Artist’s Statement:
I remember when I was a kid my mum would often tell me, “Your head’s in the clouds”, and throughout my adult life, I’ve always kept that image in my head. My day-dreaming led to an imagination that served me well throughout my career in advertising, but the day I was diagnosed with a life altering disease, things got really real, really fast. My priorities shifted, and my head came down from the clouds. I wanted to grow roots, to have my feet planted firmly on the ground. That was one gift gave me – I went from always concerning myself with how I came across to others, to finally looking at the world through my own eyes.
Bio:
Music has always been my first love, but after getting my BMus from University of Toronto, I switched directions and studied art at OCAD. After graduating I worked as an Art Director at various advertising agencies before eventually becoming Group Creative Director at MacLaren Toronto. As my MS symptoms progressed, the demands of that career – the fast pace and demanding hours – finally became too much to handle.
Since 2014 I’ve been on long-term disability. I’ve had to say goodbye to many aspects of my ‘old’ life, as I learn to accept the realities of my new life. I use my creative hobbies to remain connected with the world around me, specifically painting, illustration, and writing music. This disease can be very cruel, in that over time parts of your body and/or mind seem to die one at a time, and you never know what will be next or when it will occur. I’ve had to learn to make friends with uncertainty. MS may not be a death sentence, but it is indeed a life sentence.