watercolour painting. They are settled in Katalisk / Codroy Valley, on the southwest coast of NL, with a background in Visual Arts from Grenfell Campus, Memorial University. Karen began showing their work professionally in 2018, most recently in group exhibitions including The Little Connections House with The Little House Gallery at Grenfell Campus, and Western Newfoundland: People, Landscape, Culture at the Tina Dolter Gallery, Rotary Arts Centre. They completed residencies with the FARR Program at Eastern Edge Gallery and St. Michael’s Printshop.

My practice is community-driven, and heavily influenced by being a parent-artist: this informs how and when I work, the space and materials I use, and what I create – often soft, small, interactive works. Both create opportunities for organic collaborations— intentional or otherwise. I seek out and explore connections within both rural and urban spaces, and examine the idea of “home” as community, as nature, as feeling. As a parent of three, I feel that children should be immersed in the arts, and arts spaces from infancy. Being on the Board at St. Michael’s allows me to be a part of a welcoming community that has these collaborative efforts at its core and that prioritizes safe and supportive practices for its membership and community! 

While working in the Newfoundland and Nova Scotia music industry since 2008 as both a musician and industry professional, Mary Beth Waldram has organized and supervised large-scale events, created successful grant proposals, and helped various artists with their work. Mary Beth is a graduate of Memorial University’s School of Music and Nova Scotia Community College’s Music Business Program. She’s since gone on to work with many Atlantic Canadian music festivals including Halifax Pop Explosion, Lawnya Vawnya and The Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, all while managing bands and booking tours for Atlantic Canadian artists. Winner for MusicNL’s Industry Professional of the Year 2022 and ECMA Manager of the Year 2023 Mary Beth currently resides in St. John’s, Newfoundland and is working with Pillow Fite, The Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, Silver Wolf Band and many other local companies and artists.

Drew Pardy (she/they) is an artist working in textiles, performance, and installation based in St. John’s, NL. She received her BFA in 2019 from Grenfell Campus, Memorial University. They use “radical silliness” as a vessel for change— exploring themes of labour, feminism, and queerness. This play is a way of taking care. Drew is one half of the friendship heart necklace that is HOT 4 THE MOMENT, a collective and loveship with Georgia Dawkin and is a member of TRUCK Collective with Annie Canto and Emily Neufeld. Drew has exhibited nationally and internationally.

If you asked Drew what vehicle SMP would be, they would say it's a Sprinter Van. Why? Because it's resourceful, resilient, creative, it holds an enormous amount of special things and people within in, and with all of its roles and responsibilities, it's still really hot. 

 

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Andrew Testa is an artist, writer, and educator working through prints, drawings, books, words, and installations. He has been awarded SSHRC and the Elizabeth Greenshields grants for his research, has exhibited nationally and internationally (UK and USA), and has participated in residencies and conferences across Canada. Currently he is working towards a new body of work for a solo exhibition at SNAP (Edmonton, AB) and group exhibitions at Modern Fuel (Kingston, ON) and Eastern Edge (St. John’s, NL) in 2021 that have been awarded a VP Grenfell Campus Research Fund. Testa is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in printmaking at Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and has additionally taught at Thompson Rivers University (Kamloops, BC), and Algoma University (Sault Ste. Marie, ON). He completed his MFA and BFA at York University (Toronto, ON).

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Printmaking, for me, is inherently about the idea of working ‘with’…whether that ‘with’ is material, process, spaces, or others. To print is to be a part of something that extends beyond the self, bringing awareness to the sense of community that cannot be separated from printmaking. By working with SMP, I have the opportunity to celebrate and support this community…the materials, the processes, the spaces, and the people. With SMP, I get to participate in one of the most vibrant and exiting print communities I have had the pleasure to be a part of!

instagram: @andrewtestaart, headshot by Lucas Morneau

Julia Hobden is an Accounting Representative in the Insurance and Finance industry. She has been a long time admirer and supporter of St.Michael's printshop, with a modest home collection accumulated over the years from numerous SMP print sales and markets. Julia is a seasoned financial professional and is excited to be combining her appreciation for the arts and her financial background in her role as treasurer. In her spare time, Julia enjoys cooking, singing, and taking trips to the dog park with her black lab Daisy.

James Stenson is a multidisciplinary artist focusing primarily in ceramics, and more recently in printmaking. He has a background in both carpentry and design, continuously striving to incorporate a variety of non-traditional approaches into his practice. He is inspired by the art found in his Slavic roots, as well as his significant time spent living and working throughout rural Canada. 

He has worked as a ceramics educator through The Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador as well as privately, with his work being shown in various galleries throughout the province and on virtual platforms. His functional art can be found living in the hands and homes of various individuals throughout the world. 

He is actively involved in the local arts community, working towards interdisciplinary collaboration between local craftspeople and artisans. He can regularly be found at local craft markets throughout the city and attending as many workshops as time allows. With experience in various community studios and communal building spaces, James works to inspire participation in those from outside the existing community.

When not making art, James drives a Zamboni and spends afternoons hiking with his dogs, Rocket and Hector. 

@witsendceramics 

With roots in St. John's, Notre Dame Bay, Central, and Bonavista Bay, Andrea grew up with one foot in rural NL and the other in town, in an active DIY community where youth "made stuff happen." In 2011, Andrea co-founded the St. John’s music festival Lawnya Vawnya with friends and later served as Director of the Dawson City Music Festival in the Yukon for five years before joining Sappyfest (Sackville, NB) in 2022 as Creative Director.

Andrea is an arts administrator, festival curator, gluten free baker and amateur herbalist. In another life, Andrea had a busy studio practice in sculpture and textiles and could often be found out on the land getting excited about plants. Andrea’s primary creative focus in recent years has been uniting people through a shared love of music and art.

Andrea holds a diploma in Textile Studies from the College of the North Atlantic, a Bachelor of Fine Arts from NSCAD University, and has completed a certificate program in Holistic Nutrition. Andrea is a board member of the Canadian Association For The Performing Arts (CAPACOA), LIVES for being in or on the water, and swears that the best life advice ever can be found in the song Music and Friends by Simani.