AS
AN ARTIST
As
far back as I can recall, I have always thought of myself as
an artist. I remember being in
5th grade when I began to really embrace my
creativity. I wrote and recorded my first song with a used
tape recorder that my mom had found for me at a garage sale
and developed a serious passion for music, listening to my
then favorite Vancouver radio station 14 CFUN when I wasn’t
around a turntable spinning my favorite records. I played the recorder, picked
up the guitar, and danced, danced, danced and sang along to
songs like “Blinded by the Light” and “Seasons
in the Sun”. My favorite playtime thing to
do with my girlfriends after school was to design and draw
our very own fashion magazines.
We wrote the articles, designed zany outfits and made up some
pretty hilarious ads. I think Mad Magazine was a
big inspiration for me around that time, as well as my
mother’s Cosmopolitan magazines, (which haven’t
changed a bit since then!)
AS
A SINGER & PERFORMER
As
a singer and performer I have had the privilege of working
with a variety of famous, not famous and infamous artists
both in the studio and on stages around the world.
Throughout my school years I participated in a range of
music and acting programs.
As a teenager I became a more serious musician working as a
lead singer with several bands based in Vancouver’s
very musically known Broadway Tabernacle, where the then
manager of Little Mountain Sound Mr. Bob Brooks was an
influence...(that’s right, I started out in the ‘Christian
Rock’ scene!) Although
my personal beliefs have radically changed since that time,
I am still grateful for the teen thrill of singing before an
appreciative crowd of 10,000 people at Vancouver’s PNE
Main Stage – this experience got me hooked on the high
that only live performances can bring. I remember receiving many
accolades for sounding like a cross between Blondie and Pat
Benatar, both of whom were very popular at the time.
For many years I went down the artistic road of excess, as I
was seeking the palace of wisdom.
This led me to a multitude of wild experiences to include
being in the studio with the London Choir Boys and many
others I choose not to divulge until I am inspired to write
my memoirs. I
eventually found said palace, grateful for the progressively
darker experiences of mind-altering indulgences as they gave
me much fodder for writing lyrics. Most recently I have been a
back-up vocalist for the well-known Canadian super group BTO
and other lesser-known Canadian and European acts.
I have successfully fronted several Rock and Country bands,
and worked extensively as a studio session singer with a
variety of Canadian solo artists. I am currently devoted to my
own career as a solo artist, with the help of my very
talented and accomplished partner, Kevin Swain.
Some 2005 highlights include visiting the UK and my most
favorite city in the world – Paris, where we promoted
our CD “All Dark Places”. While in Europe we opened for
the Maritime’s own ‘The Heavy Blinkers’ at
The Brickyard in Carlisle, members of ‘Rubber
Soul’ helped us by playing with us for our show at
The Cavern in Liverpool, we jammed with
the entertaining musicians of ‘Roadhouse’ band
in London, performed at Raffles in Chelsea, New York’s
Joey John played our single on his own Paris radio show, we
made a weekend jaunt to Edinburgh to play alongside a most
talented and hilarious musician and Scotsman, named Michael –
in other words, we had tons of fun.
AS
AN ENTERTAINER
I
have been in the entertainment industry throughout the
majority of my life. I’ve had the privilege
of having a variety of media-related experiences other than
that of being a singer/songwriter, to include:
a radio broadcaster, where I wrote and recorded a daily ‘Leisure
News’ show for CISL radio, Vancouver; an international
print and runway Model for John Casablancas and June Dally
Watkins Agencies; and a brief but memorable stage, film and
television acting career, where I had the privilege of
working alongside actors such as Johnny Depp, Nick Mancuso
and Robert Conrad. So
this means that in my career life so far, I’ve been on
the radio, on the covers of and inside of magazines and
newspapers, prancing around on international runways, on bus
billboards, on television, and even in the movies...and I
still don’t feel like I’ve experienced my Andy
Warhol 15 minutes?! Wassup with that?!
AS
A VISUAL ARTIST
I
received My BA degree in Studio Art and English Literature
from the University of British Columbia in 2001.
I studied under several world renowned and well-recognized
artists, to include: photographer Jeff Wall, mixed-media
artist Ken Lum, sculptor Richard Prince and painter Robert
Young. My
static work includes a variety of mediums: ceramic, metal,
wood and textile sculpture; acrylic and enamel painting; and mixed media. I consider myself a diverse
expressionist and I am often inspired to add music,
lyricism, prose, performance art and photography to further
convey personal worldviews in my artistic efforts.
Many of my creations (eg: installations) include diverse images of women, and denote my own comments
on our current perceptions of women in our culture today. I am especially interested in
addressing how women are presented in the media, and my work
reflects my own personal experiences as an international
fashion model, singer and actress - professions that feed
the perfectionism and emphasis on the ‘external’,
which North American women, including myself, so aptly fall
prey to. I have
sold my work in British Columbian galleries and am looking
to eventually expand the venues where my work is shown, as
well as my role as an artist within my own community. My
most recently completed project is a series of original
abstract enamel painted mirrors I’ve entitled “Bliss”. |