I come by my creative spirit quite honestly.  My mom was an amazing artist and encouraged all of us to draw when we were old enough to hold a crayon (all the while helping us resist that childish urge to stuff those bright waxy bits into our noses).  We’d come home from school and pull out a big roll of brown paper and just draw.  We’d  explore  our beautiful Okanagan wilderness and sketch the landscape, the animals and each other, eating our peanut butter sandwiches and Dad’s homemade fudge. Oh yeah. Dad. Well, Dad wasn’t so visually creative. He was an economist, an accountant, a true bean counter who even cleaned our septic tank in his suit. But he encouraged our little band of towheaded artists and, on occasion, blessed us with a little stick man or two.

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Over the years, I have tried to honour that left brain / right brain duality gifted to me via the gene pool. I love science and my first studies at university were in microbiology. Then I returned to do a degree in Fine Arts, focusing on drawing and printmaking as well as Asian Art studies. Then I returned again to study all kinds of creative writing. And in between all that going to school, I worked in the worlds of advertising and architecture. My career has included extensive work as an illustrator, copywriter, editor and administrator. But no matter what I’m doing, my goal has always been to encourage others and help them find what’s important to them, to help them find the story within. 

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I have been a long-time visual arts instructor in the Tri-Cities and Burnaby areas. I learn so much from my students … and hopefully they learn a little bit from me, too. It is truly joyful.