About Tom Gower -

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Tom said, "I always loved creating art, and then in my early twenties, I took my passion very seriously", and then he began to study the concepts of color theory, linear and abstraction. He combined those ideas with what he saw and felt using the pastel medium. Tom felt one of the best experiences he's had in following his passion was when he taught art at Gila Community College in Arizona at the San Carlos campus which is an Apache settlement. That's where he met Jennifer Grisenti. Tom mentioned, "it might not be obvious but the students taught me a lot", like how art can be appreciated on different levels there's not just one style. Like, all the students had different art styles, and each art piece they did expressed something new to Tom.   

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In art, Tom thought he finally found an easy way to express himself. He was drawn to abstraction by the feelings it stirred up in him. But he soon discovered abstraction to be the most challenging style, which is to express feeling with shapes and lines. However, Tom believes, we must know something before starting a piece of art, even if it's just basic knowledge of an object or a general idea. He elaborated, but there’s a lot more to an object than just knowing the basics, there’s shapes and expressive lines which can express a feeling. But that also happens in a strange way, such as, through the years, he's had conversations with art teachers and fellow artists. And if art theory was brought up, sometimes he and other artists were defied by the discussion, even though they already knew it (art theory), because somehow it showed up naturally in their artwork. Tom feels glad about that, because as he said, "I approach a piece by combining what I know with what I see and feel, even though sometimes I might not know what I know", as a consequence and even if by accident, what he's thinking and feeling somehow comes out natural in his art.   

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Tom is a member of the Eastern James Bay Crees. He is half Cree and half Italian. He lives in Quebec, Canada. A graduate of Zaki Gordon Film Institute and Sault College. Also, Algoma University where he majored in law, with a strong focus in mathematics and art.