This was my first commission, for an instructor at the National Outdoor Leadership School. It commemorates the 25-day canoe section of a Yukon Semester Course that she led with two female co-instructors. On day 14, news of a fire turned their entire trip around. They had to travel upstream for several days, sometimes 10 hours at a time. In the course summary, she says “This high performing student group was able to really shine in the hardship of traveling upstream. Everyone supported each other and truly learnt the meaning of tolerance for adversity, a key leadership skill. This group thrived and learnt more about themselves in these last 10 days than anyone could have imagined.”

Dimensions: 20” x 20”