In 2015, I challenged myself to do lettering every single day, and created an Instagram account to keep myself accountable and share my progress. During this year, I wished all too many times that I had never created such a difficult challenge for myself, and struggled to keep up with the work while also completing the 3rd year of my design degree, working and traveling. But I also saw myself rising to the challenge and my skills getting a little more refined and my experimentation a little more rewarding as the weeks and months went on. The Instagram lettering community was a huge inspiration to keep going and keep trying to improve, throughout all 365 days and beyond. 

While travelling, just like in everyday life,  I can never resist bringing some lettering materials with me, because nothing is worse than being unprepared when inspiration hits. During an extended trip in 2016, I decided to letter the name of each city I visited, and take a quick picture before I left each place. It was a way for me to capture a bit of the feeling of each place along the way, and keep practicing while I explored. 

I've had the chance to try my hand at some beginner sign painting and writing for local businesses on Newmarket's Main Street, and I am always looking for excuses to make some new signs! 

I am an avid reader, and a lover of large vocabularies. While I read, or during conversation with others, I will often come across a word that I like, or one that confuses me. I am always quick to pull out my phone and look up the meaning. After a while, I wanted to share all these quirky and beautiful words I was coming across, and decided to create a lettering series of vocabulary words. I find new additions every day, so this series is far from over! 

"I have never feared big words, only those that refuse to use them." - Bianca Phipps

In September 2017, I finally got to live out a dream I'd had for years: road trip across this vast and beautiful country of ours with a couple friends and a lot of snacks. We spent a month visiting family and friends, glaciers and mountains, waterfalls and lakes. It was difficult and long and amazing, and an opportunity of a lifetime. 

I wanted to bring back my travel lettering challenge as a way of documenting the trip, as well as something to do in the long hours in the car. I changed the rules for myself a little bit this time, using only black ink, letting the Canadian (and American) landscapes speak for themselves. It was also more difficult to complete the lettering because we were almost always in a moving car or a wet campsite. But from the first lettering piece to the last, it was always nice to be combining creativity with adventure, and I'm pleased with how the series turned out. 

A collection of images from personal and paid projects.