She found her confidence and then she found new skills as an artist. Storm Angeconeb is a proud member of Lac Seul First Nation in Treaty Three territory. She was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and now she lives in Red Lake, Ontario where she works as an Indigenous artist.

When it comes to her motivation to pursue her art, Angeconeb explains, “It was about believing in myself and finding that confidence and courage in myself. I wasn't confident in myself at all. I didn't think this was a path that I could follow, but honestly, it was taking that leap of faith in myself and working and not giving up.”

To prepare herself, Angeconeb went to Brandon University for Indigenous arts. At first, she was at the University of Winnipeg for teaching. When she found out about her program, she was intrigued because she loves giving back to youth through her art and she wanted to inspire others like she was inspired when she was younger.

Angeconeb’s advice for young people considering leaving home for work or school was based on her own experiences doing both. While she found it scary to leave home, she reflects, “it's realizing that the world is so big, it's bigger than your community, and it's what you're bringing back to your community, bringing back to your home, and all your teachings and knowledge that was passed to you while you were away, and applying that to your home. That's the best feeling.”

As far as obstacles go, Angeconeb is still learning and gets overwhelmed sometimes. What she finds helpful is finding work life balance, learning to live more in the moment and to take breaks, recognizing a lot can happen in a day.

Thinking of her younger self and the advice she would have benefited from, she wishes someone had told her, “Just to do it. Just apply. Just go for it.” Looking back, she remembers being afraid to apply for programs, scholarships and awards. She realized anyone could do it and she wishes she could have.

Recently, something she went for was putting in a proposal at a fabric manufacturer. “I did hear back from them, and I realized, ‘I can do this. This is my lifestyle. There is a future in the path of the arts.’” she beams, recounting how they agreed to print her fabric. Now people make ribbon skirts from her fabric and she’s delighted.  

To maintain her mental wellness, Angeconeb has made a change from always saying yes to everything, thinking opportunities would stop coming if she said no. She learned to say no, take breaks, to rest, to work normal nine to five jobs and to spend time with her son who is her priority. “Weekends are for us. It's for family. It's for being together, getting grounded,” she shares.

Finding her confidence and gaining new skills, Storm Angeconeb has created a new life and career as an artist. While she started off wanting to be a teacher, life took her on a different path and she couldn’t be happier. With her own fabric, the wisdom to create both art and work life balance to have time with her family, she’s built a sustainable foundation for her artistic dreams.

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.