Giselle
“Being a woman does not mean we are the weaker sex. I am more than capable. It means that I can dream big dreams and see them happen.”
As an artist, writer, singer, and pianist, Giselle’s life is consumed by creativity. She grew up surrounded by art, so it is what she knows. It is also something she has come to pursue professionally, as performance painter for the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton, Alberta, and the Raffles Hotel in Dubai. Giselle credits her success to the adults in her life who never stopped believing in her. She learned from these people to have confidence in her skills and to believe that she is capable of anything. Now she is someone who says “yes” to every opportunity for challenge or adventure. When she’s not behind a canvas, you can find her on her snowboard or mountain bike, playing in her band, or on her daily walk with her son. Meet Giselle. This is her story.
P: Please introduce yourself!
G: My name is Giselle Denis. I am an artist. I am also a performance painter, and have been live painting for the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald since 2014 and for Raffles Hotel in Dubai since 2017.
P: Describe or define yourself in your own words.
G: I have always been a creative. My entire life has been heavy on the arts. I grew up in the artists home. Surrounded by artwork every day. I feel like it is woven into the fibres of my being. It’s not only what I do but it’s who I am. Music and art were always the things that I wanted to do.
I love being outside. I love nature. I love animals.
I’ve been married for 19 years and we have a 12-year-old son named Quinn. We have two cats a black one called Hopper, and a Siamese one called Eleven. Yes they are named after the ‘Stranger Things’ TV series. We live on a 3 acre forest property with a picturesque pond 25 minutes south of downtown Edmonton. We bought the acreage as a place of escape and tranquillity and inspiration for my paintings. I grew up near Elk Island Park on a 7 acre property, so acreage living is pretty much all I know.
I’m also musician. In college I studied music and did a lot of songwriting, singing and piano. For many years though it was all about artwork. After college my art started selling more and more and I found joy in selling something that I made with my own hands.
When my dad was diagnosed three years ago with throat cancer, I started writing songs again. And it has created a flood gate of songwriting for me for the past few years. We joined a band with friends from college & have been playing together & jamming on the weekends. I dream of performing on stages hopefully soon!
I’ve recently learned how to make bread, I swim & go for walks everyday. I enjoy travelling, hot yoga, snowboarding & bike riding with my family. We go on some pretty crazy trail rides and we’ve been all over Alberta & BC with our mountain bikes.
P: What’s your favourite thing about yourself?
G: I am a good mom. I feel like I’ve done a really good job with my son Quinn so far. We spend a lot of time together. He is 12 now and we still go for walks together almost everyday. I love that he wants to spend time with me.
Also I like that I am a hard worker. I see the value in putting time in to work hard and something to be good at it.
P: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that’s defined you or made you stronger?
G: When I was growing up I was part of a gospel choir at my church. I joined when I was 12. I was part of a choir from the age of 12 to 21. The Choir directors' name was Agnes Brown. She was a leader and she taught all of us to be leaders. She showed us confidence and we learned to sing with passion. She showed us how to let our voices be heard. She said nothing had to be perfect. You just have to work hard at something and the rest will fall in place. She taught us about faith. She taught us about love & confidence.
At one point she had asked me to be one of the piano players for the choir. There were a few of us that played the songs and I was surprised that she asked me. I have never played in front of a group before. And I was not classically trained, but I could play piano by ear. The first time I ever played in front of anyone was at the 45 person choir practice. I felt really good that day - to play my instrument and let it be heard. I wasn’t perfect & I made a lot of mistakes but she believed in me.
When people close to you believe in you it’s a powerful thing. I played piano for that choir for three years. We travelled all over Canada and the US. We played for really small churches & large theatres. It was amazing. Being part of that choir helped shape who I am today. Being on a stage in front of people letting my voice and piano playing be heard. I gained confidence in myself in being a part of that choir.
I remember having moments of panic attacks and fear creep in & hearing voices in my head that I wasn't good enough to be doing any of this, and I remember Agnes Brown grabbing me shoulders, looking me square in the eye and saying, "Giselle! You were made for this!"
I also remember my grade 9 year being one of the best years of school for me. My french teacher, and volleyball and basketball coaches told me I was a leader. My teammates and coaches voted me captain of the team all the time and I never felt like I should be because I wasn't the best player, but they saw something in me that took awhile to believe was there. At parent/teacher interview time that year, I remember all of my teachers and coaches wanted to meet with my parents. I was nervous because I thought I was in trouble for something haha! When they came out for the meeting, they were all smiling and my folks were beaming with pride. They didn't really tell me what they talked about in there, but I knew it was good!
P: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
G: Believe in yourself! I remember being encouraged a lot by authority figures in my life over the years. Especially when I was younger I do remember them saying to me that I need to believe in myself. They saw something in me that needed to blossom. I didn’t see it for a really long time. I wished I had believed in myself a long time ago, but I guess these things can take time.
P: What does being a woman mean to you?
G: I’ve always believed that whatever I can do or want to do I will be able to do it. So I guess being a woman means believing in yourself, & being strong & having confidence. Being a woman does not mean we are the weaker sex. I am more than capable. It means that I can dream big dreams and see them happen.
And, truthfully, being a woman means being sexually harassed my entire life. I wished there was a course for young girls to learn how to navigate and deal with this type or any type of harassment. I remember thinking that for a long time. As I got older, I realized it's a problem that doesn't seem to be going away, and having tools early on in life to know how to handle it would have been super helpful.
P: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say if they were here now?
G: To my choir Director Agnes Brown. I think I would tell her 'thank you' one more time. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to stand out in a choir and play the piano. Thank you for helping me find my sound in my voice & piano playing. Thank you for the opportunity of being on a stage in front of people and not being afraid to be seen and heard. I would tell her thank you for showing us what a strong confident woman looks like.