Two striking pieces of art hang side by side in a small counselling centre in North End Winnipeg. People can’t stop looking at them, asking about the artists, wanting to know the stories behind these bright paintings. The pieces were painted by Cheryle Dreaver and Dawn Chartrand, local artists who have been best friends since they were teenagers. Their art emerges into the world together, often side by side at the same venues and local markets. I am one of the counsellors in that small centre in Winnipeg. I recently sat down to chat with Cheryle and Dawn. The interview that follows is a heart-led conversation about their friendship, their artistic journeys, and how it all braids together.
I met with Cheryle and Dawn in the art therapy room.* A sacred, sweet little space filled with art, paint brushes as décor, sage drying on the walls, toys tucked everywhere, cozy unmatched furniture, fluffy pillows—even one adorned with sequins! The room reverberated with laughter throughout our entire conversation.
Kelly Bernardin-Dvorak: Orient us a bit… how did the two of you become friends?
Cheryle Dreaver: We met at a life skills program.
Dawn Chartrand: We were about 15 years old–we were just kids!
Cheryle: After that, we kept attending cultural and community stuff together.
Dawn: Then we found that sober nightclub and went dancing all the time, remember?
Cheryle: We had so much fun!
Kelly: Your art has developed together over the past few years. What’s it like to bring art into the world at the same time?
Dawn: Really natural! As if it was all meant to happen like this. Cheryle had to drag me to that first paint night in 2016, then I really enjoyed it. It was so easy to let it happen.
Kelly: Cheryle, did you suspect that Dawn would like artmaking if she gave it a shot?
Cheryle: I did. I just wanted Dawn to join me in this fun art thing! Then after that, we started doing art on our own. After a while we started learning more about canvases and paints, we were figuring out so much about making our art better… that’s when we realized: we can do art, we’re artists.
Dawn: We started investing more time, energy, seriousness. It became so special.
Kelly: Your art is becoming known. You’re selling your work at markets. Tell us about this…
Cheryle: It’s unreal! It blows my mind away. If you’d asked me a year ago if I had any small business plans, I’d probably have just gone blank. Now I’m wondering if we’ll ever go to the Gathering of Nations and share our work there!
Kelly (to Cheryle): You dragged Dawn to that first paint night. Why did you need her for this all to happen the way it has?
Cheryle: It’s good to do things with someone you love. It would not be as fun to do this on my own.
Kelly: Having each other enhances the whole process?
Cheryle: It has definitely brought us closer. And we’ve taught each other so much. I used to use stencils, [but] now I freehand. Dawn encouraged me, telling me what I could try, [what] tools I could get better at using.
I love my little baby art, my early pieces, and people still love those works too. The art never stops speaking; I let it be whatever it is to people. There’s this Sabe one that I made. I know I’ve grown so much as an artist since I did that piece, but people are in love with it! They see what they see in it, and I see my own growth as an artist. In those early pieces, I recognize all that I’ve learned and how much I’ve experimented with different techniques over the years.
Kelly: The spirit of relationship or relationality is so alive in your work. Any ideas about how this came to be?
Dawn: We spent a lot of time during the pandemic on video chats: quietly painting side by side but not in the same physical space. Showing each other updates every once in a while, getting feedback about lines or colours. What’s happening today just flows out from that.
It’s meaningful to get something from in here, (pointing to heart) put it on a canvas, and then see people appreciating it, having it mean something to them too. What an honour, to make something that means something to other people. We can’t keep it to ourselves. It needs to be shared.
Kelly: What you’re both saying is exactly what people notice about your pieces hanging in our office. I’m listening to you two say what it means to make art side by side, and that’s what people are struggling to find words for as they contemplate your pieces hanging side by side. People comment about the symmetry, the connection between the pieces…
Cheryle: Awwwww, it’s comforting to hear that! It means so much when anyone shares what’s inside of them. We get to have powerful experiences sharing our art. People[‘s reactions] bring Dawn and me to tears. There’s magic in those exchanges. I appreciate that so much, the human exchange that art facilitates.
But at the same time, the last few months have been teaching us to be careful with our vulnerability. We’re learning boundaries; there’s something missing when interactions feel like taking or grabbing.
Kelly: You’re so committed to not reducing art to a commodity, but instead honouring it for the gift that it is. I’m struck by the reciprocity that happens.
Cheryle: We see [that] the art keeps giving. People point out things I didn’t know were there, [and] people decide they want to be creative too. This little business helps me take care of my family in new ways. I’m so excited to tell everyone who’s interested: you can do this too!
Kelly: How does friendship nurture artmaking?
Cheryle: We buy things for each other, we tell each other about deals, we buy ginormous bottles of paint and mostly share it!
Dawn: Artmaking means we have a secret language. I value Cheryle’s advice over anyone else’s most of the time, but especially about art.
Cheryle: Like the mole…
Dawn: Yeah, I took her advice about adding a little cute mole to a painting…
Kelly: What’s surprising about each other these days?
Dawn: Markets! This woman is so self-sufficient. It’s all happening before I even know what we need! Cheryle got us our tent, our debit machines, [our] tables. She makes my price lists! She takes such good care of me like that. She has always been generous and thoughtful. I’m like a rag doll following along; I need her self-sufficiency and her strength. Then when we’re done, she packs us all up, with her son in tow most of the time, mind you! I’m just in awe of her.
That process drains me sometimes. Grief has changed me since I lost my son last year. I might become different in the future, who knows.
Cheryle: Dawn’s art is what surprises me so much. I’m mesmerized, in awe of how beautiful her art has become. I know I’ve been a part of the journey she’s on and the journey her art is on, but seeing how her art has grown to include so much light, so much meaning, it goes in so many directions. It’s full of spirit, teaching, giving. Dawn includes Ojibwe words too; she reclaims language in a beautiful way. People just relate to her art. And I’ve seen her heal.
Cheryle (to Dawn): Do you think art has helped you with your grief?
Dawn: It absolutely has. My art is telling the story of my grief, my life.
Stories from my childhood, experiences I had when I was a young kid show up in the art. Some of these paintings are so deeply personal, they hold teachings that have been passed down from my ancestors, stories that my mom and I share but never talked about. Art is helping us have conversations we never had before.
Kelly: Neither of you would be telling these stories without the other.
Dawn: We’re so close, but we’re really very different too. I have a special table and chair for painting. I need things a certain way. Her… she could sit wide-legged on the floor with a canvas between her legs—she’ll just hunch over and go. It’s idea to action in 24 seconds! I can’t get over it… (gives a hilarious demonstration of Cheryle painting on the floor while hardly being able to speak from laughing). Me, I overthink. She encourages me to be free-spirited in my work, to just do it. My art needs that to keep growing and evolving.
Cheryle: She measures everything! Me, I eyeball and guess.
Dawn: When I get stuck in perfectionism, I need Cheryle to get me out of it.
Cheryle: She makes me even things out, get more matchy.
Kelly: You balance each other.
Cheryle: I would make lopsided art without Dawn!
Dawn: Without Cheryle, I wouldn’t play with colour the way I do, nor would I play with contrast or taking up more space on the canvas. She makes my work have more depth, and she “busy’s up” my canvas. She reminds me: Just do it. Just take up space.
Kelly: Are there any final things you’d like to share?
Cheryle: We have so much appreciation for what we’re doing and how much it gives to our lives, our families. We see healing all around us. I’m so grateful.
Dawn: Yeah, it’s that. It’s been incredible to see what this has meant to our lives and even our parents. Where would we be without this art journey we’re on? I don’t even want to think about it!
*We acknowledge Dawn Chaput, the art therapist who lovingly cares for the sweet space that facilitated this interview.
Cheryle Dreaver is a First Nations artist from Mistawasis, SK., based in Winnipeg, MB. She has been creating beautiful and authentic Indigenous art since 2015. Her work is inspired by her culture and heritage, and she strives to incorporate her dreams, visions, and experiences into the pieces. She is passionate about sharing her art with others and enjoys it when others share their interpretations and stories with her. Art is healing and a universal language that brings people together. (Instagram: @Cheryle_dreaver_arts). Cheryle will be at the Esquimalt Farmers Market on July 31 in Victoria, BC, as well as several venues in the Winnipeg area over the summer.
Dawn Marie Chartrand is a visual artist based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and is from Rolling River First Nation. A married mom and koko, Dawn began painting in 2017 and was inspired to express her visions, dreams, and experiences through art. Dawn is a singer/songwriter, musical entertainer, and a certified Yoga and Laughing Yoga Instructor. She provides “Yoga and Wellness,” “Laughing Yoga,” and “Painting and Wellness” classes to all ages through her business, “OM-Digenous Yoga & Wellness.” Dawn can be reached via email at dawnchartrandyoga@gmail.com. Om-Digenous Yoga & Wellness is on Facebook.
Kelly Bernardin-Dvorak (she/elle) resides on Treaty 1 in Manitoba. Her home community is St. Eustache, a French/Métis/Catholic village that shaped her early life and everything since. She works as a counsellor in the little office in inner-city Winnipeg where Cheryle and Dawn’s pieces hang side by side. She’s also a yoga teacher and poet who loves being in a community with people who work towards a more loving world for us all. Since this interview is about friendships that carry us along, Kelly dedicates this writing effort to two dear friends: Julie, who always finds fun ways to escort Kelly back to safety when she feels like a deer on a dark highway with headlights whizzing by; and to Trena, who told Kelly she was a writer when they were both 16 years old.