There is a newer form of art that has gained a lot of popularity lately and is becoming a favourite pastime for some art enthusiasts in the Valley.  Diamond art, also known as crystal art, is the process of creating a picture using tiny resin rhinestones that resemble diamonds, on a pre-printed design or photo, resulting in a mosaic-looking piece of art.
Valley resident Ron Legall has become a diamond art enthusiast and enjoys this new hobby that allows him to create some stunning works of art.  When Legall first tried diamond art, he didn’t have the patience, but after recovering from an injury, he tried it again and fell in love with it.
“I started a while back, but I wasn’t interested in it then,” said Legall.  “I was trying to do them too fast.  Then I broke my arm last year on Valentine’s Day, and my sister bought me a bunch of different ones to do to keep me busy while I was healing.  It was then that I learned to take my time and how to do diamond art the right way.  I had to slow down and take my time with them; you just can’t rush yourself to finish them.”
Legall was fortunate to have a local business help foster his interest in diamond art by helping him choose pieces to work on.  He has completed a few pieces that include some gnomes and wolves.
“The Swan River Dollar and Gift Store is getting more diamond art pieces in June,” said Legall.  “There are some other wolf ones and a few other ones I’m kind of interested in.  I get all my diamond art projects there and they are very helpful when it comes to assisting me in picking out some.  They will order them in for me and have offered to let me look at their ordering books for diamond art and I could pick whatever ones I wanted them to order in for me.
“The lady at the Swan River Dollar and Gift Store has been a big help.  When I finished the one of the wolf, she said it was very beautifully done and that the lion one would be too when it’s finished, since both of those pieces have a lot of detail to them.
“I have plans to do a few more,” said Legall.  “I just bought a turtle, owl, and a lion one.  I’m saving the lion one for in the winter because there is a lot more work to that one and it will take me quite a bit of time to get it done.”
When it comes to deciding which diamond art piece is his favourite that he completed, Legall is undecided.  He likes the more challenging pieces, especially the ones that are up close of animals, for there is a lot more detail to those diamond art projects.
“There was another wolf diamond art that I did that is different from the one on display at the library and I sold it,” said Legall.  “I think my favourite one will be the lion when I am done with it.  I’m really looking forward to working on it and seeing what it looks like when it’s finished.  I also like the wolf one that is on display at the library right now.
“Now when I’m looking for a diamond art project, I like to pick the harder ones that have more detail to them.  Most of the difficult ones are of animals.”
Although diamond art can be intricate and detailed, Legall still finds it a very relaxing and good way to pass the time.  He can’t stress enough that to have a diamond art project turn out, a person has to take their time and concentrate on what they are doing.
“I find it very relaxing to do diamond art and it helps me unwind,” said Legall.  “It also helps to pass the time.
“It takes me about a month to do one of the detailed ones, like the wolf.  I had to take my time with it so it would turn out.  For some people, it may only take them a week to do it, but I still work my job and work on these in the evening or on weekends during my spare time.  I try to work on them for an hour or two each night.
“When people ask me about doing diamond art, I tell them don’t rush yourself,” said Legall.  “I also suggest that they start by doing small ones first, before trying the bigger ones.  Those diamond pieces are so small, so you have to slow down and take your time with it.”
Legall has his diamond art projects on display at the North-West Regional Library.  He feels a sense of pride and accomplishment from his efforts with diamond art and hopes to inspire more people to try it.
“This is the first time I have had my diamond art projects on display at the library,” said Legall.  “One of my bosses at the Swan Valley Co-op talked to me about doing this, so I went to the library and talked to them.  They agreed to put my diamond art up on display.  It will be there for about a month.
“I have heard lots of compliments so far about my diamond art, even on Facebook.  The wolf seems to be the one everyone likes the most. 
“I think there are lots of people in the Valley doing diamond art already, but maybe my story will encourage more people to try it out,” said Legall.  “The staff at the Swan River Dollar and Gift Store have told me that lots of people go there to buy diamond art kits, so there must be a fair bit of interest in them.”

The Swan Valley has been known for turning out some of the best and most recognized physicians in Manitoba. At the start of the year, former Valley physician Dr. Adrian Fung started as Prairie Mountain Health’s (PMH) new Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Fung was drawn into medicine due to his love of helping people.
“I was attracted to medicine, and becoming a physician specifically because I wanted to help make a difference to those who I felt needed it most,” said PMH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Fung. “I spent time volunteering at the children’s hospital in Edmonton during my university training and loved being able to be there to help the patients as much as possible, even in my limited capacity at the time of being a volunteer.
“As you can probably guess from my volunteering experience, I initially went into medicine intending to become a pediatrician. After spending time in each specialty while at school I discovered that I actually liked all of them, and so ended up choosing to do as many specialties as I could at once; I decided to become a rural general practitioner.
“I went to university at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and then to medical school at University College Cork in Cork, Ireland,” said Dr. Fung.
Working in a rural setting was instrumental in the experience, training and knowledge that Dr. Fung had acquired at the start of his career. Not only did he become trained in different aspects of healthcare, but it also set him up for leadership as well.
“I think that there is a lot to be said for gaining experience as a rural physician,” said Dr. Fung. “Practicing in a rural area requires a physician to use all of their knowledge, and to rely heavily on clinical skills and acumen, rather than on having every investigation and specialty available nearby. When I started my practice in Swan River, I wished to fulfill my original goal as a rural physician who could do a bit of every specialty as part of my practice.
“What I gained beyond this was an opportunity to be a physician leader and an appreciation for the incredible amount of community collaboration towards improved healthcare that occurs in rural communities. I was able to see what advocating as a group of physicians can accomplish with the help of strong community support to improve healthcare delivery.
“Overall, living and working in Swan River helped me become a well-rounded physician, gave me experience in physician leadership, and built-in me an understanding and appreciation for how much positive change we can make when we work collaboratively together as physicians, health care workers, communities, and as a region,” said Dr. Fung.
Dr. Fung accredits his time in the Valley to fostering his leadership skills. Once he had left the area, it opened the doors to big roles in leadership within the RHA.
“I gained my first experience in physician leadership in Swan River,” said Dr. Fung. “I was in that role for about six years total, and while in that role I gained a better understanding of how community needs are addressed, what we can do as physicians to help advocate for our communities, and how we as a community fit into the larger picture of our entire health region.
“After I moved to Brandon, an opportunity arose to take on a larger leadership role as the Interim Associate Chief Medical Officer for PMH. I thought I may be able to use the skills and experience I gained from Swan River to help advocate for my rural physician colleagues and the rural communities within PMH. In this position, I found the needs of our region to be complex and generally desperate. I had a lot to learn about every community in a short time, but I enjoyed learning.
“During this short period, I thought that the Chief Medical Officer position would benefit from a rural physician’s experience and perspective, and it seemed that PMH agreed,” said Dr. Fung.“I officially became the Chief Medical Officer for PMH on January 1, 2024. I’m new to the role, and most looking forward to creating discussion and dialogue to create positive change within not just PMH but Manitoba as a whole.”
Dr. Fung finds that being the Chief Medical Officer is just a heightened aspect of being a physician. He now finds himself thinking about staffing and the care of patients on a much broader level, rather than one patient at a time.
“The responsibilities largely differ in scope rather than in principle,” said Dr. Fung. “The Chief Medical Officer is required to be a physician, and as such always views decisions from the lens of improving patient care, and advocating for your patients. The added largest complexity is that the scale is at the size of an entire health region rather than that of an individual practice, and representing these interests at provincial level discussions.
“To further add to this complexity, the needs of the patient need to be well balanced with the needs of the physicians, and how this fits with the rest of the provincial picture, especially in this time of staffing shortages. There is a very high risk of physician burnout at this time, and hospital visits are increasing as the ability to access primary care has decreased. This is certainly a challenging time for everyone, and I commend our physicians and our communities for all that they have done and continue to do.”