Samantha R. Duchemin
ARTIST – COMPOSER – PERFORMER

The many-facetted artist Samantha Rachelle Duchemin was born in Montreal. She was still a child when her parents noticed her strongly artistic inclinations. Yet she had to wait till the age of fourteen before enjoying her first drawing board. Sam fished her inspiration from all sorts of objects surrounding her. During her teens the weird characters appearing in Mad Magazine struck her imagination that knew no bounds as she poured over them. Also Salvador Dali’s surrealism and the impossible three-dimensional structures appearing in Maurits Cornelis Escher’s drawings fascinated and intrigued her young mind. During those formative teenage years she enlisted in courses in architecture, and in industrial design and publicity. She completed her training with the Montreal Jazz Festival, for whom she created its now world-famous logo.

Samantha then launched on a ten-year travelling spree. With her guitar and a good
provision of drawing pads in her packsack she headed off first through parts of her home province, and from there covered other parts of Canada. She then crossed over to the States from where she reached the Bahamas, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. From there she headed for Europe, entering through the French door. She went on to the Indian continent and to bewitching Nepal in the north. She was well aware of the fact that the object of her enquiries and explorations was none other than her very own self.

She exhibited her work in France, in Belgium, in Spain, in Portugal, and even in the Congo. She worked as a stage backdrop illustrator for the Tone Lock, Paul McCartney, and the Doobies Brothers. The internationally known guitarist, Madagascar Slim picked one of Sam’s works to illustrate the cover of his album Uprooted. Sam gets her mental food from Edgar Allan Poe, Honoré de Balzac, Guy de Maupassant, and Franz Kafka, to name but a few.

When she finally returned to Montreal she could not remain an unknown for long. On her 12-string guitar she transposes wild rhythms reaped from diversely collected folk traditions. One must hear her when she handles the djembe! Pink Floyd, The Doors, Led Zeppelin are endless inspirations. Her warm voice transmits tones out of Janis Joplin and Kate Bush. In Montreal so far she has been highly appreciated at the Quai des brumes, the Bobards, and even at the Studio Théâtre Du Maurier at Place des arts.

Several years after she returned to Montreal, unexpected circumstances brought her to Toronto. During her stay she made appearances at the Hugh’s Room and at the Lula Lounge.

The major event of her life in Toronto, however, was her involvement in the well known and highly efficient Learning Through the Arts (LTTA) program put together by the Royal Conservatory of Music. Sam gave it everything she had over a period of four years, teaching elementary and secondary level kids by means of the arts in over twenty different schools across the Greater Toronto area. Not only did she acquire the teaching skills, more importantly she developed a passion for children as well as a passion for the method itself, which she explored and improved.

In 2006 she resolved to let young Quebecers profit from her acquired skills. This brought her back to Montreal for good. Shortly thereafter she was using her talents to teach children in trouble. They form her favourite groups! These children—who to say the least are not known for their enthusiasm for school—are suddenly discovering all that they’ve been missing all this time! They achieve results they had never hoped for. Let alone their parents!

In the end, Sam felt she had to take it further. And so she decided to put together her own teaching enterprise. It goes by the name of ÉTAP « Enseignement à travers les arts appliqués », or Teaching Through the Applied Arts (TTAA). Her ultimate dream—and she is already well on her way there—is to found the Conservatoire ÉTAP (TTAA Conservatory). Her aim is to train artists in using the same methods, artists who would be interested in implanting them in public as well as in private schools. Sam’s many school activities do not keep her from other favourite pastimes, i.e. exhibiting her works, doing live painting in pubs and restaurants, playing and singing for her fans.