I often get asked what made me decide to become an artist.
The truth is I’ve been making things with my hands as long as I can remember. The classic story: always drawing in the margins of every notebook… and on the desk… and the walls. I got into a lot of trouble at school for being disruptive and quite frankly, I was. I had a highly excitable mind prone to distraction and daydreaming - and I still do. What can I say, I have a lot of passion and sometimes it just spurts out!
My first job as a teenager was working for my dad who is a contractor in home renovations. Looking back he probably hired me to keep me out of trouble, and it kind of worked. He would drop me off at a house in the suburbs with a little crew and away we would go.
When you’re the new guy and you’re 16, you get to do a lottt of patching and sanding, and pretty much any other job no one else feels like - which is fair because you have no idea what you’re doing. It was kind of fun, though. I would start at one end of the room and make my way across, pulling out stray nails and screws and scraping away little bumps, then patching the holes and sanding everything to a smooth surface, ready to receive a fresh coat of paint. Satisfying.
This experience taught me a lot of useful things, like how to install baseboards and what paint colours will complement those gorgeous new kitchen countertops. But it also imparted with me a few unexpected lessons that ended up totally changing my life forever, like the subtle art of paying very close attention to small things.
In my early 20s I took a printmaking class in copper etching and it BLEW MY MIND. Ever since then I’ve been hooked. It was amazing: my obsession with nature and making art met my background in trades and BOOM! I discovered I was born to be a printmaker.
Everything in your life is training you for something you’ll need later. Trust the process.
COSMOS
Do your own thing, your way. There has never been anyone else exactly like you, and there never will be again. That’s why you’re here. You are bold and never needed to maintain the status quo. You make your own path and you know the best person to steer your boat is you.
The deepest wisdom and intelligence of the universe lies within you, and comes through you.
BIOSPHERE
Our sacred bond with the natural world is a powerful force for healing and celebration. When we nurture our deep connection with the ecological world, we create a foundation on which we can build a more creative, connected and joyful life. We create more kindness, empathy and understanding. We allow ourselves to rest in the awareness of something much bigger and more powerful than ourselves, and we learn to trust that the universe is indeed a friendly place.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
— Albert Einstein
NUCLEUS
Home is where we rest. It’s where we cook and play and dream. It’s where we stop to refuel and reconnect with the ones we love. Home is where we can truly be ourselves, and open our hearts to receive the blessings of the universe.
Express yourself. Give a beautiful gift. Tell someone you love what they mean to you.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being here.
Love,
