As far back as I can remember I have been making art. My mother used to paint and I still have two paintings that I did with her at around 9 years old, one of Templeton the rat and Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web and one of my Siamese cat. The painting of Templeton was hung in the Mendel Art Gallery to represent Brunskill School. I was always taking some kind of art class as a child, often those offered by the Mendel Art Gallery, which I loved.
In high school I continued to make art. I was a fan of children’s book art and I could spend hours being drawn into the amazing worlds created by the beautiful illustrations in them. I had a large painting of Alice in Wonderland and the Cheshire cat hang in the library at Nutana Collegiate for a period of time.
Although I spent three years at the Alberta College of Art in Calgary in the 70’s, it wasn’t until I was the Program Manager at the Community Arts Program at the U of S that I really started to develop my skills and style as an artist by taking classes there. It was a class called Off the Grid that was taught by Miranda Jones that influenced the work that I have been doing for the past seven years. I loved and continue to love the process of working with mixed media, gilding and putting colour and pattern together. I think that my love of children’s book illustrations and storytelling continues to influence my work.
Artists' Workshop Saskatoon 