ABOUT NANCY
ARTIST | PHOTOGRAPHER | EDUCATOR | CREATIVE FACILITATOR
I create experiences that invite people to see, play, explore and express themselves creatively.
Creativity was always there
As a child, I loved photographing my sisters and friends, posing them, dressing them up and creating little scenes whenever I had the chance. I didn't have my own camera and often had to borrow one, but in those moments, I felt pure joy and playfulness.
Like many adults, that creative part of me went quiet for a time.
Creativity wasn't encouraged early in my life, so I learned to be practical. I built a career in human resources, education and leadership development, and for most of my life, I didn't identify as an artist or photographer.
From corporate life to photography
For more than 20 years, I worked in human resources, education and leadership development. I designed and delivered learning programs, leadership initiatives, and team based experiences for universities, colleges, and organizations.
I enjoyed the work and learned a great deal from it. I also saw firsthand the effects of burnout, disengagement and the pressures of working life on people and teams. Through my work in human resources, leadership development and organizational learning, I became increasingly interested in what helps people feel engaged, connected and energized in their work.
I didn't set out to become an artist. The transition happened gradually, through a series of small decisions that at the time didn't seem particularly significant.
The camera that changed everything
After the birth of my first daughter, I bought my first SLR camera, with no ambition beyond taking better photographs of her. On a whim, I enrolled in a two-hour weekly photography course. The class reawakened something I had almost forgotten.
I began photographing my daughters, then friends and their children, simply because I loved it. One small step seemed to lead to another. I printed a simple promotional card and sent it to a few parenting magazines, not knowing what, if anything, might come of it.
Shortly afterward, I received a call asking to license one of my images for a national magazine cover. It became my first paid photography assignment.
Looking back, there was no master plan to become a photographer. I was simply following what interested me, responding to the opportunities that appeared, and taking the next step in front of me. What began with a camera purchased to photograph my daughter gradually opened the door to a professional photography career.
Photography gradually grew from something I did for the joy of it into a professional career.
From photographer to artist
PHOTOGRAPHY EVENTUALLY LED ME INTO FINE ART
After travelling to Africa, I became increasingly interested in finding ways to translate the experience of being in nature into something beyond a photograph. I encountered encaustic painting at an exhibition and became curious about the medium. That curiosity led me to my first encaustic class.
I had no formal background in drawing or fine art at the time. In fact, when my teacher suggested, I take a drawing class, my first reaction was essentially, I don't know how to draw.
I took the class anyways.
That became the beginning of a much deeper study of visual art. Over the years, I studied drawing, painting, watercolor, acrylic, and encaustic, and other mixed media approaches through extensive part-time study at the Toronto School of Art and with other artists and instructors.
Photography remains at the centre of the process. Rather than leaving photography behind, I began using it as the foundation for a broader visual language.
What I notice
LOOKING MORE CLOSELY
At the heart of my work is observation.
Photography taught me to slow down and really look. When I am photographing, I often enter a state of focused attention, where details that might otherwise go unnoticed become visible, a gesture, a texture, a relationship between animals, the quality of light.
That way of seeing continues into my mixed- media practice.
I work with photography, painting, drawing and other media, choosing the materials that best communicate what I experienced or felt when I encountered a subject.
Seeing the natural world
As my children grew older and I no longer had the same everyday photographic subjects, my attention began to shift. I had moved to a home beside a forest, and gradually, I found myself noticing the natural world around me in a different way. Animals began to appear not simply as subjects to photograph, but as part of the landscape of my everyday life, a fox near my home, a blue heron crossing the sky, swans, owls, and the countless small encounters that can easily go unnoticed.
This growing curiosity about nature eventually led me to Africa, where I had the opportunity to observe animals within their natural environment. Seeing elephants living within matriarchal herds profoundly influenced my work and became the inspiration for collections including Elephants Up Close and Wisdom of the Herd. The experience expanded an interest that had already begun at home, deepening my exploration of connection, relationship, community, resilience, belonging, and our place within the natural world.
Nature and animals have continued to shape my work ever since, both as subjects and as a way of exploring the human experience.
Creativity Belongs to Everyone
For much of my corporate career, I never thought of myself as a creative person. Creativity simply wasn’t part of my world. I hadn’t had much opportunity to explore it, and I didn’t see it as something that belonged in my professional life.
My own journey into photography, art, and creative teaching changed that. I discovered that creativity isn’t something reserved for artists or people who have always considered themselves creative. Sometimes it simply needs an opportunity to be noticed, explored, and practiced.
That understanding shapes the way I work with others today. I create experiences that invite people to slow down, notice, experiment, and make something of their own, whether through art, photography, creative learning, or experiences designed for organizations and teams. My goal is not to turn everyone into an artist, but to help people discover what becomes possible when they give themselves permission to think, see, and create differently.
Today, my work brings together photography, art, education and creative experiences
My studio practice continues to explore wildlife, nature, observation, and mixed media. Through teaching and facilitation, I create opportunities for people to develop their own creative practice. And through the creative heart™ method, I am developing a framework for making creativity and more accessible and meaningful part of everyday life.
I also bring this experience to organizations through customized, creative experiences for teams, conferences, retreats, and events.
I create experiences that invite people to see, play, explore and express themselves creatively.
A CREATIVE PRACTICE BUILT OVER DECADES
ABOUT NANCY
Artist & Professional Biography
Professional background and artistic practice/pages/artist-professional-biography
Publication & Media
Photography and published work /pages/publications-media
Exibition & Shows
Exhibition history/pages/exhibitions-shows
Teaching & Creative Facilitation
Education and facilitation experience/pages/teaching-creative-facilitation
Interested in working together?
Whether you're looking for a creative facilitator, photography/art, instructor, artist for a project, or someone to bring a creative experience to your organization, I'd love to hear from you.