Hello!
It’s a pleasure to be sharing some of my art with you. I’ve been very fortunate to have been able to live a life that is dominated by a love of art and design. I have always needed to express myself through art and after studying for my BFA in painting and psychology, I became an art therapist. A few years later (after working and having a baby) I had the privilege of returning to get an MA in Expressive Arts Therapies and psychology with a very cool program based in Switzerland. For a few summers I got to yodel in the Swiss Alps with classmates and professors from all over the world. A completely transformational and life-changing experience, to say the least. I am grateful to a mentor who pushed me to make that happen.
For 30 years I have been practicing as an art therapist and therapist in various parts of Canada. I am thrilled to be able to take my passion for art and have a fulfilling career from it. It’s a joy to share this with clients and friends. I think that I am constantly curating imagery in my head on a daily basis. I am perpetually curious about people, their lives and their stories. I find it very inspiring to hear about other people’s lives through their unique lenses.Having spent the majority of my career working with children, youth and their families I feel very connected to my child self. Being able to relate and be playful in my work as well as my art is a wonderful feeling. It’s always a huge compliment when people say they feel uplifted by my images.
I love history and have a deep fondness for architecture and especially old character houses. As a child, I dreamt of becoming an architect and would draw blueprints for friends and family that I would customize as per their likes - so of course, every home had a pool and a library! Although I didn’t wind up choosing a career in architecture, I can be somewhat obsessed with it. I love drawing buildings and find making art of certain cities with gorgeous architecture is a kind of time travel for me. Travel is a huge source of inspiration and I like to call myself a “nomadic homebody” because just as much as I love to travel I am also very happy to be at home with my art supplies and my family. I try to see the beauty in everyday life.
After years of establishing my career my own artmaking was next to non-existent. I used to joke back then that my art was on life support. It wasn’t until after the birth of my first child in 2004, that I really started to come back to making art again. A few years later, when I was struggling with the death of my father - I turned to making art for healing. I attended a 10 day process painting retreat on the Hawaiian island of Molokai that enabled me to process my grief using art as a meditative practice. It's been an ongoing quest to heal myself on many levels. More recently, it's been a more conscious healing of my ancestral wounds and intergenerational trauma.
I was adopted at birth and I think that wound, of being put up for adoption has really shaped me. I know it has been a source of pain, but also it's offered me things that have enabled me to find my way back to myself and art has been one of the primary ways that I've been able to not only express myself, but to listen to my voice. A few years ago I decided to do a DNA test to learn more about my ancestors and was amazed at the combination of white European colonizing ancestors along with colonized indigenous ancestry. It made me fully understand that my DNA is a tapestry so interwoven that there's really no way but through on this healing journey. We are all connected and working to heal myself will help to heal others and vice versa.I truly believe that we can all take steps to heal, and at a collective level, we'll transform our world.
I am grateful for art and connecting via art - whether it's something that I can offer to the world, or what someone else is offering.
Thank you for reading thus far! Thank you for visiting my pages here.
XO
Nancy
For 30 years I have been practicing as an art therapist and therapist in various parts of Canada. I am thrilled to be able to take my passion for art and have a fulfilling career from it. It’s a joy to share this with clients and friends. I think that I am constantly curating imagery in my head on a daily basis. I am perpetually curious about people, their lives and their stories. I find it very inspiring to hear about other people’s lives through their unique lenses.Having spent the majority of my career working with children, youth and their families I feel very connected to my child self. Being able to relate and be playful in my work as well as my art is a wonderful feeling. It’s always a huge compliment when people say they feel uplifted by my images.
I love history and have a deep fondness for architecture and especially old character houses. As a child, I dreamt of becoming an architect and would draw blueprints for friends and family that I would customize as per their likes - so of course, every home had a pool and a library! Although I didn’t wind up choosing a career in architecture, I can be somewhat obsessed with it. I love drawing buildings and find making art of certain cities with gorgeous architecture is a kind of time travel for me. Travel is a huge source of inspiration and I like to call myself a “nomadic homebody” because just as much as I love to travel I am also very happy to be at home with my art supplies and my family. I try to see the beauty in everyday life.
After years of establishing my career my own artmaking was next to non-existent. I used to joke back then that my art was on life support. It wasn’t until after the birth of my first child in 2004, that I really started to come back to making art again. A few years later, when I was struggling with the death of my father - I turned to making art for healing. I attended a 10 day process painting retreat on the Hawaiian island of Molokai that enabled me to process my grief using art as a meditative practice. It's been an ongoing quest to heal myself on many levels. More recently, it's been a more conscious healing of my ancestral wounds and intergenerational trauma.
I was adopted at birth and I think that wound, of being put up for adoption has really shaped me. I know it has been a source of pain, but also it's offered me things that have enabled me to find my way back to myself and art has been one of the primary ways that I've been able to not only express myself, but to listen to my voice. A few years ago I decided to do a DNA test to learn more about my ancestors and was amazed at the combination of white European colonizing ancestors along with colonized indigenous ancestry. It made me fully understand that my DNA is a tapestry so interwoven that there's really no way but through on this healing journey. We are all connected and working to heal myself will help to heal others and vice versa.I truly believe that we can all take steps to heal, and at a collective level, we'll transform our world.
I am grateful for art and connecting via art - whether it's something that I can offer to the world, or what someone else is offering.
Thank you for reading thus far! Thank you for visiting my pages here.
XO
Nancy