A Swift Current artist is putting her heart on the walls of the Art Gallery of Swift Current's West Wing gallery this weekend.

Jade Wolfe's Where the Heart Is exhibition is a collection of acrylic paintings that show a deep dive into her personal journey of navigating the loss of her parents, at which time she leaned on her medium of art for support.

"As a part of that journey through grief, I was spending a lot of time out in native grassland areas in the southwest and it was incredibly healing for me to connect with nature," she said. "That was part of my inspiration, but when I found out that the grassland ecosystem is one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world and least protected, it kind of added another layer of grief for me."

With layers of finding solace through the natural world while traversing loss, each individual piece also stands as a call for awareness on the vital and endangered environment of the prairies.

The vulnerable, raw series of works, the majority of which she has been working on for the past six months, are part of her final capstone project as she graduates from the Kutenai Art Therapy Institute.

A public event will be held with her art donning the walls of the West Wing Gallery in Kinetic Park on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and Wolfe will be present to engage with the community about the inspirations and stories behind the collection.

"I'm dedicating this art show to the grasslands as a way to celebrate them and their beauty and also to spread some awareness around the benefits of art making as well; being an art therapist, that's really important to me," she said. "It's easy to get caught up in life when it gets busy, and I think it's really important that we take time either to spend time in nature and slow down, or to connect with our creative side." 

Where the Heart Is - Capstone Exhibition is a celebration of the healing potential of creativity and the natural world.