NWT Arts

I've been making things for as long as I can remember.

Growing up, my mother was my greatest creative influence. She taught me that creativity wasn't limited to one medium—it could be found in crafts, cooking, baking, sewing, decorating, and finding ways to make something beautiful with your own hands. Some of my earliest memories involve creating art projects at the kitchen table. One project I remember vividly was building a diorama of a farm field using dried seeds and corn to represent crops. Even then, I was fascinated by texture, detail, and transforming ordinary materials into something imaginative.

As I grew older, that love of creating only expanded. In high school, I completed a book study on The Ruby in the Smoke and created a collection of handmade ephemera, including aged letters, tickets, and other artifacts inspired by the story. The project was so well received that my teacher kept it as an example for future students. Looking back, it was an early sign of my interest in storytelling through objects and creating pieces that invite people into a world.

Over the years, I've continued to challenge myself by learning new artistic skills. In 2010, I began exploring painting, which led me into mixed-media art, collage, and Artist Trading Cards. By 2016, I had taught myself how to crochet, and by 2018 I had become deeply interested in creating handmade miniatures and tiny worlds from simple materials such as popsicle sticks, clay, and found objects.

The loss of both of my parents within a relatively short period was one of the most difficult experiences of my life. While they are no longer here, their influence continues to shape everything I create. My mother's encouragement to keep learning, experimenting, and making things by hand remains at the heart of my artistic practice.

More recently, I have embraced beadwork as a way to connect with my Métis heritage. Without a teacher to guide me, I taught myself through practice, patience, and determination. Beading has become more than an artistic medium—it is also a way of strengthening my connection to family, culture, and identity.

Today, I live in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, with my two cats, Saffron and Nova. I continue to create across a variety of mediums, perform as a singer and burlesque artist, and seek out new creative challenges. Whether working with beads, wood, clay, paint, or fabric, I remain driven by the same curiosity that inspired me as a child: the joy of learning, making, and sharing art with others.