The universe is made of story, not atoms.
-Muriel Rukeyser
I’m interested in the understory: the deep, fertile layer of our soul story that supports and nourishes the ego’s more visible narrative. Tarot, dreamwork, my painting practice, therapeutic work with others, ritual and ceremony are all ways of honouring these stories and giving them expression.
When I approach a blank canvas, turn over the cards, or listen to a dream, the first experience is of not knowing. The tendency is to want to rush in with answers or definitions, to take familiar pathways, or to immediately hand things over to the rational mind. Over the years I have learned to hang out longer in the unknown, to become curious about it, to ask questions, and to develop a strong relationship with mystery.
I live off-grid, on a small island in the Salish Sea, where I make public art, paint, write, teach, walk in the woods, swim in the sea, and am part of weaving a quirky, colourful community.