| ARTIST BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | Edmonton sculptor Fran Cuyler works in clay, stone, ice, snow, concrete, fiberglass, sand, and papier-mâché. Born in Elnora, Alberta, Cuyler studied painting at the Banff School of Fine Arts (1953), and painting, life drawing, print making, and mixed media at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Extension (1959 – 1968). She also earned her B.Ed. and M.Ed. in Art Education from the University of Alberta, returned to the Banff School of Fine Arts (1974) for further studies, and then studied sculpture at Grant MacEwan College (1974 – 1977).
Cuyler’s subjects include the face and the torso, the Madonna, monumental works of abstraction, and wildlife such as birds. Years of sculpting birds stoked Cuyler’s passion for birdwatching, which furthered the sensitivity and drama of her renderings of ravens, animals she describes as possessing great intelligence. She’s also fascinated by the role of the raven as a trickster and creation deity in certain Indigenous Canadian cosmologies.
Cuyler has competed in local, national, and international ice and snow sculpting events, including in Edmonton, Lake Louise, Winnipeg, Montreal, Quebec City, Alaska, Japan, and China. She’s staged public exhibitions in the University of Alberta Hospital’s McMullen Gallery, Edmonton’s Harcourt House Gallery, and Edmonton City Hall, among other locations.
She continues teaching art to children and adults.
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