Kia ora! Welcome to my website.

A little about me – I’m an Aussie who married a Kiwi and we’ve lived in New Zealand for nearly three years. 

We live in Otaihanga and my art studio is right here on our half-acre property. Kapiti blows me away every day with how beautiful it is. You can read my mihi here – I think it captures how much I love this place and how connected I feel to it. Of course, I miss my Aussie family a lot, and hopefully it won’t be too long before those borders open up again!

About my creative practice

My creative practice mostly involves two things – writing and painting. I find that both work together quite well – I write when I’ve got painter’s block and I paint when I can’t figure out what to write next! And often I find the missing pieces of my novels in my paintings. It’s a curious, mysterious process that I love.

Painting

I love to paint because it’s so relaxing. I work full time as well, so I never have as much studio time as I’d like, but painting is a very nourishing, relaxing process. It’s like yoga, it gives your mind a break from thinking. You stop working from a mental space and let your intuition take over.

Inspiration

Nature and the ocean are two of my biggest creative inspirations. I love flowers of all kind. It’s impossible to go for a fast-paced walk with me as I usually have to stop every few minutes to admire and take photos of different kinds of  plants and flowers on my phone. They usually become my source inspiration. 

I’ve been leading creative teams in my day job for a long time. One of the biggest thrills of my work is to nurture other creatives and support them as they grow, develop and fully realise their talents and abilities. More recently, since moving to New Zealand, I’ve been running courses for adult learners at Wellington Community college. Adult learners are amazing, I meet people from all walks of life who are diverse, interesting and all unique. Adult learners come to courses and workshops really committed to being there, and I love to fuel their interest and curiosity by showing them new things. I’ve often thought that as adults, we can often forget how fun and playful learning new things can be. It’s awesome and I love delivering all of my courses.