Métis artist Michel Labine turns snowshoes and drums into stained glass

Michel Labine of Fort Smith, N.W.T., has turned making Northern-inspired stained glass from a hobby into a full-time passion.

Labine, a Métis from Northern Ontario, has called the Northwest Territories home since 1980.

Through his 27 years of work as a renewable resources officer he's lived and travelled throughout the N.W.T. and Nunavut. He draws inspiration for his artwork from those experiences.

"Most of the work I do is related to northern themes," he said.

"A lot of my work is based on the places, the people I've met, the people, the places I've been, where I've worked, what I've seen."

He started making stained-glass artwork in 1993 after watching a program on television. He said he wanted to learn the art to have something to do after his retirement.

His workshop is nestled down in his basement with Tupperware bins full of glass. A shelf is dedicated to storing sheets of multicoloured stained glass. Traditional drum and snowshoe frames hang from the wall.

Labine said a project can take two full days or more depending on the design. First, he draws the patterns out on paper and cuts them out. The patterns are glued to the glass and then the glass is cut. Then he wraps the glass in copper foil, and then solders the pieces together.

Labine said the inspiration for one of his more popular pieces came unexpectedly.

"I worked as a [renewable] resource officer….and I broke a snowshoe," he said.

"I took it home to re-lace it and when I had the lacing off, I was working on a project on the table, and I laid this snowshoe on top of the table and went about my business.

"And then I came back and looked at this snowshoe laying on top of the glass piece. It was an inukshuk. And I said 'this is a marriage made in heaven.' It just happened to be there by accident but I said 'I'm not going to put the lacing back into that snowshoe. I'm going to find a way to mount stained glass into that snowshoe.'"

Labine's stained glass snowshoes and other artworks are now gaining popularity. He's been taking orders from as far away as New Zealand, Hawaii, and most recently for a wedding in New York. He also teaches workshops in stained glass art.

He gave Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a piece of his artwork about six years ago when he was invited to speak at a water conference in Fort Smith.

"He came to a workshop here on water years ago, and I have a photo of him and I where I gave him a nice drum of Virginia Falls on Nahanni River, because him and his dad used to go on the falls when I was living in Fort Liard," he said.

"There's a lot of stories of him going there and enjoying that place."

Labine said despite not having a website he still can't keep up with the demand. His sales are solely through word of mouth.

Labine said orders this Christmas season are keeping him busy but he doesn't mind.

"I've [got] orders all the time. And it's become a passion."