Using my two-year-old daughter’s watercolours one day, I became mesmerized watching images appear on my paper as if by magic. A friend encouraged me to take art lessons and after a year I succumbed and have not looked back.

A Calgary-based artist, I am so fortunate to live close to the Rockies. Inspiration is found in my back yard. It’s no wonder trees show up in my paintings 90% of the time.

Over the past year my work has been influenced by kintsugi art, which is the art of mending broken pottery with gold. It is an ancient Japanese tradition with the belief that the repaired piece is more beautiful and valuable than it was in it’s original state. I have attempted to carry that over into my paintings. The word fracture comes to mind as I think of the many bumps and wounds humankind experiences throughout life. There are fractures in my paintings but mended with gold. The gold is symbolic of hope and healing. I personally experienced a fractured childhood but have experienced healing so the meaning behind kintsugi resonated with me. I hope that in some way you can relate to the kintsugi-inspired paintings.