LIFE & WORK AS AN ARTIST

I am an artist and community arts coordinator, living with my family in South Wales.  I left university in 2004, having studied a Foundation Art Degree and BA Hons in Art & Aesthetics and immediately got a job as a scenic painter working for Welsh National Opera at Cardiff Theatrical Services.  I had an incredible experience as a scenic painter and buyer for the following 6 years and gained a wealth of skills, whilst meeting many inspirational artists who supported and taught me along the way.  I worked on a huge scale, experimented with all sorts of materials and worked on sets for world class stage productions that travelled all around the globe. 
My time as a painter gave me such good grounding to work professionally as an artist and over time I recognised the adaptability of my skills.  I took an opportunity to change the direction of my career, and gained my PGCE qualification as a further education tutor.  Around about this time I also began teaching art within the community, eventually settling with community arts organisation ‘People Around Here’, alongside artistic coordinator Becky Matyus and artist and mentor Bill Taylor Beales who founded the project.  Over the years we worked in a broad range of settings, enabling young people to acquire OCN & Bronze awards. We worked in schools, community centres and conferences, facilitating a range of innovative and exciting projects; anything from graphic recording, heritage story telling and murals, to making concrete sheep for St Fagans national museum, to name just a few!  
In 2017 I was employed as lead artist and coordinator for a developing charity.  'People Around Here' evolved into ‘ACE Arts’ to sit under the umbrella of wider community charity organisation ACE (Action in Caerau & Ely) based at the Dusty Forge in Ely.  In 2016 we secured a large ‘Paul Hamlyn Foundation’ grant that enabled us to employ a fantastic small team of community artists.  Over the years our project has flourished.  After winning further funding, we were able to build a permanent workshop within the Dusty Forge building and now have the capacity to offer 6 workshops a week over the course of 2 days.  I was also appointed the role of lead local artist on the ‘CAER heritage project’.  Our project aims to embed creative and imaginative methods of delivery, accredited learning opportunities, and connect and engage local people with the history and archaeology of Caerau Iron Age Hillfort.  We are in the process of creating a new build heritage centre and playground on the site.

In 2020 my freelance work took a new direction and I taught myself the skills to produce digital illustration. I purchased an iPad and Apple pencil and set up a small business working from my home studio (pictured) selling high A5 Giclée art prints on etched cotton rag (see shop in links) 

I am also currently studying an MA in Arts Health and Well-being.  It's become a springboard for me to unravel ways my collective creative experiences to-date might more fluidly knit together, in order to support, connect and enhance each other and enabling me to take some time out to explore the theory behind my practice.   My work is heavily influenced by my deep passion for music and nature and fuelled by my desire to emotionally support those in need.  I am also constantly inspired and kept busy by my two young children and partner of 21 years!  As a family we love going to festivals and travelling, and we spend as much time immersing ourselves outdoors as possible! 
You can find links to my online shop, art Instagram, community art pages and videos of past projects in the contacts section of this website. Please feel free to get in touch for further info on any aspects of my artistic practice. Thanks for reading!