Creative ID: 673
Greater Auckland area
My arts or creative practice (including details about my specific focus within that art form/practice and my strengths):
I am a freelance artist and illustrator with more than 7 years of experience working across a variety of mediums and fields. My work includes cartooning for print media, live illustration at events and conventions across New Zealand and large format mural work. For the past year I have been working with the staff at local high school to develop art therapy creative groups that focus on working with students with a variety of learning and emotional challenges. These have expanded, and we have created several exciting projects that are led by the students that include a mural outside the council office, carving, and fine art painting.
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 currently run the creative groups, working with students with a variety of learning and emotional challenges to explore their creative voice. This also gives them a creative outlet to work through their challenges as well as offering a source of mana and personal development.
I work with make everything achievable as a live illustrator capturing key moments from various meetings and events onto a large format artwork, which can then be displayed and used to communicate ideas from the day. I work in paint markers and in a style that resembles caricature. I am the cartoonist for a bi-weekly newspaper, which involves illustrating one of the key stories from the community and working to a 4-day timeline. I also engage in various commissioned pieces in various media.
Describe the experience you have had working with children or young people, teaching or facilitating creative processes:
High school art therapy groups, 2020– present: Support 12 groups of students to explore their creative expression and create a space for confident communication and affirmation, work towards various projects exploring students’ sense of self and cohesion as a group.
Why I want to be part of the Creatives in Schools programme and how my involvement will link to my creative practice:
I am inspired by working with the students and incorporate their creativity into my own work. I enjoy fanning their creative flames and showing them other outlets to achieve a sense of mana outside of traditional educational routes. Seeing students develop a desire to work in the creative arts is a powerful thing to witness. This also allows me the time to draw and create from my own creative expression.