OGDENSBURG – An Ogdensburg artist with a passion for this area has created a multimedia project that highlights the beauty and desperation within the North Country.

Jacob St. Pierre, 22, started the project as part of his senior year experience at St. Lawrence University. The music he generated for the multimedia project is now available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon. And his project website has received thousands of views.

St. Pierre graduated from SLU in the spring with a degree in English and creative writing and continues work on music and art projects while juggling a day job.

The website he created is www.Saintlymusic.com and was published April 30. It features a variety of poetry, music and short prose that tells a somewhat autobiographical, sometimes fictitious tale of the “Killdeer the Kid” and focuses on his experience growing up in the North Country.

“Basically I feel like I have done a lot of reflection on the North Country. As a young kid growing up around drug and alcohol abuse, with a state hospital around the corner I feel like there is a lot of depression and anger built up around the community,” he said.

St. Pierre channeled those feelings and juxtaposes them with things that make the area great.

“People love the area, but I think a lot of times it feels like we have been abandoned by our government,” he said. “I wanted to bring awareness to the problems and show people a part of the world nobody outside the area really knows about yet. We are kind of secluded. I wanted to bring light to the culture and beauty that is available here.”

St. Pierre’s work is dark at times, but also uplifting. Nostalgic photos of farms, bridges and old snowmobiles give his page a North Country feel when one scrolls through the page. It also features videos of places that may be familiar to those who grew up or now live in the area.

His music spans a wide range seated in a mix of indie rock, but also touches on some classical styling featuring lesser-used instruments in the genre such as a flute.

His work reflects the rustic feel of the area while also capturing the poverty and lack of options presented to youth. He speaks of country ghettos, substance abuse, poor resources for the mentally ill, and speaks to the strength one builds while growing up in an area that seems to be forgotten by the rest of the state.

While St. Pierre collaborated with other musicians and producers in the area on some of his songs, he says all of the lyrics were written by him.

“I try to capture the struggles of living in the North Country,” he said.

St. Pierre’s project can be found at http://www.saintlymusic.com/swmo/