I’ve always been an observer, with a need for solitude. Art was a natural path for me, photography especially, because it let me be in the world in a way that held both space and closeness to people, to stories, to my own thoughts and understanding.

A late AuDHD (Autism + ADHD) diagnosis gave me language for what I’d never quite understood about myself, and how I worked. Psychology, community, and health grew as interests as I made sense of my own journey. Attention to detail, to pattern, to what exists under the surface of behavior was something I’d always had, and something I learned to cultivate as a photographer, and a therapist. Today, my experience, and desire to help others, lives in Apertura. My art and my writing are my more personal focus.

I grew up in the Canadian prairies, with stretches of my childhood spent in Kenya and Pakistan — an early immersion in cultural difference that has stayed with me.

My professional path began in theater in Winnipeg, followed by a degree in Communications and then decades with multidisciplinary freelance work that included web development, graphic design, creative direction, and photography.

I was living in Montreal in 2008 when a visit to a friend in Mexico City’s circus scene turned into a decision to stay. As a single mother with an eight-year-old son and a new language to learn, I settled with him in the neighborhood of Coyoacán.

What followed was ten years co-founding and building Casa de Artes y Circo Contemporáneo — a center built on quality education and community. It became a second home to many young adults. My work there centered on art education, community development, and international programs. The center continues today, at a smaller scale, focused on the classes and workshops it became known for.

A silhouette recurs in my art — a human form, an interiority, appearing not appearing in its movement, its stillness. These days I’m writing more, and working on completing a first short novel.

My interest in the role of arts in health eventually led me to clinical training: an MSc in Body Psychology and Body Psychotherapy (University of East London), and advanced training in Art Psychotherapy with the Canadian International Institute of Art Therapy, where I later taught (2022). As a professional art therapist my work focused on neurodivergence and complex trauma. What I design for Apertura draws on that experience — an AuDHD way of being, an inclusive approach, and grounding in emotional constructivism and predictive processing theory, alongside an understanding of what art and creative process can do for inquiry and self-discovery.

Apertura is my art lab: courses, workshops, and resources for cultivating attention and exploring perception through creative practice and inquiry.

A similar, more personal line of inquiry has found its way into essays I publish on Substack.