Writing

On Home Depot's 12-foot Skeleton

My essay, published on October 31, 2023, is likely the first scholarly essay on the 12-foot skeleton, first sold by Home Depot in 2020.

Published by NiCHE Canada, my essay is part of a series of writings on the concept of "monstrosity" and the environmental humanities. Specifically, I delve into the curious affection consumers have for Home Depot's spooky creation; while detouring through the Old Testament and the sombre autumn of 2001.

DALL·Eance

In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a useful—though controversial—tool for artists and illustrators alike. Using written prompts (such as “a cat painted in the style of Monet”), AI text-to-image generators are capable of creating images across a range of styles, from hyper-realistic to abstract. 

But is it art? Read more in DALL·Eance, art criticism for the Extremely Online.

A Place to Grow

Arcing along Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe region, the Greenbelt safeguards 2 million acres of river valleys, wetlands, forests, and meadows. Farms in the area produce local food and wine, while contributing to the province's tourism sector. And yet, Ontario's Premier, Doug Ford, has promised to open a “big chunk” of Ontario’s Greenbelt for development; which would pave nearly 400 acres of protected land. Read more in my story for NiCHE (Network in Canadian History & Environment).

Helen Chase Gage

The innovative work of this previously unknown photographer is unearthed in my story for Atlas Obscura.

"...a beautiful, tender and human reminder of wonder and love of life... it moved me."

- Nancy Blum

Kate Crooks

Born in 1833, Kate Crooks joined the Botanical Society of Canada in 1861. She contributed to a flora of southwestern Ontario, and her pressed botanical specimens were exhibited in London at the International Exhibition of 1862. Written for Atlas Obscura, my story of this forgotten Canadian botanist was published in May 2019.

John Davis Barnett

In 2015, I curated an exhibition of rare books at Western University, in London, Ontario, Canada. The focus of my exhibition was John Davis Barnett, a rare book collector and plant hunter who gave his library of 40,000 volumes to Western University in 1918. I wrote about this exhibition for the journal Public Services Quarterly.

Using Format