BY CHRISTINE MISKONOODINKWE SMITH
SPOTLIGHT ARTIST
Q&A with 
Molly R. Ratt
Molly R. Ratt is First Nations Cree, a La Ronge area visual 
artist and a member of the La Ronge Arts Council. She has 
been married for 22 years and has three sons. Since 2004, 
Ratt has made a career out of what she loves to do the most, 
painting, and works primarily in acrylic.
She faced obstacles when she started her painting career 
because she didn’t have an official arts background, but she 
didn’t let that deter her, and she forged ahead. Her art often 
depicts what she remembers of her childhood travels with 
her family and her hometown’s surrounding area. 
Ratt also enjoys seeing how her work makes others feel.
Connections: What made 
you decide to become 
an artist?
Molly R. Ratt: Deciding to become 
an artist came from my childhood 
days. I always enjoyed drawing, 
colouring and painting as a child, 
especially when I was at the trap 
line. Being at the trap line was my 
favourite time of the year. It was 
where my whole family spent all our 
time together. When we got back 
into town, it seemed like we were far 
apart, so it was nice to be together. 
The forest near where we lived was 
so beautiful and thick. There were 
berries all over, wild animals ran 
around, and I’d look at them and en-
vision them in my head, then start 
drawing and colouring on paper or 
on tree fungus.
Many members of my family have 
artistic abilities, such as painting, 
sketching, beadwork, woodwork 
and so on, but I decided I wanted 
to paint. In my high school days, 
we had an art class with Sally Cook 
Venne. She had asked us to paint 
murals; my sister and I decided on 
a waterfall. 
We worked for two weeks to com-
plete it and got 100 per cent on it. 
We were so proud. I became even 
more enthusiastic about continuing 
with my art. As I got older, it became 
more of a realization that art was my 
calling. I started with oils in 2001, 
and later I chose acrylic paints as 
my main medium. 
Molly R. Ratt’s painting of 
an icy tree in the winter.
14   
  Issue 1 – Summer 2026

View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.