What do you get when you have a biology major who is also a Métis artist with a passion for alternative spiritual practices? A shop in the Peter Streets Art District that is wall-to-wall with paintings, that is filled with crystals, candles, soaps, handmade jewellery and a medley of items by local artists.
Sylvia Tesori, owner of Three Crows Speak Studio on Peter Street in downtown Orillia, personifies the harmony of bringing different worlds together. Her educational background in science is far from a contradiction to her artwork and the nature of her shop, she explains.
These aspects of her life overlap and despite any challenges they present, she says she strives to live in balance.
“I keep them somewhat separate,” Tesori says of her scientific and spiritual natures. “I have a left brain topic to teach, so I compartmentalize quite a bit ... (and) tend to really like the changing dynamic of my work life where I get to be the scientist the first half of the week and the artist and the crystal shop owner the last part of the week.
"I have a great time doing both of them," she says.
Though she has always had an interest in meditation, tarot and holistic wellness practices, Three Crows Speak Studio started as an art studio and grew from there. Now, you can find everything from full canvas artworks to incense and tarot cards.
Tesori teaches math, biology and chemistry during the early part of the week and then opens her shop Thursday through Saturday.
Art has always been a big part of her life, but there was a 20-year gap of not making any.
“In high school I made a lot of art but let it go when I was in university for science,” she says.
While working as an educational assistant, Tesori was inspired by an art teacher and friend.
“She taught me how to look at art in a different way and gave me the freedom to paint whatever I wanted and to move away from realism," Tesori explained.
Creating art again was the early stage toward opening Three Crows Speak Studio.
“In the beginning I would only use palette knives because I wanted to create my own style, I didn’t want to fall back into landscape or florals, picking away with the little brush. I wanted to be more expressive with the paintings,” Tesori says of her art journey.
Accumulating completed artworks indicated a need for space, so she rented from other galleries for some time. But she wanted more.
“I thought it would feel really good to have a little shop that was all just me.” So, in 2017 the studio on Peter Street was born, “and, of course, I don’t just paint, I make all kinds of things …I love to play with all different mediums,” she says with a chuckle: “it’s not hoarding if it’s art supplies.”
In particular, her handmade soaps depict the dual nature of her work.
“It’s science and art together and if you do it wrong you can hurt people, so you better know what you’re doing and better understand math or you can make something that can be quite harmful,” Tesori remarks about the soaps, balms and scrubs she makes.
Art tells a story and for every object in the shop, Tesori has a story connected to it. One might get to hear some of these stories if they wander in and acquire an invite to "the friend chair."
The little wooden chair with a red felt cushion decorated by a floral design is positioned near the desk at the front of the shop. It is so named for the many people who come to visit and share their stories.
Tesori also works with a number of local artists who create jewellery such as silver rings with gemstones set in them, or ornaments for shelves, altars and walls. She also provides a space for services like tarot readings, connecting people with each other, art and spirituality.
“I bring in different kinds of mediums,” Tesori says, describing the various spiritual methods of providing readings. A psychic medium and reiki master has often done Tarot readings from Three Crows Speak Studio, returning almost monthly.
At the front of the shop stands a tall red figure, much like the one dressed in black standing outside; wire is wrapped and shaped to form a crow’s head with shiny eyes and all. If you walk around Three Crows Speak Studio it’s hard not to notice the images and shadows of birds in much of the work.
“I love birds,” says Tesori. “Crows are kind of the icon of the shop. I was seeing three crows everywhere for about a month. So that’s where the name of the shop came from, these messenger crows.… With my wildlife biology degree I’m just really connected to animals and also to the natural world in general.”
Tesori finds herself teaching many customers how to meditate or perform smudging.
“We talk about crystals a lot,” she says while describing a spectrum of beliefs and viewpoints.
“The crystals aren’t magic. I believe that we are the magic. For example, someone that is constantly trapped in negative thinking, you could give them a stone that’s associated with positivity and banishing negativity, but what you’re really doing is helping them to harness the power of their own thoughts,” she explains.
While talking to a reporter, a gentleman came in seeking “something to help ground me." Tesori quickly had options available to offer him.
Tesori applies her creativity to her teaching methods in the classroom as well.
“I bring a lot of art into my teaching,” she explained, noting she gives assignments for students that often stray from traditional essay writing, like sculpting a cell or writing a fictional diary to demonstrate learned material.
“But I’m not so artsy that I’m speaking a different language to the science people and I’m not so sciency that the artsy people can’t understand me. I fall into some weird grey zone walking a line between the two. I can fit very well, like a chameleon, in either world,” says Tesori.
This summer, Tesori will embark on a project as both biologist and artist. She and a friend, also a professor and biologist, will seek and study a species of coastal vegetation called vetch.
“This one in particular is called the beach pea,” she says, describing with fascination its significance to the salty ecosystem and the symbiotic relationship between it and species of bacteria that live in the root nodules.
Working directly in the field of science and creating art while owning a metaphysical shop, Tesori notes how her perspective has evolved alongside her work.
“What’s changed is that I have an open mind about these things, I think. I wait and reserve judgment on things until I see for myself. … I think it’s made me a very balanced person and I can see both sides of the coin as many artists can.”
