"Since moving back to rural Nova Scotia I have been re-familiarizing myself with the environment I was raised in, a place I didn't connect with in my youth. In my work I am always searching for a way to portray an authentic interpretation of the surroundings that I interact with everyday, ones that define the region and manner of living, but also reflect on what makes it unique to my experience. I took notice of the abundance of properties that double up as junkyards, repair shops and buy & sell shops. An assortment of entrepreneurship that is either someones side job or their main source of income. I believe this is a reflection of work culture in rural NS., where many folks working in the trades run their own businesses or have several different income sources to stay afloat. I have personally experienced this challenge with finding work here and my commute to multiple jobs has me passing by many of these properties, observing people trying to do the same thing as I am but with their own type of skill set."