They say "Everything happens for a reason".  Well, when the Western Canada Summer Games came looking for me in December 2009 and hired me as their Visual Artist, it quickly became apparent that everything I had done in my career to that moment, had made me uniquely qualified for the challenges that lay ahead.  My Artist Residencies in the School District are what had put me on their radar and those experiences came in very handy for both my work in the classrooms of the various participating schools and later, for producing a huge mural/stage skirt with my AMAZING Student Crew.  We generated stand-alone Art and Signage for use in The Games venues, as well.
I also produced many pieces of Art/Props for the Opening Ceremonies, myself.  My favourite "Drawing The Light" Workshops came in handy then!  Understanding the effects of light and shadow allowed for some great effects and the assorted challenges allowed for some major personal growth, as well as giving my creativity a refreshing boost!
I did everything from sewing a salmon and tearing apart my beloved Memory Foam pllow (so that it would have the right "heft"!) to creating huge scenery pieces out of tar paper (with an exacto knife!) and everything in between.   It has been an amazing, exhausting opportunity and a blessing that I will always remember with joy.
Happily, I was also The Featured Artist for the Kamloops Arts Council's Arts Festival Gallery in the Upper Level of Heritage House in Riverside Park for the run of The Games.  My own work has been influenced by this journey and I am excited to share several new pieces that speak to that. These are available for purchase as both Originals & prints.  
Click on the images to see their stories.  Enjoy!