Artist Statement

As an artist living in Calgary, Alberta, I have over 15 years of crafting and supporting the visual arts community. Whether it be through my own painting practice, a guest curator, public art lead, or creative producer.

My painting practice is mainly focused on the natural world, and how my experience as a woman shapes these visual narratives. When I was growing up, I wasn't interested in painting or drawing male figures and instead wanted to concentrate on creating forms that were more 'feminine'. I believe that I was expressing a want to diverge from media that focused on the predominant male experience.

I feel an intense need to use the materials of paint to layer and explore the experience of growing and interpreting the world through a feminist lens, which includes themes of nature, identity, power and storytelling.

mother/MENACE! is a visual exploration of transformation and resilience. Through twisting, morphing, and fluidity, the figures transcend the boundaries of the human form, illustrating a battle against the erosion of biodiversity and the delicate balance between our existence and the natural world.

The paintings pulse with vibrant, exuberant colors, drawing inspiration from surrealism, the subconscious, and the dream world. Each piece invites the viewer into a world where reality bends and shifts. This is a utopian future where freedom and environmental harmony reign.

In these works, animals, too, evolve within a world of complex identities. No longer confined to the traditional roles we’ve assigned them, they exist in a state of metamorphosis. These creatures embody the fluidity of life, representing both a reflection of our own transformation and a reminder of the natural world’s own evolutionary journey.

MOTHER/Menace! is a bold declaration of the power of change—an invitation to enter a realm where bodies and identities are not fixed but in constant flow. It is a call to recognize the potential for regeneration and freedom in a world that has long struggled with the forces of suppression and decay. This series is a testament to the possibility of reimagining the world, offering a vision of beauty, vitality, and a future where the body is free to be as expansive, fluid, and wild as the natural world itself.

In the spirit of reconciliation and respect, I acknowledge that Inclusion Alberta works across the traditional and ancestral territory of many Indigenous peoples, presently subject to Treaties 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10 which includes the Siksikaitsitapi, comprised of the Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, Amskapi Piikani First Nations; the Tsuut’ina First Nation; and the Îyârhe Nakoda, including the Chiniki, Bearspaw and Goodstoney First Nations; and the Nehiyaw, Denesųłıné, Dene Tha’, Dane-zaa, Nakota Sioux, Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, Métis Otipemisiwak and Esikisimu Nunangat. This includes the Metis settlements and the six regions of the Metis Nation of Alberta within the historical Metis homeland.

I make this acknowledgement of the treaty and the lands as a reminder of our responsibility and obligations to the land and to Indigenous peoples, as well as our accountability to addressing the ongoing impacts of colonization that are distinct to Indigenous peoples and communities. Our commitment to inclusion must go hand in hand with a commitment to decolonization and Indigenous people with disabilities as we carry out our work on this land.