I am a fourth-generation she/her Canadian settler artist of Scandinavian/Icelandic maternal and British/Scottish paternal lineage. Coastal communities, particularly remote Ocean Falls, provided the ocean-breezed scenery of my childhood. Before returning to Pacific shores to study at UBC, I viewed the lakes of Vernon and Kelowna from horseback. I have been privileged to raise my family, teach and create in Salmon Arm since 1987. The Human Rights and Social Justice Masters program at Thompson Rivers University (on the unceded lands of Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc) is deeply rewarding, hard work.

I inherited the need to craft art from my mother, aunts, and grandmother who nurtured a unique visual voice through needlework, sculpture, and painting. Their encouragement ignited a relentless curiosity and blurred the boundaries between craft and art. This has enriched my teaching and artistic careers, but the Magpie-like collecting of ‘stuff’ in my home/studio ‘nest’ requires frequent editing. I thrive on the spark generated through shared fellowship of life-long learners in both the academic and atelier settings. Sharing laughter and a passion for visual expressions with friends is particularly wonderful outdoors, near water.

I find beauty in the calm & quiet moments of focussed observation. I work both 2 & 3 dimensionally, choosing media that is best suited to the telling of each visual story. Whether rendered realistically or abstractly, in paint or pine needles, the common thread throughout my creations is that of textural investigation, the play of captured light/cast shadow, hard edges and soft transitions. I hope my work brings joy, but also inspires positive thoughts and actions toward world change.