US Barnes and Noble , IndieBound , Books A Million , Amazon

Canada Chapters / Indigo , IndieBookstores, Amazon

I am so excited that my upcoming picture book, Together, a Forest will be released by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers / Macmillan on March 4, 2025!

Joy and her peers are eager to visit a nearby forest for a class trip. But Joy’s excitement quickly turns into anxiety when she is asked to choose one thing in the area for a school assignment.

Seeing her classmates connecting with the natural environment, Joy discovers how each of their choices reflect the ways they relate to and interact with the world. 

Together, a Forest begins as an exciting journey into nature and blossoms into a meditation on how our unique personalities and ways of being help create a more vibrant and beautiful world. The forest reveals that everyone—including those of us with disabilities and neurodivergence—belong to nature. There is no one right way for a mind, body, or person to be.

I chose the subtitle “Drawing Connections Between Nature’s Diversity and Our Own” not only because drawing is a central activity in the book, but because this story is all about the parallels between ecological and human diversity. An ecosystem thrives when it is populated with a multitude of difference – life forms that excel in unique niches and roles – and I believe human communities are this way too. We are not all meant to be or function the same way, and communities that recognize and make space for this reality are, in my view, the most healthy and beautiful.

As always, I am inspired by disability community and disability justice, my experience in schools supporting kids and youth with disabilities, and my experience in family filled with love, valuing and advocacy for my disabled sibling . Exploring my own forms of neurodivergence also brought me to this story, as I have grown ever more thankful for the tangles of wild minds that populate this world and my life. I am hopeful that Together, a Forest will help disabled and neurodiverse community members to feel recognized and valued, and that all readers will imagine how natural it is to become a forest in which we all belong.

Together, a Forest can be pre-ordered or bought wherever books are sold, and I’ll drop a few links below. Happy reading!

I am so excited to share the upcoming release of I Am Odd, I Am New, a picture book based on Benjamin Giroux’s beautiful and exceedingly popular poem. Only ten at the time of writing, Benjamin, who is autistic, has created a poem that has illuminated his experience feeling out of place in a way that has resonated with many. Now he is 15 years old, and I feel honoured to have been tasked with creating the artwork to accompany his words. The creative challenge of illustrating Benjamin’s emotional journey throughout the text was right up my alley, as I love exploring emotions through art.

Books are availabe to pre order now wherever books are sold, with an updated release date of October 26th, 2021.

Congratulations to AutoHeartVan on the release of his gorgeous album! With songs in English, French and Portuguese, the album contemplates themes of extinction, referenced by the title, “Endlings” (which means “the last survivor of its species”).⁠

This theme was the inspiration for the cover art I created, a blend of traditional and digital media. If you know of the mythological “Curapira,” * the human and animal steps going in opposite directions will make sense. I included drawings of the Arctic fox, an animal with subpopulations endangered by climate change, as well as its fossils. In a neat twist, the drawings ended up being used to represent different language portions of the album.

I highly encourage you to check out this album at Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, or wherever you get your tunes. It really is gorgeous, and created by a very sweet visionary human.⁠

* The Curapira is a mythological creature from Brazilian folklore who bright red/orange hair, and resembled a man or a dwarf, but its feet are turned backwards. Living in the forests of Brazil, they used their backward feet to create footprints to confuse hunters. A Curapira would prey on hunters or poachers who take more than they need of the forest.⁠

A few months ago I asked people to donate to Hope Glitters / Rainbow Refugee’s fundraising campaign to financially support an LGBTQIA+ refugee during their first year of settlement in Canada. In return the donors would be entered into a contest to win a custom painted pet portrait. Well, I am pleased to share with you the resulting artwork (a fair amount of time has passed since it was completed). This is a portrait to remember beloved pet and friend, Mugzy. Mugzy marks my first feline pet portrait, as until now I have only painted dogs. She was a beautiful subject, and I hope that this artwork will help her owner remember her presence and their special connection.

I am so excited to begin the process of working on this art project, in which I am inviting British Columbians with disabilities to share their experiences living on Disability Assistance or trying to access it. I will create digitally painted portraits of 20 participants and in the end an e- zine / e-book will be produced that can be used to share these stories and advocate for higher Disability Assistance Rates. Right now I am in the stage of calling for participants.

The website for this project is www.InsufficientArtProject.ca

I wanted to undertake this project because for far too long people with disabilities have been expected to live on assistance rates that place them below the poverty line, and navigate a system that is often inaccessible and adversarial. Inspired by the campaign 300 To Live, which asks for rates to be raised to the $2000 / month income that has been deemed a minimum income for other Canadians with the Canada Response and Recovery Benefits, the goal of this project is to highlight why change is necessary for people with disabilities can have their basic needs met and escape poverty.

I have created some images to share on social media posts calling for participants. If you would like to share this post or the images, feel free.