Pablo Picasso famously once said: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
I would say that as a child I was a prolific artist. I was always creating something with my hands, whether it was with a pencil, paintbrush, mud, rocks, sand, or some other media. I was a creative: Making things seemed to come as second nature to me. I was often crafting badly sewn-together felt dolls, painting eyes on rocks to have a collection of pets, or building worlds in my backyard out of leaves and sticks.
Often lost in a book, I was a highly imaginative kid who loved fantasy, mythical creatures and Jim Henson. Colour and fantasy were big inspirations for me even back then. My favourite toys were the pastel and jewel-toned My Little Ponys. I think at one point I boasted a collection of over 200, and loved to line them up and organize them by colour and theme. I was definitely attracted to bright, rainbow tones from an early age, choosing saturated hues for my clothing and decor.
My love of art making continued throughout high school, and the art room was a sanctuary for me through some tumultuous years. I often spent late nights in my room listening to music and filling sketchbook after sketchbook. Unfortunately, by the time I reached graduation, I was barely making art anymore — a real sense of self-consciousness had set in, and I became discouraged in my ability to create anything worthwhile. So once I left high school, I largely abandoned any sort of artistic practice for many years.
Early adulthood had me exploring other areas of my life. I skipped post-secondary education and was eager to move out on my own into the city. I found an apartment with a friend downtown and spent the next several years working two jobs and just having fun.
In 2002, my job at the time had me move to Montreal — a city that I was keen to relocate to due to its exciting arts and culture scene. I quickly surrounded myself with other artists and creatives — very easy to do in a city with a low cost of living, as it really supports artistic life.
I have lived many lives here, especially as I like to change careers every few years. I’ve worked in customer service, started my own nonprofit, and then worked in the music industry. I went to university, completing a degree in gender and sexuality studies. During this time of my life, I surrounded myself with creatives and artists, but never considered the fact that I, too, was a creative and artistic person. I also met my partner and started a family, having two kids four years apart.
It was also around this time that I became ill. In my late 20s, I began experiencing all-over body pain and fatigue, along with a number of other symptoms that left me unable to participate in life in the same ways that I had previously. Many years passed, with too many visits to specialists and tests, before I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia — an illness that causes widespread pain and fatigue. This illness caused me to reevaluate many aspects of my lifestyle, and to this day I
identify as a person with chronic illness and disability.
I believe that it was parenthood that reignited my creative spark. Having children can reconnect you to your childhood in ways I didn’t realize were possible. I found myself revisiting and sharing things from my childhood with my own kids — drawing, crafting, exploring — that I adored but had become distanced from. All of this encouraged me to begin a simple artistic practice after the birth of my second child. I would carve out 20 to 30 minutes of time every evening once the kids were asleep to draw and sketch, just for fun, just for me. What started off as a short daily practice began to seep into other areas and times of my life — more drawing, then painting, and then … fiber.
Wanting to make some simple plant hangers for my home, I did something I never do and took an online art class. This time with Emily Katz of Modern Macramé fame. Her online class demonstrated how, with rudimentary materials and techniques, such as cotton rope and knotting, one could create beautiful home decor. The repetitive and tactile nature of macrame is exactly what my busy and tired brain needed. I was hooked.
My initial foray into macrame by making plant hangers soon escalated. I began experimenting with materials and COLOUR. At the time, it was difficult to find dyed rope, so I began dying my own at home. I took a second online class to learn how to make macrame wall hangings — the possibilities seemed endless! Some friends began asking if I would make some for them as well, so I began creating my own designs with the techniques I had learned in the class.
Having worked many years in retail management, I couldn’t help but think of the possible small business opportunity that I had on my hands. Having long been a fan and consumer of handmade goods, I decided to open an Etsy shop and begin selling my wares online. I designed a simple logo and named my business Nova Mercury after my daughter, who was the inspiration for me even doing this in the first place. I also approached a small business in my neighborhood that agreed to not only sell my plant hangers and wall hangings, but also offered me a space to host workshops and teach others! This is how my business was born.
After becoming fairly proficient in macrame, I wanted a new challenge. I wanted to incorporate more colour into my work (a lot of macrame at that time was neutral — created with just raw cotton). I decided to order a weaving kit off Etsy, and then took another online class (this time with Annabel Wrigley of Little Pincushion Studio) to learn to weave.
Now, it is important to let you know that weaving completely stole my heart from the moment I first used that little loom. Weaving had everything I was looking for: the tactile nature of using fiber as a medium, plus the mindful and relaxing repetitive movements; and finally I was able to incorporate so much colour and texture into my designs.
Once weaving stole my heart, I began experimenting with as many techniques, designs and materials as I could. I also sat at my loom EVERY DAY. I believe that it was these years of experimentation and practice that allowed me to find my voice and style as an artist — even though I still love to experiment and try new things. (Like many neurodivergent folks, my brain is always excited by the novel!)
I also began sharing my work publicly on social media platforms like Instagram. I am not someone who likes to be the center of attention by nature, but forcing myself to be vulnerable and put my work out into the world was important for my growth as an artist. And I found the more I did it, the easier it got! I also started to find myself connecting with other fiber artists and forming a small community. Sharing posts consistently back in the day (think 2017–2018) used to really work for growing a following, and my account would attract new followers daily.
I also began teaching workshops more regularly around this time. My workshops would be hosted in different craft spaces or yarn shops around the city. I designed small laser-cut looms out of bamboo and would bring these to my classes for students to weave on, and then they could take them home afterward to continue weaving.
My looms and classes were so popular that I ended up creating small weaving kits with looms, fiber and a small instructional eBook that I could sell in my shop and ship out to folks anywhere in the world. I upgraded this class a few years later by retiring the eBook and instead creating my own weaving eCourse, and I also flew to NYC in 2022 to produce a circular weaving course with Domestika.
Teaching is one of my favourite things, as it allows me to help others connect to their creative selves. All sorts of folks attend my workshops, and I feel very privileged that I get to have any small part in someone’s creative journey. I believe that we are ALL creative beings, we just need to find the medium that works for us. I’ve been very lucky that I was able to pursue artmaking and teaching full time for a number of years. It allowed me to have the flexibility to be with my kids a lot when they were little, and it also became an accessible and viable way for me to earn a living as a disabled person.
In terms of my creative process — colour will always and forever be my muse. (I mean, rainbow art is my signature!) In fact, I sometimes think it is my inner child who runs my art practice. I can take all of my bad/hard/difficult feelings and, through weaving, find a place to alchemize all of those emotions into something beautiful. My art practice is largely focused on aesthetics, but also on how colour and texture combine to evoke blissful emotions. My aim is to create art that brings joy and happiness to the walls of the home that it hangs in.
If I am working with a client, I will often sketch out my designs, and even provide material samples. We then work together, going back and forth until we both feel satisfied with the design. When I create works on my own, I rarely plan anything beforehand. It is my favorite thing to be inspired by one beautiful skein of yarn, or a particular colour combination, and then warp my loom and just see what happens! I find when I allow myself to weave organically that is often when my best work transpires.
Recently my book The Joy of Weaving: Modern Frame Loom Projects for Beginners became available in the U.S. and Canada through Page Street Publishing. The book is formatted like my classes: I spend the first half sharing my process, talking about colour and materials, and demonstrating my favourite techniques. The second half of the book holds 12 weaving patterns that I tried to keep as diverse as possible, allowing the student to really try out a number of styles and techniques. I also sprinkle in my best tips and tricks throughout.
What comes next? Right now, I am focusing on creating custom work for clients, promoting my book and continuing to teach workshops. I have learned that the life of an artist is one with many ups and downs, so I will continue to go with the flow and see where this adventure takes me!
