ABM is me—Xristopher Bland, artist, writer, composer, speaker, teacher and student. I come from a long line of painters, musicians, craftspeople and other creative folk. So I guess I come from a long line of alchemists.
I got failing English grades in high school. Teachers told me to stop daydreaming about making the world a better place and just get with the program. I ignored them all, created my own program, kept writing and never looked back.
I’ve made mistakes. I’ve experienced profound joys. I’ve struggled with who I am, and I’ve felt out of place in a world where practical decisions are the opening chapters to the unwritten book called “a smart and sensible life.” Yet I also know (perhaps like you) that I am spirit… that all we can ever take from this life is the experience of who we were and what we did… and this world is but one brief stop across the universe where other worlds wait. So I look to those worlds and try to draw my art, music and writing from them in the hope of inspiring and connecting with others here like me.
I’m a Canadian. I’m a creative. I’ve written professionally for 35 years and I have no plans to stop. I create every day. I’m constantly learning and striving to be the best writer I can, and I’m sometimes for hire.
The name ABM first appeared in 1991. Founded by my mother, Vi Bland, to publish the award-winning arts and entertainment magazine Mosaic, ABM (meaning “all by myself”) offered a full range of creative services alongside the magazine until 2010, when she sold Mosaic to the Ginger Press. In 2012, my mother passed away, leaving me the ABM name. To reflect and continue the service aspect of what she established, I changed the name to abmCreative and proudly work under that name today in honor of the woman who unfailingly encouraged and supported me, and inspired me to become the person I am today.
abm creative 