Creative ID: 636
Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt, Hutt Valley
My arts or creative practice (including details about my specific focus within that art form/practice and my strengths):
I am an illustrator and artist. My work is predominately illustrating children's books, education resources, apps, and murals. I work in a variety of mediums and am always trying new things. Most of my work is created using pencil drawings and paint and digital techniques. I love helping people bring the ideas in their head to life and have a wide knowledge of the book printing and publishing processes as well as creating large-scale mural paintings for public display.
My track record of experience and success - or the track record of experience and success of the creative or artist that I will partner with:
I have been working as an illustrator and designer of children’s picture books, educational resources, murals, games, and applications for clients in New Zealand, as well as the US, UK, and Australia for around 15 years. I have also self-published a children’s picture book and created a food education programme linked to the NZ Curriculum and Te Whāriki. I have a Bachelor of Visual Communication Design majoring in illustration, and I studied realist figure drawing for a year at one of the top ateliers in the world, The Florence Academy of Art in Italy. I have created five murals for schools, ECEs, and a city council.
Describe the experience you have had working with children or young people, teaching or facilitating creative processes:
I have worked on many creative projects with schools and early childhood centres throughout the Wellington region. At a local kindergarten I worked with the head teacher to design and paint a mural in the entrance of the kindergarten building that represented the characters and philosophies of their localised curriculum. The mural was a forest scene featuring the matai tree that grows locally and the native birds and wildlife that live in the area such as kererū, tūī, pīwakawaka, weta, and ruru.
At a local primary school I created a large taniwha mural designed in collaboration with students around their inquiry into the legend of the Wellington Harbour. I ran a design session with 30 five-year-old students and their teachers. The children discussed how they saw the taniwha in their heads. We talked about each body part and many children had a go at drawing them. I then took all the children’s drawings, stories, and descriptions away with me and came up with a taniwha character. I painted a black outline of it on plywood and the children coloured it in with paint. It was then varnished and installed at the school on public display.
At a Wellington primary school over the course of a year, I ran two sessions a week with 60 pupils aged 5–7 around healthy food. In these sessions the children learnt about the food we eat, where it comes from, why it is good for us, and most importantly what it tastes like. These sessions were used to create a programme that was then delivered digitally to schools throughout the country with over 18,000 children participating over the course of seven years.
At a local ECE centre I worked with a class of 15 children and their educator to develop an ECE programme. Over six months the children carried out healthy recipes and science investigations around different foods. They also grew and planted many seedlings in their centre’s raised beds.
Why I want to be part of the Creatives in Schools programme and how my involvement will link to my creative practice:
Growing up I can remember the creative people who came and spoke at my school. They opened my mind to the possibility that I could do this as a job and were important expanders on my life journey. Creativity is my passion and I love being part of sparking this in other people's lives. A lot of my professional work is created independently and the creatives in schools is a great way for me to get out and connect with others. These projects often inspire and influence my personal work.