About Me.
At least the creative part.
The early years.
I grew up in Marmora, Ontario, a small town halfway between Ottawa and Toronto.
I attended high school at Centre Hastings Secondary School in Madoc, Ontario. When it was time to apply for college, I sent five applications to five different schools for various programs, all related to the arts. I chose Kingston and St. Lawrence College's graphic design program, figuring I could quickly turn it into a creative career.
For half of the three-year program, we focused on hands-on production skills that would soon become outdated as computers became more utilized. I'm grateful that I caught the tail end of analog schooling, which helped me considerably over the years.
My first creative job.
I graduated in the summer of 2000, and by the time I was 20, I had a job in Toronto as a technical illustrator at Training Crue Graphics. The company developed classroom training posters for soon-to-be pilots. With photographs of each dial, switch, and lever in a cockpit and some measurements, I created lifesize vector illustrations.
The advertising age.
By 2003, I worked for The Hive Strategic Marketing, an experiential marketing agency. For five years, this company taught me countless skills I would use for the rest of my life.
The Hive deserves an entire novel dedicated to its culture and its influence on the people in its orbit. I was too green and lucky to have realized it then, but how the Hive celebrated its people was remarkable. I was encouraged to be my most exuberant self. We all were.
My first mentor was Christopher Grimston (CG), the partner and Chief Creative Officer at the Hive; he brought much fun, laughter, and out-of-the-box creativity and style to the office daily. CG encouraged my small-town rowdiness, guided my creativity, and opened many doors for me. As his pupil, I moved from production to graphic designer to art director with a bit of videographer on the side. He recognized my skills as valuable and gave me all the opportunities I could have asked for. He built confidence in me, and thanks to him and everyone else who worked at The Hive, it was a remarkable time in my career.
From 2008 to 2012, I remained in Toronto, working in various marketing jobs. I spent two years at BSTREET Communications and two years as a freelance graphic designer/art director.
The image to the right is one of the Jack Daniel’s
Global Music images that I developed for The Hive.
Creative Director: Christopher Grimston
Art Director: Jenn Bennett
Photographer: Paul Alexander
There's no place like home.
In 2012, my partner Derek and I decided to move home to Marmora. My mom was battling cancer, and I wanted to be close to help. Building a career in Marmora was difficult. The marketing industry I was familiar with in Toronto didn't exist. There were design jobs in cities like Belleville and Peterborough, but I wasn't keen on the drive. I became a creative consultant and helped local businesses with their creative needs. I volunteered my time and found gigs with like-minded local entrepreneurs. It was fulfilling, but something was missing. I had been used to campaigns that utilized strategy and data, with teams of people working toward the end goal. I missed the problem-solving collaboration.
Around 2017, a contract opened up in the municipality's Economic Development Department. I now had an 18-month-old at home and found it hard to work for myself while momming. This opportunity would give me a steady paycheck and the teamwork I was missing in a five-minute drive.
Thus began a six-year journey in the municipal world.
Halfway through that six-year journey, COVID hit. At that time, I had just accepted the role of Deputy Clerk for Marmora. As most of you know, the world went to shit. Working for the town during this time wasn't fun; luckily, I worked with *mostly* fun people. The challenges of this era catalyzed me to start painting again as a form of escapism. Silver lining!
Art for me.
In 2021, I started painting, and for the first time in 24 years, I was doing art that wasn't for a class or a client; it was for me. I paint to zone out and not look at the news. I usually spend short spurts on the canvas, returning a few times over the weekend to add another layer to the idea. My creative process is trial and error, layer upon layer. I prefer a pallet to a brush and acrylic over watercolour or oils. Not every painting is great, but a few are pretty enjoyable. One of my favourite details is getting a painting framed. I loved going to the shop, looking at the options, and choosing the final piece for my work.
Eventually, I began playing around with Adobe Fresco on my iPad. My dad wrote a book about his father and asked me to do the cover art. I didn't have a subscription to Adobe Suite, so I forced myself to figure out how to use Fresco to do the cover and realized how much I liked the program. As I become more familiar with the program, I have more fun creating it.
