ARTIST PROFILE
Dr. Gina Mohammed
It's
a good thing that Gina
Mohammed has a house with a basement, a main floor, and a 2nd
floor, because they allow her to divide her three careers geographically.
The basement workshop is for stained glass, the main floor sofa
for writing, and the upstairs office for science consulting.
She crafted this patchwork career three years ago when she decided
to leave her 9-to-5 job as a government research scientist and strike
out on her own. Fancying herself as semi-retired, she and her husband
Dan nonetheless have three home-run businesses. Gina and Dan share
computers, a home office, and the workshop – and so far, are
still married despite this arrangement.
Unlikely as it may seem, there is a unifying thread to Gina's eclectic
work – it's PLANTS. As a writer, Gina pens science journal
articles as well as freelance pieces about herbals, medicinals,
and specialty forest products for popular magazines. (Check out
the November/December 2003 issue of Herbs for Health magazine for
her latest article: "Honey – Our Old Friend Keeps Getting
Better"). And taking a different angle recently, she published
her inspirational book "CATNIP AND KEROSENE GRASS – What
Plants Teach Us About Life" (Candlenut Books, 2002) which is
now into its second printing.
As a stained glass artist, she gets ideas from nature. She has just
finished an original collection of wildflowers, the patterns to
be published in a new book for other stained glass enthusiasts.
A plant physiologist by training, Gina studies their secret lives
from up close and even from afar, working now on a remote sensing
project for the European Space Agency with scientists from the Netherlands,
France, and Spain.
Gina Mohammed loves plants. "They're colourful, they're beautiful, they're mysterious, they're even hilarious," she says. "There's no end to what you can concoct with plants to inspire you." She has fun in her work, and finds it both relaxing and productive. "What more can I ask for? And if others like the outcome, that's a bonus."
Gina has a dynamite business partner in her husband Dan,
who happens to be good at the things she is lousy at – bookkeeping
& banking, website design, invoicing clients, book editing/publishing/sales,
and even glasswork finishing. "Truth be told, Dan's pretty
creative – for a techie."
In addition to the above, Gina can be found most Wednesday evenings
from September through May at First Baptist Church, where she is
a leader in the Pioneer Clubs children's ministry. She says, "That's
where I get to use each and every skill I have, and then some!"
Dan and Gina moved to the Sault in 1990 after 10 years in Kelowna
BC. Born in Trinidad, Gina grew up in Toronto, and would never (ever!)
trade our incredible North for the tropics – or anywhere else
in the world for that matter. "There's no place like the North
to feed creativity and carve out your own path. I couldn't be happier
than I am right here."
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In "CATNIP AND KEROSENE GRASS – What Plants Teach Us About Life", Gina Mohammed relates some of the simple yet poignant lessons that we can take from plants and their ways. Whether it is benefiting from trials, secrets to long life, using your talents – or just being yourself – she finds the plant world is rich with silent wisdom for our daily lives. The resulting text is a refreshing collection of snippets designed to delight and inspire. Click here for excerpts and further info. |
Visit Gina
on-line at her personal web site or at the book link above.
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