The Creative Counsellor & the last year | Chilliwack Photographer

Things have been so quiet over in this corner of the internet - I’ve still been photographing things here and there but also really treasuring a rest and refresh around my art practice and how I express myself with images. It’s been so needed - the last few years have been challenging for many reasons and the way that 2024 has unfolded has been SO healing and so different in much needed ways. In February, Jamie and I moved to the sweetest little converted barn house downtown with our cats - it has a lovely deck space where I can lay out and read books, the happiest hydrangea, and a front porch I can’t wait to fill with pumpkins in the fall.

I also am now a registered clinical counsellor with a private practice called The Creative Counsellor - focusing around neurodivergence/ADHD in adults/women (including late diagnoses), creatives navigating their practice, self worth and self esteem, as well as grief therapy. You can follow me on Instagram here! I offer virtual counselling across B.C. and in person sessions right now at a cozy rented space at Thrive Collective on Sundays, as well as select weekdays downtown.

In July my best friend came to visit - we laid around in fields, wandered downtown, watched movies we loved as kids (looking at you He-Man Masters of the Universe) and really just hung out. Last time she came through we did SO MUCH (two day trips - we did Kelowna and back and Victoria and back, both in one day and I have no idea who that version of me was and where she got the energy). This visit was a lot more low key, I think we both really just needed some time together singing songs driving down Camp River Rd and late night chats in my backyard under the moon. I will always be so grateful for friends that are soul sisters - and so grateful for getting to see so much of my family this year, too.

We also had a beautiful internment for my dad, placing his ashes in one of his favourite spots to go walking. We all gathered together, singing I’ll Fly Away out into the morning while birds flew overhead.

It’s been a beautifully slow summer - and in that, I’ve taken a break since June from my photography business and really spent some time exploring my art practice. I’ve still been shooting and creating - my editing is taking forever - but I’ve found breath in the rest and my heart is full of so many new ideas. I have loved photographing all of you for the last 10 years and while I’m not sure how long this break will be, you’ll continue to see what I’m creating here and on my Instagram.

I hope these last months have been kind to you all, too. More to come.

Taken by my pal Jen Ault

Brittany had the idea of making wine for my dad and I designed these labels from a little photo shoot we had a few years ago at Island 22. Such a happy memory for me. We had the internment in the morning, followed by a very small family gathering celebrating his life.

These beautiful roses grow wild across the street.