Skyler

Ronald Skyler Haigh was born in a small, remote town on Hudson Bay. Churchill thawed to life as a port in the early 1930s and grew a little more lively—or deadly—as a rocket range for the Canadian military in the 1950s. In 1962, I added to the tiny human population that just outnumbered the polar bears, maybe 1,200 humans to 800 huge, hungry, white things.

My mom was the big shaping force in my life. She had only a Grade 8 education, but was a dreamer with a great sense of fashion and adventure. She was one of Canada's best dressed welfare Moms (unverified) who hoped I would become a pilot, since my given middle name, Skyler, means "lover of the sky." For the record, I am afraid of heights.

I lived in New Brunswick and in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. When I was eight, my father ran away from home—I previously thought that was what high-spirited kids did—leaving my mom, my two brothers, and me hard-pressed to get by. I never understood my mom's inability to get back on her feet until I really listened to that Etta James song, "Love's Been Rough on Me." Doing well in school seemed the only way back to a "normal" life—the one I'd left: a bungalow with waxed wooden floors, hollyhocks thick with bumblebees, and a white picket fence.

I went on to Trinity College at the University of Toronto, where I spent a decade trying to figure out what I could do better than most—and how to make a damn decent living doing it.

Fate led me to Japan, where I have now lived for more than four decades. For most of that time, I worked full-time at a Japanese multinational as a guide and presenter on mobility technology and its benefits to society. On the company's dime, I traveled to more than seventy countries, taking in diverse art traditions and styles during free hours between business meetings.

Before coming to Japan, I studied English literature, art history, and Japanese studies. I took drawing classes and often visited the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Since retiring to Shizuoka, Japan, in March 2022, I spend almost every day making art under the name Skyler. It's turning out to be a very interesting time.