Who am I? Sometimes I'm the Halifax girl who makes photographs, films and videos; a Nova Scotia College of Art and Design graduate who never quite made it as an artiste. Other times I'm the Toronto professional who has eight years of television production behind her, and fights to remain artistic. Both girls love music and that's where it all comes together...
I've been taking photographs semi-seriously for sixteen years now, nineteen if you count my staff photographer position with the Dartmouth High yearbook. I've done jobs for magazines in Canada and the U.S. plus I've shot many a cover for what began as friends' cassettes then graduated to 7"s then 12"s and CDs. In 2000 I was nominated for a Juno Award for my photography on Sloan's 'Between The Bridges.' I didn't win. In the meantime I just shoot everything else that interests me. Friends, people dancing, my cats (far too often) but rarely landscapes. I just find living creatures much more interesting. That's how I ended up creating a series of over 100 head shots over a period of four years. The public finally got to see 'Face Value' in May 2003 at the Propeller Gallery in Toronto.
What started as a researching job in 1997 led to spending four seasons with CBC's excellent youth program, 'Street Cents'. We won an Emmy. After honing my producer skills I jumped around a little on the off seasons, doing freelance work with 'Sesame Park' and Life Network's 'The Wave'. I even did a stint writing and directing commercials. I've now landed at MuchMusic producing 'MuchNews.' I've been here for four years, who knows what's next.
This is where it gets tricky. In 1999 I made what I was calling my "first" short film, called 'Big Heart.' The 16mm story of love and death played in festivals across Canada and aired on CBC. Film number two, 'Drive A Truck Into Space,' has been in what us film types call 'pre-production' for many years. It's not going to happen. Someday I'd love to make another film.
I seemed to have fulfilled about every role in the making of a music video except the obvious. I shot the photographs and super 8 footage for The Inbreds' 'Attitude,' video in 1997, was Floor Director for Sloan's 'Friendship' video in '96 and shot Hip Club Groove's 'Rugged Operator' on my high-8 video camera in 1994. I humbly vacuumed a floor in Jale's 'Twisted' video back in '92 and in 2001 I hit golf balls for The Flashing Lights' 'Friend You Learn To Hate.' I'm in the 'If It Feels Good Do It' Sloan video for like 2 frames, and most recently lent my 'big hair' for a backlit smokey shot in a Tangiers video. What I really should do is direct one of these things one day.
Here's the crazy part of my life. I am the lead keyboard player in Toronto's hottest elecro-goth snyth-punk outfit, Pony Da Look. We're a four piece female force which Eye magazine describes as "bewitching." You can hear our music on the New Music Canada web site and if you live in a relatively big Canadian city you may even find our CD 'The Forcefeild Weakens' at your local indie record store.
