From childhood, I loved both the rigor and exactness of science and the free creativity of the arts. I settled on an early career as an architect precisely because it accommodated both these impulses. As an architect, I specialized in commercial projects, especially high-energy retail interiors. I highlighted the geometry of spaces with razor-sharp edges. I learned to exploit symmetry as a source of harmony, but never perfect symmetry: I used deliberate, slight irregularities to imbue a space with energy and interest. These principles are part of my sensibility and technique as an artist.

On my mother’s side I am descended from the Mi’kmaq nation, and as a child spent summers on the reservation in Nova Scotia where my grandparents taught me traditional crafts and the hieroglyphic writing system. I became deeply sensitive to the possibilities of color, and think of each work as a chromic harmony. My palette reflects the vigor of that ancient tradition.

Above all, I strive to open the viewer’s mind to the fresh, vibrant beauty of the world around us. My work might seem abstract at first viewing. but it is deeply infused with the energy and mystery of biomorphic processes. The “abstraction” is that of the natural world, as seen through a fish-eye lens, or a microscope, or time-lapse photography. Indeed I create the illusion of motion: my best works, I believe, “blossom” or “bloom” in the eyes of the beholder.

My work is thus life-affirming, optimistic. If it makes people feel a little happier, I am content.