In 2018, after working in health care as an occupational therapist (OT) for over a decade I moved to vancouver island, took a “dream year” off work and began a journey of slowing down to rediscover purpose and meaning in my life. I began a therapeutic process of creating art for myself through a cartoon diary as well drawing, painting, and photography. A friend's accidental auto-correction of my name initiated my artist identity: Andream, to distinguish myself from my formal professional identity.
I am in my 4th year at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in the photography major program. My work centres around connection to feelings and nature, using photography within mixed media and installations.
With all my endeavours I consider the environment through ethical and sustainability practices. Each project starts with a call-out from the community for materials that would otherwise be destined for the landfill. I've collected stained or unusable fabric, used make-up, yarn scraps, construction waste, and more, to create mixed-media art.
I am interested in using art as a therapeutic practice, possibly in the future using my experience as an OT to create arts based rehab programs. For now, I am continuing my personal journey in art school – looking inwards, expressing feelings through art and investigating relationships, community, environmental and social issues.
Photo by Joel Anseeuw