Artist Nathalie Coutou celebrates 15-year Khewa anniversary

Sitting on the porch of her Khewa Native Art Boutique at 737 Riverside in Wakefield, Nathalie Coutou waves back to the many villagers walking by, exchanging a good morning, a comment, a smile, blowing a kiss in friendly village greeting on this crisp, sunny September morn.

September is special for Nathalie Coutou as she remembers the first day, 15 years ago – September 9th to be exact – when she opened her boutique, then a single mom with two kids, and struggling financially.

“I was so wound up – call it stage fright – I couldn’t bear being in my own boutique on the first day! So I had my very good friend Hélène Marquis cover for me. All I had to offer were eight paintings of my own and about $3,000 worth of goods, all on consignment from local native artists.”

Today, Khewa (which means north wind) is a well-stocked jewel of a Native Art Boutique. On entering, it exudes a serenity, a goodness and warmth that seems to say, “Welcome, you’re home.”

Eye-catching delights are everywhere, be they moccasins, mukluks, leather tops, fur hats, oven mitts, art cards, blankets or mini-turtle keepsakes. High-hand artwork abounds (including the largest collection of Navaho and Zuni jewelry in the National Capital Region) along with turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, opal and coral in attractive glass cases.

Everywhere you look, there is colour and style. In an adjoining room, you find a mini-gallery of the art works of Nathalie Coutou. They vary from cards, prints in mats, to large dramatic works, all in an Aboriginal style, yet distinctive. And there also sits the artist’s father’s old rocking chair, a silent, timeless, strong witness speaking of tradition and family respect.

Words alone are not enough to describe the full impact of this remarkable native art boutique because it is really the feeling of the place that works its charm on you. 

It’s like Nathalie Coutou herself who, when she speaks, weaves, in her spontaneity, warmth and imagination, a web that captures you. She is that rare breed of spellbinding storyteller, limitless in her stories, her expressive features and gestures ever shaping and framing her words.

Her native ancestry stems from her mother Ginette Boucher and her father, Claude Coutou, who hailed from France, which explains how Nathalie grew up in a mixed heritage family. Her larger than life father, a troubadour, artist and storyteller was an inspiration for her art, but also bred husky dogs, having up to 2,500 of them – the largest such kennel in North America, whose dream was to introduce dog sledding to the French Alps.

From her artistic, adventurer father, and mother who dressed in traditional regalia to the delight and curiosity of onlookers, Nathalie evolved.

 

Showing a natural ability in art and graphic design and a storyteller’s ease of expression, she discovered she was, as she puts it, “good at presenting”. That saw expression in her creation of “The Harvest Festival”, a celebration of the harvest culture from the perspective of Aboriginal ways.

Running from 2002 to 2010, it featured a panorama of offerings from Elder talks and teachings, rites of passage, sweat lodges, sunrise ceremonies, and native food fare like bannock-on-a-stick.

Giving to the community and receiving back is natural to her as she acknowledges with a sense of genuine wonderment “this vital energy of the river that we feel converging with our lives here in Wakefield.”

Even as she continues to run her Native Art Boutique with the thankful support “of my team, Isabelle Maranda, Diane Doyon and Nancy Duquette”, who, like her, are all moms, she continues to be the consummate artist.

Working in mixed medium, such as acrylic, watercolour, illustration and leather work, she spontaneously creates a steady body of work, inspired by “the moment” – as life presents art opportunities she quickly seizes.

Her art work is exhibited at Soutana Gallery in Mont Tremblant and La Fabrique in Chelsea, as well as at Khewa. Working with a network of other native artists, she is available to create commissioned  art work and imaginative corporate gifts for special occasions.

More than anything, Nathalie Coutou feels deep gratitude for the success of Khewa, the support of the community, native art lovers, the many friends old and new, and yet to come, inviting all to come visit and celebrate her 15th anniversary.

She promises you a surprise!
(View her art online at: nathaliecoutou.com)