As a Human
Human first
Art that starts with people: shared experience, honest attention, and connection beyond what is visible on the surface.
- Meaningful shared experiences
- Inspiring human connection
- A personal approach to art
As a Human
I want people to feel seen, and to feel that something was made with them rather than for them.
Every project I take on begins with a simple question: what does this do for the people involved? Whether the work is a mural, an illustration, or a larger artistic production, the aim stays the same — a creative project with a social purpose, and a shared experience at its centre.
People carry differences that are easy to read from the outside: origin, language, age, appearance. The work I care about looks past those visible markers and finds the things that actually connect us — humour, care, play, the small rituals of being together.
That is the heart of my personal approach to art and community. The studio practice and the community practice are the same practice, approached from different angles.
The philosophy of creating as a human centers on work that begins with people rather than surfaces: shared experience, honest attention, and connection that reaches past what is visible. A mural, an illustration, or a larger artistic production all serve the same underlying aim — a creative project with a social purpose and a shared experience at its core. The practice asks of every commission what it does for the people involved, and answers that question before deciding on form, colour, or scale. Grounded in community, this approach treats the audience as a participant in the making, so the finished piece carries a sense of having been created with people instead of simply for them, inviting attention, dialogue, and a felt sense of being seen.
Portraits for Hugs
Portraits for Hugs is a personal project: a portrait, and the human story behind it, exchanged for a hug. The point is not the likeness on paper but the conversation that comes with it — how strangers describe their own lives, and how much we have in common once we start talking.
Sitting for a portrait becomes an excuse for two people to meet properly. The drawing is only the visible trace of that exchange, and the hug is the real subject.
What it comes down to
| Focus | In practice |
|---|---|
| Shared experience | Work is made with people, in their own spaces, and includes their voices. |
| Human connection | Connection matters more than polish; play and warmth are working tools. |
| Personal approach | A community-engaged artist and artistic producer working between Toronto and Ottawa. |
Let us make something together
Collaborations, commissions and project proposals are always welcome — including the friendly kind that start with a hug.