Hi. I'm Fiona.

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 I'll be fully honest.
It took a long time to feel comfortable calling myself an "artist".
Then for so long I would call myself a "self-taught" artist, but that kinda didn't feel right either. 

Using the "self-taught" descriptor came about simply because aside from the  3-year "career prep art program" in high school, I have no formal art training.

My creativity has been encouraged all of my life. When I was a young child, I watched my mum paint meticulous little winter scenes on sun-dried sand dollars that my 3 brothers and I would help collect each summer on Hornby Island. I advanced from elementary school to attend a high school across town, with flexible studies and an extensive fine arts department. From there, I graduated with honors thanks to my Arts credits, and then moved on to work full-time as a makeup artist for many years (which I was also self-taught at).
I've always just done my own thing, and can't remember a time where I wasn't making art of some sort.
Philosophy
Every interaction has its own impact on my art practice. New ideas are constantly born out of the experiences I have while navigating life as gracefully as possible; with the gravity of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) slowing me down (often holding me still), and always reminding me where I need to be right now.

In January of 2008, at 18 years of age, I woke up with one leg entirely paralyzed. Within 11 days I was diagnosed with MS. This bout of paralysis resolved, and returned, and resolved again. Many strengths and abilities came and went over the years, and throughout it all I used various art practices to maintain brain/body connection, dexterity and mental wellness. July of 2019 I had such a severe setback due to MS that I ended up on life support for many days, during a month-long hospital stay.  Every day is a challenge, but also a blessing.

Living life as an artist shares a lot of parallels with living life with MS.
  • Sometimes things just don't work today, that were seemingly unfaltering yesterday.
  • Sometimes your visions can drastically change without notice.
  • Sometimes others cannot see the struggle that it took for you to get to where you are, and the value of what the struggle produced.
  • Sometimes you'll get so angry with yourself for tiny setbacks, that you'll completely forget about your successes.

Remember with both Art and MS:
  • Giving up will get you nowhere. Keep going or you'll never have the chance to get better.
  • The same things that didn't work yesterday, may very well work today.
  • Unrelentingly share your success. Being your own cheerleader is pretty badass.

It is important to know that MS is different for everyone, but I'll share what works for me. A strong medication, careful diet, positive mental attitude, dedicated artistic practice, physiotherapy, and living with a sense of purpose are very much to thank for the amount of recovery I have had in my wild battle against MS.

This website is for sharing my journey, the things I create, and bringing awareness to invisible illnesses.
I hope to inspire others to keep adapting, keep creating and never give up.

Let's have coffee sometime...

While always exploring a range of mediums, art is constantly emerging out of my private studio in Burnaby, BC.
Email me to arrange a private workshop, viewing, consultation, or with any photo shoot related questions!
Currently booking for Spring 2020.
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Photo by Andres Vargas (yopera.com) at Cafe Dibeppe (dibeppe.com) in Gastown.
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