My Artwork

book-making, art-making, nature-based installations, biodegradable art

As a practicing artist (rather than a professional one) my work has been eclectic over the years, working in a range of media including drawing, painting, collage, mixed media and photography. These works were often explorations of media, techniques, place, or issues of personal interest – a way to work through the intersections of art-making, writing, and inquiry. In recent years I have been turning to bookmaking and nature-based installations most frequently, combining ideas, images, and text in sculptural (and often biodegradable) ways.

QUICK LINKS

Sculptural Books	Nature Photography	Meditations on a Friendship
Handmade Books	Artworks 2003	Turning Over a New Leaf
Leaf Paintings, 2013		Condolences for Nature

Sculptural Books, 2004-present

I started by creating handmade books, but once I was introduced to sculptural bookmaking in 2004, I have been focusing more of my attention on this rich approach. Inspired in part by pop-up artists David Carter and Robert Sabuda, I love the surprise of opening a flat book to see an unexpected 3D works emerge. I did a series of sculptural books in relation to my thesis research in 2008; these were portraits of the teachers who worked with me, and honoured their contributions to the study. I have also used 3D bookmaking to explore aspects of my connections to place.

Nature Photography, 2003-present

Taking photographs goes back thirty years for me, inspired by a dedicated elementary teacher who taught me how to use a darkroom and develop my own film. However digital photography has recently provided the means to take all of the photographs I want in a more environmentally friendly way and so it has become a form of shorthand as I walk. I often shoot nature images, as I find it a great way to capture the changing of the seasons and the beauty inherent around me every day in the city or wherever I find myself. These photographs sometimes inspire other artworks in my practice.

Leaf Paintings, 2013

Inspired by the annual spectacular fall colours in my neighbourhood, I collected leaves from trees and bushes on my daily dog walks over a six week period in the fall of 2013. For over a month, I made watercolours of these leaves each day to capture and honour the artistic efforts of the earth.

Meditations on a Friendship, 2006-2010

This handmade book provided an opportunity to reflect on my long-standing friendship with artist and educator Julie Frost. Through the techniques, materials and images used, this series of twelve collages and folding sculptures weaves in elements from our professional collaborations and personal journeys. It was created as a gift for Julie for her years of caring and support.

Handmade Books, 2003-present

I have become intrigued by bookmaking and papermaking in recent years, due in part to the environmentally friendly nature of the materials, and in part to the integration of language and image that bookmaking so beautifully affords. To this end I have been experimenting with paper making on a small scale, using recycled fibers as the basis for the paper with natural materials as additives. I have also been using others’ handmade papers and found papers as the basis for bookmaking as both are biodegradable and offer intriguing patterns, textures and meanings. Inspired by my connections to place at home, work, and through travelling, as well as my personal and professional relationships with others, these books are act as memory, meditation and reflection, allowing me to embed and integrate my head, heart, hands and spirit together in my art-making.

Artworks, 2003-present

I work in a variety of media on an ongoing basis as a means of experimentation and a way of keeping my creative juices flowing. Some are made in workshops with my students; others are made to play with new materials and techniques. Often I am experimenting with the inclusion of natural images or biodegradable materials.

Turning Over a New Leaf, 2003

This biodegradable installation was hung in the trees of the Etienne Brulé Park along the Humber River. Made of hundreds of leaves constructed from handmade Japanese paper and rafia, (a type of plant-based string), it was installed in a variety of sites so that it might have been found unexpectedly. On both sides of each leaf was a pair of words reflecting the contrasting and contradictory lenses that humans often perceive nature through – growth/decay, wild/tame, fear/awe, pure/contaminated - resulting in inner and outer conflicts with the environments in which we live. The installation was planned as an ephemeral one, one that would leave no waste or byproduct at the end; the leaves and stems, being made of natural materials, biodegraded over the course of a few weeks. This was a fitting end to the piece; while I am interested in sharing my ideas about art and nature with others, I am not interested in creating permanent objects that will end up in a landfill in the years to come.

Condolences for Nature, 2008

This nature-based installation aimed to express sympathy for nature for the misery humans are inflicting on it, but at the same time reflect the trite ways we are attempting to deal with the environmental problems we are creating. Echoing a stereotypical condolence card, a bed of hostas outside my classroom at the University of Toronto became the temporary hosts for this printmaking project, which used water-based, non-toxic inks. Like many band-aid solutions to environmental issues, this art installation disappeared within a short time.