Tell us about your overall artistic work, history and achievements. What is important to you in your work (cultural influences, your identity, geography, community, language, etc.) and why? If you identify with one or more of OAC’s priority groups, or if your ad hoc group/collective or organization is mandated to serve one or more of OAC’s priority groups, you may choose to refer to this here. (Maximum 300 words)
Writing tip: Artists, curators and co-applicants: Answer this question with a brief artist’s statement describing your work, artistic vision and motivation. You may provide information on your approach to technique, process or materials.
What is important to me in my work is exploring the parallel symmetry within the diverse Killifish family. There are seemingly endless variations of colourful bright red spotted patterns on killifish, so colourful they rival even the brightest marine fish. i achieve this artistically by highlighting what makes the fish different: the patterns, colours and forms. my artistic goal has been to empower people, and conserve these fish through awareness. As a person deeply passionate about biology - that is nature, animals, how creatures and plants work, I've always been fascinated with killifish in my art. Sometimes connecting with locals in Cameroon, Mozambique, or Uruguay, I help them to conserve species: i provide information about how to gather specimens, take photos, protect the habitat. Sharing my art with this diverse community of people helps them have insight into parts of their own heritage lands, empowering them. its a small repayment for how these people, often living in rural, small communities, who help to contribute so much scientifically, and by consequence my art. there are very few books on killies, and even fewer exciting books. I would like to change that. I would like to make my book accessible, and people will want to read it, and see the bright fantastical fish they never knew existed before. I want the readers to be impressed by seeing the cover and size of the book. i want them to lose themselves in the bright colourful world of killies.

What are you planning to do, and what do you want to achieve with this project? (Maximum 425 words) Writing tip: Research/Creation and Development Projects: Outline your Research/Creation and/or Development project. Briefly describe how you intend to use the grant. Speak to why this project or activity is important to you at this point in your practice or career.




I intend to use this grant to buy paper, ink, leather and supplies to print out what will be a feasibility study for a canonical reference of illustrated freshwater fishes. I will craft the book in entirety on my own, using equipment rented where need be. In time, I would like to see the whole 10 volumes printed, but for this grant we can do the first book as a prototype. With this book, we can see what needs to be improved, and we can use it as an example of Canadian publishing, and enter the book or copies of it into museums. This exposure will generate interest in creating the other 9 books in the series. So far there are 120,000 photos to be printed for this 10 volume set which will be printed in various editions, from small pocket field guides, to handmade leather-bound volumes in slipcovers, that rival the high quality of the Audubon books. At this point in my career, this project is a great opportunity for publishing a rare book and meaningful; I have standing in the community, years of presence and experience, and I have the images and data all ready to be published. I've been working towards this for 30 years and its time to publish it. Websites and CDROMs are good, but this will be a proper reference book for the 21st century, and will be museum quality, and that is why I need expensive materials like archival paper and ink. This is important to my career because its a culmination of life works and everyone including me can reference it. It is a opportunity to make books and continue making books gaining expertise, gaining presence in both digital and physical libraries. This is to prove feasibility of production, or to make the first in a series of books.
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* How will this project contribute to your development (or to your group’s overall goals)? (Maximum 200 words)
My interests have been a synthesis of computer-aided publishing and ichthyology. This is a time when we should be seeing a lot of high quality books with high quality images and diversity of images, but were not, there's less books than ever. We have the technology to make better than photographic quality images, with papers and ink that professionals 20 years ago could only dream of, now they are reasonably priced for the consumer; But nobody is doing that. I want to use very high quality pictures, and top quality materials - 2 characteristics that made the Audubon book stand out at the time. We want to do the same with Killifish. I am eager to explore new ways to conserve Killifish pictures as scientific reference material, which helps identify and conserve new species. For example, going form digital to print books. See paper by ichthyologist: we cant conserve things until we know all the names (get the names right) by taxonomy.
* Who will this project impact (e.g. you, other artists, your audience, community, participants) and how? (Maximum 175 words)

the entire scientific community and the book arts community because the piscine equivalent of the Audubon books. its a big deal. This will impact the the international fish community. benefits museums, ichthyologists , researchers, hobbyists, biologists and anyone interested in painting or drawing kilifish from a reference standard.
fish so rare they are like exotic butterflies, no two are the same, you'll never see them in the wild, you'll never see them in captivity.,t hey are rare and endangered rainforest microfish. in their best form and colours.
this benefits the craft community a. now added to the collection are lesser-known kilifsh. as affect the killifish will be recognised in new communities.

Who will this project impact (e.g. you, other artists, your audience, community, participants) and how? (Maximum 175 words)

I've always been fascinated with killifish in my art. Sometimes connecting with locals in Cameroon, Mozambique, or Uruguay, I urge them to help conserve species: gather specimens, photos, an opportunity to conserve species, contribute scientifically, and be rewarded. Sharing my art with this diverse community of people helps them have insight into parts of their own heritage lands, empowering them; and in turn, they share information and photos which help with science, and my art.

this is due to the rareness of the fish, in each small creek there is a new species, with new patterns. because of this fact, working closely with local people helps identify, and that helps me accurately paint each fish.
This project has the potentional to affect people of colour indigenous to many lands, including canada and america, and also in africa. The people living in small, rural community are often the ones who have killifish nearby. empowering these people through access to my online publications. this information aids them with Sometimes connecting with locals, I help to conserve species: i provide information about how to gather specimens, take photos, protect the habitat. Sharing my art with this diverse community of people helps them have insight into parts of their own heritage lands, empowering them. its a small repayment for how these people, often living in rural, small communities, who help to contribute so much scientifically, and by consequence my art.
VIABILITY ----

Book studio time at Bindery, $799 for 6 weeks.
Artist fees: $22/hour for printing/collating/binding, $1800
Materials- paper: $550 per roll (100 ft)
Binding materials such as glue, thread $120
binding tools $55
leather cover: $250
embossing/printing on leather cover: $340
subtotal: $1315
printing, cost of use of machine, inks:
base prices at ocadu print shop