I love art and it’s almost all I think about! I have always been a creative person and identified as an artist. When I was younger I started making abstract art that was very expressive of my experience in the world as a sensitive person. I used mostly acrylics, coloured pencils, and ink. In the past few years I shifted toward realism and portraying the natural world in rich detail using watercolour. I have started to work digitally and I’m so excited about the opportunities it creates!

I finished my MA in Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria in August 2021. My research centred around interviews I conducted with Parks Canada staff in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. It aimed to understand their individual experiences with the highly severe Kenow Wildfire of 2017, and how, as a park, they are thinking about conservation and park management in a time of rapid climate change. Prior to that I studied and worked in the field of ecological restoration. It was the famous naturalist Aldo Leopold who said that those with an ecological education open themselves up to a world of wounds because they can so clearly see the damage our species has inflicted on nature. It’s true, and I’ve felt deep grief around this, as many have. It can be overwhelming thinking about how to confront the interlocking climate, biodiversity, and social justice crises in our world. My shift toward nature art represents me honouring my grief, in one respect. In another respect it is a way to celebrate the life that exists still, and its immense beauty.

I am pursuing formal training in botanical illustration through the Society of Botanical Artists. I see botanical illustration as the perfect way for me to merge my passion for art, science, and nature.