I am inspired by the intertidal zone of my shoreline. There I find gifts exposed by the receding water, the tiny creatures, who inhabit this shared littoral landscape, offer up their remains. The detritus abandoned by humanity mingles with the organics. My studio practice is a cross contamination of ideas, materials, and structural explorations that are tied to the sea.

I have been expressing my commitment as an environmentalist through my choice of materials for more than 40 years, and now include minimizing my carbon footprint through a solar powered studio practice. My tin fish, made of recycled metal, have become an invasive species of their own, inhabiting private collections around the world, leaving questions of environmental concerns in their wake.

Most recently, I have been exploring and reinterpreting my roots as a ceramicist. Wax cast from these early ceramic pieces were pierced and patterned after the pentaradial symmetry of the Sea Urchin. Surface areas disappearing, allowing air and light to flow through. Cast in bronze, they became an entry into interior spaces. Shadows now mix through structural elements in my current work with plastic, as the surface is further reduced, leaving little trace of origin.

Alanna Baird lives in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick where she maintains a material based artistic practice, working primarily in metal sculpture. She completed 3 years of Mechanical Engineering (UNB) before studying Ceramics (NB Craft School - 1978). She is also an accomplished printmaker and was invited to participate in an international printmaking portfolio for exhibition at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Centre’s conference Altered Environments (2022). She is the recipient of the Margaret Woodson Nae Fellowship (2022) from the Sheila Hugh McKay Foundation. She has been awarded multiple Creation A Grants from ArtsNB. Alanna won a Canadian National Sculpture Competition (2014). Alanna has had solo Canadian exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions in the United States, Australia and Bermuda. Her Public Art Commissions are in Alberta, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Alanna’s sculptural work has scattered through private collectors around the globe. The first work she created in recycled tin was featured by the American Crafts Council in celebration of 1993, The Year of Craft in North America. Alanna’s iconic tin fish have since become an invasive species speaking their messages of global environmental issues.

October 2024

Alanna Baird

Collections

2023 - collectionArtNB

Exhibitions (selected solo)

2022 - Pentaradial Symmetry, Andrew & Laura McCain Art Gallery, Florenceville, NB

2020 - Pentamerism, Saint John Arts Centre, Saint John NB

2020 - in process - Urchin, George Fry Gallery, NBCCD, Fredericton NB

2014 - Plenty of Fish, University of New Brunswick Arts Centre, Fredericton NB

2010 - Metamorphish 2010, Trinity Gallery, Shenkman Arts Centre, Ottawa ON

2004 - Fresh Fish, Saint John Arts Center, Saint John NB

1992 - Tin Fish - Variations on a Theme, ABEC, Saint John NB

1988 - New Works, Fireworks Gallery, Halifax NS

Exhibitions (selected group)

2024 - Future Oceans: Awaken New Depths, Calgary, AB

2024 - CraftNB, Saint John Arts Centre, Saint John, NB

2024 - INVASIVE, Artsplace, Annapolis Royal, NS

2023 - High Tide / marée haute, a component of the Fifth International Marine Protected Areas Conference, Vancouver, BC

2023 - Beneath, Ice House Gallery, Tatamagouche, NS

2022 - Altered Environments, 11th International Marine Bioinvasions Conference, Annapolis, MD; Pyramid Atlantic, Hyattsville, MD; Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, Boone, NC; Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

2022 - Atlantic Vernacular, CraftNB, NB

2021, 22 - Printer’s Inc - SSANC, ALMAG, SJAC, NB

2018-23 - DASH, Founder, Sunbury Shores Arts, Saint Andrews NB

2019-22 - Moth Migration Project, travelling exhibitions in USA, CA, AU

2016 - Green, Bermuda Arts Centre, Dockyard, Bermuda

2016 - 6X6 Show, Bermuda Arts Centre, Dockyard, Bermuda

2015 - Curiouser & Curiouser, Sunbury Shores Arts & Nature Centre NB

2013/09 - Canadian National Sculpture Competition, Kingsbrae Gardens NB

2012 - Going with the Wind, Beaverbrook Gallery, Fredericton NB

2011-12 - Lost and Found - The Reclaimers, Mary E. Black, HFX NS & BMFA, ON

2009 - Strange & Beautiful, Tay River Gallery, Perth ON

2009 - Masterworks East, OCC juried show, Southeastern ON

2008 - L’Encan Ecologique, Gatineau PQ

2007 - Winter Delights, Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa ON

2006 - Small Works, Cube Gallery, Ottawa ON

2006 - Foundlings, Cube Gallery, Ottawa ON

1996 - Tin Can Alley - the art of recycled cans, Hilton Head SC, USA

1994 - Renewable Resources, Mary Black Gallery, Halifax NS

1993 - Containment, The Space Within, Can Clay & Glass Gallery, Waterloo ON

1993 - Top of the Line, NBCC, Fredericton NB

1992 - Terra, The York Sunbury Historical Society Museum, Fredericton NB

1992 - Artists Celebrate the Season, exhibition of goblets, Queen's Quay, Toronto, ON

1991 - Recent Works in Raku, The Guild Shop, Toronto ON

1992 - The Incredible Animal Show, The Guild Shop, Toronto ON

1992 - Weathervane Competition, The Museum of Civilization, Gatineau PQ

1992 - All Boxed Up - Salt Box, The Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, Toronto ON

Public Commissions

2017 - #DotSpot, Discover SJ, Saint John, NB

2017 - Montague Mackerel, Montague PEI

2015 - Two Tuna, Ardagh Group, Carnagie PA, USA

2013 - Centrebeam Salmon, Commerical Properties, Saint John NB

2012 - Storm Force Fish Whirligig, Beaverbrook Gallery, Fredericton NB

2011 - Sea Raven, Huntsman Marine Science Discovery Centre, Saint Andrews NB

2009 - Osprey Series, Parks Canada, St. Lawrence Islands National Park ON

2008 - Ichthyosaur Sculpture, Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drumheller AB

2008 - Aquarium Paintings, Arts Ottawa East, Shenkman Art Center, Ottawa ON

2007 - Garlands, Centerbeam Place, Saint John NB

Residencies

2022 - SOI Foundation, Ocean Conservation Expedition 2022: Bay of Fundy & Nova Scotia, M/V Polar Prince

2022 - A.I.R. - The Tides Institute, Eastport, ME, USA

2020-21 - Resident Artists, Sunbury Shores Arts & Nature Centre, Saint Andrews NB

2020 - KIRA, Kingsbrae International Residence for the Arts, Saint Andrews NB

2020 - AIR-BAG, The Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, NB

2014 - ceramic shell & lost wax casting, Richard Klyver, Eastport ME, USA

2009 - internship, Parks Canada, casting & mold making, Ottawa ON

Awards & Grants

2024 - Marie Hélène Allain Fellowship, Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation

2024 - ArtsNB Category A Creation Grant, Sticking My Head in the Sea

2022 - Eidlitz Award for Integration of Natural Science and the Arts, Sunbury Shores Arts & Nature Centre

2022 - Margaret Woodson Nae Mentorship, Sheila Hugh McKay Foundation

2022 - ArtsNB Professional Development Grant, Critical Review

2020 - ArtsNB Creation Category A Grant, Sentinels

2019 - ArtsNB Creation Category A Creation Grant, Material Exploration

2017 - Finalist - AREA506 Cargo-Tecture Design Competition - #DotSpot

2015 - ArtsNB Category A Creation Grant, Materials Transformation

2013 - First Prize, Canadian National Sculpture Competition, Kingsbrae Gardens NB

2010 - Exhibition Assistance Grant - Arts Ottawa East

2008 - Most Creative Float, and Best Non-Profit Float awards - Ichthyosaur Sculpture - Royal Tyrrell Museum’s Calgary Stampede Parade Float, Calgary AB

1990 - ArtsNB Grant

Media (online)

2021 - in process - Urchin, online exhibition NBCCD - link inactive

2020 - Created Here magazine - Sustainable Studios - link here

2020 - The East magazine - by Jeremy Thomas Gilmer - link here

2019 - Artslink blog - link inactive

2013 - Canadian National Sculpture Competition - link inactive

Media (print)

2023 - Amy Ash, Visual Arts News, Alanna Baird's Unfamiliar Seas, Vol.45 No.2, Fall 2023, pg 45

2022 - Sara Snow, Dave Snow, Inspired in the Intertidal Zone, edible Maritime, The Artisan Issue, No. 3, pg 20

2022 - Ann Manuel, A Baird, A Lofty Print Studio, Created Here, Issue #18, pg 19

2019 - Alanna Baird, Material Tendencies, Created Here, Form/Metals, Issue #8, pg 31

2014 - Janice Hudson, Currents, Inspiration and Trends, East Coast Living magazine

2013 - Robert Van de Peer-Adventures in Printmaking, untitled aquatint

2012 - Stewart Donovan editor, The Nashwaak Review, vol. 28/29 No. 1 - cover photo 2010 2009 - Ontario Crafts Council “Masterworks East” - show catalogue

2008 - Going Green - Tracks & Traces, Royal Tyrrell Museum - Deep Sea Edition

1994 - Anne Roberts, Containment: The Space Within, Cdn Clay & Glass Gallery, ON

1992 - Margaret Rennolds Chace, The Year of American Craft 1993 Abrams Desk Diary,American Craft Council, New York

1992 - RM Vaughan “Alanna Morgan: Tin Fish - Variations on a Theme” Arts Atlantic

1990 - George Fry, The Landscape of Craft, NBCC, Goose Lane Editions - Shape

Education

1977-78 - diploma in clay, NB Craft School, Fredericton NB

1973-76 - completed 3 years Engineering UNB Fredericton NB