The Edmonton Muse April 2018 | Page 23

pockets no matter what relationship you have. So you always have to be aware and make sure you make the best deals possible. Know your upsides and downsides and make sure you have back up plans for every scenario because even though you have a plan for every scenario - a new scenario you never thought of will present itself and you will need to know how to bounce. Only time can provide this preparedness and successes and failures allow you to grow.”

And grow he has.

Phil grew up in a musical family, with parents and siblings who loved to sing, and though they

were very much a sports family, they always supported his art. He has had artistic training though the University of Alberta’s BFA program, Grande Prairie Regional College’s BFA program and courses from Minneapolis Minnesota Art instruction school. In his younger years, people seemed amazed that Phil, a serious hockey player, was producing art on the side, but in time, art became his primary focus, and soon he was also planning arts events.

The road to where we find him now, though, has had its share of hard learned lessons. He tells of his journey, “I have gone broke a few times trying to pursue my life in the arts. With no formal training in event planning I learned the hard way what bad deals were and how people in the business world don't care about fair all the time. They care about lining their

'long day'

'fuzzy slippers'

COVER: 'encore'