For much of my life, anxiety and depression have shaped how I move through the world. As a younger person, while I was trying to figure out who I was, it often felt safer to be valued for what I could do rather than who I was. I learned to present myself through usefulness—my job, my role, my purpose—because simply being “me” felt exposed and uncertain. Anxiety taught me to stay alert, contained, and careful, even when nothing outwardly dangerous was happening...

…Over time, I’ve learned how to wear my own skin more comfortably. I’ve learned that I am enough without proving my worth, and that healing doesn’t mean anxiety and depression disappear forever. Some days are still a struggle—and that is okay. Even the sun hides behind storms many days of the year; it doesn’t mean it’s gone. This painting holds that truth for me that beneath the movement, the worry, and the weather, there is steadiness, warmth, and light.                                                      

-Jill

“Art is a forum in which inner pain can be revealed and shared, alleviating those feelings of loneliness and shame. This exhibition also focuses on healing and transcendence, offering the possibility of hope.”                                                              – Iris Hauser

Iris is a figurative painter who has committed herself to the human form. Hauser has exhibited her works throughout the province and region for four decades, and her paintings can be found in numerous private and public collections. Significant commissions include portraits of chancellors and presidents of the University of Regina, and Chief Justices of the Appellate Court of Saskatchewan.