Magical musings

Hailing from the island country of The Bahamas, Chanel Briggs has made this island province their home for the last several years. Throughout their life, Chanel has always been busy making things with their hands. Whether it was crocheting doll clothes, making uniforms in school, or harvesting medicines from the bush, Chanel’s creative spirit has always been evident. “My spiritual and creative practices are one in the same. I have a faith and desire to live a magical life.”

As they continue to learn and grow in this part of the world, Chanel is building intentional practices to grow their relationship with the lands. “I am more cognizant of my interactions with the land here because we are still building a relationship. Unlike at home where the relationship with the land was inherent from birth.” Chanel’s art and life are both practices of relationship-building, creating spaciousness for conversations and connections. “Nature shows us how it is, and we can learn all we need to know from the world around us.”

During difficult times, Chanel makes extra effort to connect with the natural world. “The moon and the trees help me sit in stillness and connect. The more I connect with the lunar cycle and the natural world, the more I can access my creativity in writing.”

As a visual artist, poet, and performer, Chanel continues to build their creative practice and grow into new facets of themselves on a regular basis. While they were telling me about their journey into visual arts, we had a very PEI moment when they glanced across the patio and said, “Those folks over there are the ones who first taught me how to draw!”

Chanel considers themselves a novice when it comes to drawing, whereas the written arts come more naturally and have been present since adolescence. They have always been drawn to words, noting poetry as their primary form of expression. “Poetry is therapy. It is one of the greatest ways for me to process and work through life.” They come by their affinity of words honestly, as their mom instilled that love from an early age. “She would tell me that there are so many places you can go if you read.” Chanel took that wisdom both literally and to heart, beginning a lifelong love of the written word. “I also love world-building, and my mom still sends me words from time to time. Now I usually already know the word!”

Chanel’s creativity extends beyond their artistic practice and includes creative expression with the land. “I carry the maternal care-taker medicine with me from a long line of maternal medicine people.” Chanel’s middle name is from their grandmother, and “I feel her with me all the time. Everything I do is with her in my heart and on my mind.” Chanel learned a lot about wild medicines from their grandmother, noting and chuckling that “there’s a tea for everything!”

Growing up The Bahamas, Chanel didn’t have the same sense of seasonality that they have experienced since moving to Canada. We have four clearly distinct and defined seasons in our neck of the woods. “We are all coming back to life now after the dark days of winter and I’m remembering the roots of my art practice.”

Along with Chanel’s art practices, they are also the accessibility coordinator at Pride PEI where they are building accessibility toolkits to make events more accessible for more people. “I’m having lots of conversations with folks about what it means to be accessible and what we can do to provide accessible spaces.” 

Chanel is also a board member with This Town is Small which afforded them the opportunity to be part of their first professional art installation earlier this year. Chanel and I had previously been part of community-based art projects so we both chuckled at the level of precision required in a professional install that we did not apply in our community installations. “I get to learn so much from the people I work with, and we all feel cared for and loved in the learning process.”

In all their work and art, Chanel ponders the meaning of community and how we show up for ourselves and each other. “As I come through the winter season, emerging into spring, I am contemplating what it means to come home to myself while being situated within community and relationships.” The ebbs and flows of life are inevitable, and Chanel has found ways to channel the difficulties into their art. “I’m especially keen to learn how we maintain connection through conflict.”

“I have a rooted or chosen belief that life is a beautiful thing and that we can all find the joy and whimsy amidst the challenges and difficulties. We can all live a magical life.”