Jim Kershaw is an early boomer and spent his youth in Niagara. While occupied with hours of drawing and playing the piano, Jim experienced acute unilateral deafness beginning in infancy. The memory of how difficult it was in school, the loss and isolation on the playing field, and failing Grade 10 English weighed on him.
Yet he felt earnest about his expressive talents when he moved to Toronto at age twenty-one. For a few years, he was employed as a clerk, a labourer, a surveyor, and a woodworker. Some experience and a foundation course in display arts at George Brown College in 1978 led Jim to form a sign-painting service until 2004, when computers took over his hand-lettering skills.
Transferable skills and a career change facilitated comfort with his writing, having completed a course at the Institute of Children’s Literature and an Interactive Multimedia course at Niagara College. He was published in “Waves” and other works, including “Voices from the Niagara” (Moonstone Press). He has enjoyed playing 20th-century popular songs on the piano for local inbound seniors. An active retiree, Jim lives in St. Catharines, ON.
Jim Kershaw BA (Hons) Studio Art 36-319 Geneva St St. Catharines, ON L2N 2G3 289-501-4026
June 7, 2024.