I was born on a remote island in northern Scotland and grew up on an organic farm in Eastern Canada so the lens through which I view the world is charged with a sensitivity to the small, the vulnerable, and the quiet things in nature.

I have also thrown myself into work in urban environments, crowded refugee camps, psychiatric wards, and other places that challenge my sensitivity to people, noise and tragedy. Through these mixed experiences I paint celebrations of natural environments that counter the destruction I see around me.

I spend time in the forests and ocean shorelines of the Pacific Northwest and split my time between Seattle and Vancouver, BC. I also maintain a studio in New Brunswick, Canada, where the pace of life responds more to human interactions than to money. The landscape there is less flagrant than the dramatic west coast and I find this leads to introspection.

I am the founder and manager of Studio Syria which is an organization that brings art education to Syrians living as refugees in Jordan. I am also the founder of Safi Crafts, a UNESCO supported women’s development project in the Middle East where I teach textile design and environmentally sustainable natural dyeing.

I raised two children in Seattle and value the awareness they continue to teach me as we struggle to find a balance between solace, joy and anxiety in a magical, terrible, gorgeous world.