Forme, the idea for this work started a long time ago. I’ve always been sointerested in the intricacies of a woman. As a woman myself I am biased to thefact, but it also makes it easier for me to understand the little things we do,more so than a man. The one thing we do collectively as women, is prep ourselves.Whether it’s for a trip to the convenient store or a night out on the town,there is always some sort of ritual performed before we are ready to go. Somewomen may be accustomed to doing this on a regular basis but you don’t noticethe transformation of each individual until you recognize and document thesehappenings. At one point, I stood back and realized what was going on, theritual that was being performed. Since then I became obsessed with the processwomen take to prepare themselves for almost anything. These actions feel likeeach individual is doing whatever they can to make who they are on the insidematch something on the outside. Some of these practices are bad for your skin,painful, and take an excessive amount of time and effort to complete.
OnceI figured out that these women were transforming into something they hadcreated all on their own, I was able to portray their inner personality. Fromthis, I created a series of portraits that truly represent who each of thesewomen perceive themselves to be.
OnceI figured out that these women were transforming into something they hadcreated all on their own, I was able to portray their inner personality. Fromthis, I created a series of portraits that truly represent who each of thesewomen perceive themselves to be.
This is your country bumpkin, girl next door. Jacqui is a free spirit, earth child and had a very laid back personality. I have known her since we were 13 years old and at this time had only recently started shooting with her.
Jacqui was born Canadian but her mother’s side of the family is German and her father’s side is French/British. She has an older brother and two older sisters who are from her father’s previous marriage. Jacqui and her family moved around a lot when she was young. Born and raised in Newmarket, Ontario, she attended four elementary schools in eight years. This was because of her dads work and constantly moving to satisfy his income needs. Jacqui moved from Newmarket to Mount Albert at age 13 and made all her friends in the small town. She attended Huron Heights Secondary School in Newmarket but Jacqui wanted to work rather than be in school classrooms. By her senior year Jacqui had enrolled into a program with the school where working hours could be counted towards school credits. Every 110 hours she worked she would gain a school credit. Other courses were compressed so that she could move faster to get her compulsory credits.
Instead of attending prom in her final year of high school, Jacqui went to Montreal with Denise, her eldest sister, whom she’s always been very close with. After graduation Jacqui travelled to Banff, Alberta to gain work experience in beautiful Western Canada. Rather than flying there, she drove out with her boyfriend at that time; to experience the great land mass that is the prairies. Jacqui lived in Banff for nine months while working at Tony Roma’s restaurant, being the social butterfly that she is meeting many life friends from all over the country. Living directly at the base of a mountain also enabled her to learn how to snowboard like a true Canadian.
When she returned to Ontario, Jacqui moved to Barrie where she attended Georgian College. She majored in Early Childhood Education (ECE) but wasn’t happy with the program. After the 2 year program she decided to move back to her small hometown, Mount Albert, and began working for her family’s personal business. She has learned many facets on how to run your own business and will be taking over for her family in the years to come. Jacqui is teaching herself about green living. She has been considering opening a pure green product company. Jacqui has always loved being natural and using things that do not harm the earth. This part of Jacqui is a definite match to her character as she’s so tranquil and grounded in life. To accompany this lifestyle, Jacqui is an avid yoga student and has found a love in the balance and fitness it has brought to her life.
Jacqui was born Canadian but her mother’s side of the family is German and her father’s side is French/British. She has an older brother and two older sisters who are from her father’s previous marriage. Jacqui and her family moved around a lot when she was young. Born and raised in Newmarket, Ontario, she attended four elementary schools in eight years. This was because of her dads work and constantly moving to satisfy his income needs. Jacqui moved from Newmarket to Mount Albert at age 13 and made all her friends in the small town. She attended Huron Heights Secondary School in Newmarket but Jacqui wanted to work rather than be in school classrooms. By her senior year Jacqui had enrolled into a program with the school where working hours could be counted towards school credits. Every 110 hours she worked she would gain a school credit. Other courses were compressed so that she could move faster to get her compulsory credits.
Instead of attending prom in her final year of high school, Jacqui went to Montreal with Denise, her eldest sister, whom she’s always been very close with. After graduation Jacqui travelled to Banff, Alberta to gain work experience in beautiful Western Canada. Rather than flying there, she drove out with her boyfriend at that time; to experience the great land mass that is the prairies. Jacqui lived in Banff for nine months while working at Tony Roma’s restaurant, being the social butterfly that she is meeting many life friends from all over the country. Living directly at the base of a mountain also enabled her to learn how to snowboard like a true Canadian.
When she returned to Ontario, Jacqui moved to Barrie where she attended Georgian College. She majored in Early Childhood Education (ECE) but wasn’t happy with the program. After the 2 year program she decided to move back to her small hometown, Mount Albert, and began working for her family’s personal business. She has learned many facets on how to run your own business and will be taking over for her family in the years to come. Jacqui is teaching herself about green living. She has been considering opening a pure green product company. Jacqui has always loved being natural and using things that do not harm the earth. This part of Jacqui is a definite match to her character as she’s so tranquil and grounded in life. To accompany this lifestyle, Jacqui is an avid yoga student and has found a love in the balance and fitness it has brought to her life.
Sarah is a woman of strength and courage. She has become a succesful woman in her craft and I have had the pleasure of knowing her for two decades.
This bright eyed blondie lived in Kingston, Ontario until she was four years old. Her family then moved to Mount Albert, town of 3,000 people, where she attended the local elementary school that happened to be her next door neighbor. During Sarah’s birth some regular testing showed that her mom had early signs of MS. Her mother Margret has been in a wheel chair for 21 years and hasn’t walked since Sarah was an infant. She has had multiple sclerosis since Sarah was born and they have faced the disease head on for all these years. Sarah’s mother has been her main inspiration in life. She feels that her mom has helped her become who she is today because she has shown her that things that seem to be impossible are possible if you’re strong and diligent. Growing up her mom had a perspective from someone who was so immobile and sometimes helpless when previously in her life she had known what is was like to be able to do anything. This taught Sarah to pick a passion and stick to it.
Sarah started dancing when she was three years old at the Kingston Royal Dance Academy. Once settled in Mount Albert, she joined SKR studios and has danced there ever since. She was also enrolled in all the dance courses available at her arts high school and received an Arts Huron certificate. Sarah only auditioned for admission at York University because she decided that was her goal, the one thing she wanted as the next step in her life. Sarah decided that it was the only thing she wanted to do after high school so she put all her eggs in one basket and actually received early acceptance to the program she applied to.
She moved to the universities campus and educated herself with a dance major and a kinesiology minor. Sarah has learned a lot from having her performance background and decided to return to her hometown every summer in between her semesters at university so that she could teach dance full time. She has recently attained her personal training certification and has a roster of clientele she works with on a regular basis, creating each individuals training program. Sarah will be a performer for the rest of her life, she is extremely appreciative of being able to express herself and that she has a passion that she can excel within. She looks at life in a very positive way and considers that every day is a blessing and that you should use the body you are given until you can’t anymore. Sarah lives by the simple mantra that positive thoughts manifest into positive action.
This bright eyed blondie lived in Kingston, Ontario until she was four years old. Her family then moved to Mount Albert, town of 3,000 people, where she attended the local elementary school that happened to be her next door neighbor. During Sarah’s birth some regular testing showed that her mom had early signs of MS. Her mother Margret has been in a wheel chair for 21 years and hasn’t walked since Sarah was an infant. She has had multiple sclerosis since Sarah was born and they have faced the disease head on for all these years. Sarah’s mother has been her main inspiration in life. She feels that her mom has helped her become who she is today because she has shown her that things that seem to be impossible are possible if you’re strong and diligent. Growing up her mom had a perspective from someone who was so immobile and sometimes helpless when previously in her life she had known what is was like to be able to do anything. This taught Sarah to pick a passion and stick to it.
Sarah started dancing when she was three years old at the Kingston Royal Dance Academy. Once settled in Mount Albert, she joined SKR studios and has danced there ever since. She was also enrolled in all the dance courses available at her arts high school and received an Arts Huron certificate. Sarah only auditioned for admission at York University because she decided that was her goal, the one thing she wanted as the next step in her life. Sarah decided that it was the only thing she wanted to do after high school so she put all her eggs in one basket and actually received early acceptance to the program she applied to.
She moved to the universities campus and educated herself with a dance major and a kinesiology minor. Sarah has learned a lot from having her performance background and decided to return to her hometown every summer in between her semesters at university so that she could teach dance full time. She has recently attained her personal training certification and has a roster of clientele she works with on a regular basis, creating each individuals training program. Sarah will be a performer for the rest of her life, she is extremely appreciative of being able to express herself and that she has a passion that she can excel within. She looks at life in a very positive way and considers that every day is a blessing and that you should use the body you are given until you can’t anymore. Sarah lives by the simple mantra that positive thoughts manifest into positive action.
Yana and I attended OCAD University together and we met through mutual friends. She is one of the most fun and spontaneous women I’ve ever had the priveledge of knowing.
Yana moved to Canada with her family when she was 12. Without any knowledge of English, at first she found it difficult to fit in, but her outgoing personality and adventurous spirit landed her in the FL Dance academy. There she gained confidence and experience through performances, shows, and competitions.
When she was 19 she wanted to peruse and develop her artistic abilities further. Yana was accepted to Ontario College of Art and Design for Graphic Design. With her ambitious, creative and competitive nature Yana flourished in the new environment and even won an Annual Design Competition in her first year. This first achievement still to this day remains her motivation to stay on top and peruse the career of Graphic Design. Her passion for traveling was strong every since she was young and she hopes that she can combine both of her passions in the future.
Sarah is a confident, driven, and intelligent woman. She is part of my extended family and has been an amazing person to listen and learn from. She has a vast medical knowledge and is a role model for women.
SThe night she was born the biggest bakery in town was up in flames. They named her Sarah Lee and her family didn’t realize until they moved to Toronto, Canada, that it was a baking brand. There are no pictures from when Sarah was born because her dad thought he had film in the camera while at the hospital but when he went to remove the roll of film to have it developed, there wasn’t anything inside.
Sarah started school in Georgetown and then came to Canada for the arrival of a baby brother. She left with her family ever summer to live back in Georgetown since all of their family and business resided there. Sarah was in the gifted program in elementary and continued on to Notre Dame Catholic secondary school in Brampton where she was enrolled in their gifted program as well. This high school was an International Baccalaureate where your tests would be sent to countries abroad for advanced academic marking. She excelled in this standardized learning program, which was very math and science oriented, and was on a fast track to an excelled education. Sarah was in a lot of sports that made her academic standings difficult to uphold, so she left some gifted classes to play varsity volleyball. She successfully managed guys and girls varsity basketball and graduated with honors. Sarah was valedictorian with her best friend Daisy Chan and finished high school with her head high. She had applied for kinesiology at University of Waterloo, McMaster, Toronto, and New York. She was accepted into all of the schools but Waterloo was her top choice because of the great co-op they offer. After finally deciding that it was too far from home, Sarah chose York University considering it has a large kinesiology program. Sarah lived on and around school campus during her first two years then moved into an apartment for a while. When Sarah moved out for school she got her first tattoo. Written in ancient Hindi, a symbol for strength in san script resides within her skin. Her mother’s, mother’s side of the family is mostly Hindu and had a relative as a Hindu priest. She believes in karma entirely, and lives by it due to her Hindi roots.
In 2006, she started working at North York General hospital in Toronto, in the orthopedic unit. She started floating to different places in the hospital and finally moved into the intensive care unit, finding her passion. Sarah decided this was the step to change her major to become a trauma nurse. Since she moved out at 18 she’s been working full time and enrolled in school full time as well juggling massive financials on her own, with stride. Working at North York General has given her the opportunity to be a SCIU rep and sits on multiple committees for the hospital. These extra responsibilities have enabled her to grow with her education and find a path in what she really intends to do with her life. Being in critical care has allowed her to learn more hands on rather then learning everything from a text book.
SThe night she was born the biggest bakery in town was up in flames. They named her Sarah Lee and her family didn’t realize until they moved to Toronto, Canada, that it was a baking brand. There are no pictures from when Sarah was born because her dad thought he had film in the camera while at the hospital but when he went to remove the roll of film to have it developed, there wasn’t anything inside.
Sarah started school in Georgetown and then came to Canada for the arrival of a baby brother. She left with her family ever summer to live back in Georgetown since all of their family and business resided there. Sarah was in the gifted program in elementary and continued on to Notre Dame Catholic secondary school in Brampton where she was enrolled in their gifted program as well. This high school was an International Baccalaureate where your tests would be sent to countries abroad for advanced academic marking. She excelled in this standardized learning program, which was very math and science oriented, and was on a fast track to an excelled education. Sarah was in a lot of sports that made her academic standings difficult to uphold, so she left some gifted classes to play varsity volleyball. She successfully managed guys and girls varsity basketball and graduated with honors. Sarah was valedictorian with her best friend Daisy Chan and finished high school with her head high. She had applied for kinesiology at University of Waterloo, McMaster, Toronto, and New York. She was accepted into all of the schools but Waterloo was her top choice because of the great co-op they offer. After finally deciding that it was too far from home, Sarah chose York University considering it has a large kinesiology program. Sarah lived on and around school campus during her first two years then moved into an apartment for a while. When Sarah moved out for school she got her first tattoo. Written in ancient Hindi, a symbol for strength in san script resides within her skin. Her mother’s, mother’s side of the family is mostly Hindu and had a relative as a Hindu priest. She believes in karma entirely, and lives by it due to her Hindi roots.
In 2006, she started working at North York General hospital in Toronto, in the orthopedic unit. She started floating to different places in the hospital and finally moved into the intensive care unit, finding her passion. Sarah decided this was the step to change her major to become a trauma nurse. Since she moved out at 18 she’s been working full time and enrolled in school full time as well juggling massive financials on her own, with stride. Working at North York General has given her the opportunity to be a SCIU rep and sits on multiple committees for the hospital. These extra responsibilities have enabled her to grow with her education and find a path in what she really intends to do with her life. Being in critical care has allowed her to learn more hands on rather then learning everything from a text book.
Sarah grew up outdoors with her dad. He had taught her how to clean a gun when she was 6 and she has remembered how to ever since. She doesn’t like the winter, and she’s still not adjusted to the Canadian lifestyle. Guyana is more relaxed to her.
I met Christina through friends and the first time we partied together I fell in love with her style. She is unique, well versed and a creative individual.
Miss. Gotti was raised in Sudbury, Ontario, a small city girl. She was brought up with Eastern European parents that had old school rules. Christina’s Croatian parents could be very strict. At a young age she found it to be hard to find her true self by exploring while you have to follow such structured rules. She is the oldest child in her family. Christina has two brothers and two sisters and a Pomeranian named Vegas. Her parents came to Canada when they were young as they fled Bosnia during the war.
Her direct influences were her parents, social media and fashion. What is ‘in style’ and ‘hot’ always attracted her which gave her the edge she has now. Having clothes, patterns, wearing sparkles, is something that makes Christina feel on top of the world. Growing up she always wanted to be the stylist, the organizer, the coordinator. Christina likes it when things work together, in combinations, or patterns. She recalls being ten and putting on plays for her family with her younger brothers, sisters and cousins. Getting dressed up and putting on a show was something that felt natural to her. This is where media, sales, and urban society began to be something of an interest to her. She studied and graduated with a BA in Communications and a Post Diploma in Public Relations. Her passion is marketing, and working with something that appeals to others.
Christina visited her homeland Bosnia/Croatia a few times and loved it. The sun, the heat, the people, and the environment are so lovely and beautiful, that they had completely attracted her to this place.
In the near future, Christina is planning on returning as soon as she gets the chance to. This was the place where she first realized her love for house music and walking around in a sun dress.
Her direct influences were her parents, social media and fashion. What is ‘in style’ and ‘hot’ always attracted her which gave her the edge she has now. Having clothes, patterns, wearing sparkles, is something that makes Christina feel on top of the world. Growing up she always wanted to be the stylist, the organizer, the coordinator. Christina likes it when things work together, in combinations, or patterns. She recalls being ten and putting on plays for her family with her younger brothers, sisters and cousins. Getting dressed up and putting on a show was something that felt natural to her. This is where media, sales, and urban society began to be something of an interest to her. She studied and graduated with a BA in Communications and a Post Diploma in Public Relations. Her passion is marketing, and working with something that appeals to others.
Christina visited her homeland Bosnia/Croatia a few times and loved it. The sun, the heat, the people, and the environment are so lovely and beautiful, that they had completely attracted her to this place.
In the near future, Christina is planning on returning as soon as she gets the chance to. This was the place where she first realized her love for house music and walking around in a sun dress.
