Sheila Maki

Sheila Maki (née Scott) passed away peacefully at the age of 88 on January 20th, 2021 in Toronto. Sheila was born in Sudbury in 1932 and raised in North Bay. She attended NBCI and then graduated from North Bay Normal School. She taught in Northwestern Ontario for several years and moved to Toronto in 1969 with her family. Art was her passion and learning about it became her vocation.

She is predeceased by her parents, Charles M. and Isabella J. Scott of North Bay, her brothers Charles M. Robert D. and Doug Scott.

She leaves her beloved family, daughters Sandra Foster (David) of Toronto, Cathie Logan (Scott) of Mississauga, and her son, Dr. Ron Maki (Fatim Jetha) of Vancouver. She has eight grandchildren: Eric Foster (Andrea) Lauren Foster (Peter) Lyndsey McNally (Brandon) Kevin Foster (Danielle) Sarah Logan (François) Joanna Logan (Michael) Nadia Maki and Ali-Zamaan Maki. She also has adorable great grandchildren—Emily, Lucas, Aiden, Xavier and Isla.

Her family meant a great deal to her. She respected their separate lives and supported their wishes with the same honesty and drive that she strived for in herself.

As her brood grew, Sheila was learning printmaking and began to exhibit in many areas of this country and beyond. Her work was well received and recognized as being unique in concept.

She became a member of The Society of Etchers and Engravers, The Society of Canadian Artists, The Ontario Society of Artists and the Print Council of Canada before resigning in 1984 to make more time to work in her studio in Markham, Ontario. She remained a member of the Heliconian Club, an interchange with others in various arts.

As her work evolved she enjoyed the challenge of creating original prints through varied processes such as etching and silk-screening, and was able to exhibit them in England, Holland, German, Spain, France, South America, Japan, Hong Kong, the USA, and of course Canada. Her work is now in hundreds of collections, both private and public. She did not show many of her paintings until much later in life, but paintings held her strongest passion.

There were many juried shows and over 60 solo exhibits, mostly in Canada, USA and Hong Kong. Everything artistic was learning, a problem to be solved.

She took an artistic curve by exhibiting in public galleries so that she could reach a younger audience and subtly give others the technical skills and confidence to develop their own work in an atmosphere of personal freedom.

Sheila was true to herself, honest to the end, and went her own way in her artwork, no matter what the current trends.

Sheila had a passion, a dream, and the drive to work with her skills. She also loved the people she met along the way. She sought out opportunities to help new Canadians and tried to make their life changes easier. She relished the mixture of her new and old friends along with the various cultures that she found in the larger city of Toronto and beyond.

Should you wish to do so, it is suggested that a donation be made to your favorite charity, The Heart and Stroke Foundation, or The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada to honour the memory of Sheila’s life.

No memorial service is currently scheduled.