Background
Born in Hagersville, Ontario into a family of miners, fishermen, hunters and gardeners, my love of landscape and the rhythms of nature has deep roots. Raised among the rolling farmland of Haldimand and Norfolk Counties, the fields, wildflowers, woodlands and the changing seasons inhabit my early memories of home.
Summertime bliss swimming and fishing the shore off Long Point and exploring marshes and ponds among the gently rolling sand dunes, grassy knolls populated with stands of white pine and juniper, contrasted winter adventures in Calvin Township on the Canadian Shield, its deep rich forests and rocky outcroppings heaped with drifts of snow. My passion for nature's many variations in landscape, flora and fauna was ignited by these early experiences. I developed knowledge in these areas through the study of Landscape Architecture, where I found great reward in bringing together culture, landscape and nature, design and utility to create places of beauty and harmony. Greater desire to delve into cultural history, searching for deeper meaning in our relationships with environment, led me to a Master of Architecture in History and Theory, and a more philosophical turn in the artistic expression of my ideas. Philosophy thrives on conversation. Sharing my passion for collaboration, ideas, conversation, ideas and imagination led me to a wonderful twenty year career in fulfillment of my childhood dream of becoming a middle school teacher. I live in Hagersville, once again surrounded by the fields, farms, and train whistles of my childhood. |