Jim Kogelheide

Jim is a visual artist, poet, musician and animation designer by accident. During a self-initiated walk across Southern Ontario in 1996 to gain support to halt the clear cutting of this planet’s last remaining old growth Red and White Pine forestlands found in the Temagami region, Jim found a breath of pure inspiration. “It was after this experience when I discovered that I had been given a special gift. To this day I honour my gifts by sharing these talents with the World.” In 1998 Jim began a visual art project that will (when completed in 2020?) find one specific creation in each of Canada’s thirteen provinces and territories. To date, he and his wife have lived in Manitoba, British Columbia and Nova Scotia where these art creations have been donated to elementary schools. ” I feel, deep in my heart, that the children of today will play the most significant part in creating a world structured on the actions of peace and love.” Everywhere Jim travels he works with community leaders to establish children’s environmental art programs. Most recently (August, 2006) he spent two weeks in Nunavut sharing his ideas and artwork with the children of Rankin Inlet. Jim’s adventures have been featured in several Canadian art magazines and countless newspapers. Many of his poems have been published by the Poetry Institute of Canada and his new conceptes of animation design have been recognized by The National Film Board of Canada. All of these stories and more can be found on his website www.bitsandpeaces.com