At some point in their lives, every artist has left out a used paintbrush that inevitably meets its demise. The paint hardens to the bristles and no amount of brush cleaner can resurrect the ill-fated brush. I have had such a moment many times, especially in my childhood, as many brushes were ruined because of my negligence; but there was a specific time that it led to a creative breakthrough.

It’s 2004. A Sea Container holding all of our earthly possessions finally arrives, exactly four weeks upon arrival in our new homeland, Canada. The ten hour flight from Germany multiplied by a foreign language and the most snow I have ever seen in my life resulted in less than ideal enthusiasm about this new “adventure” our family of six embarked upon.