Your occupation, job title, artistic discipline (or very brief description of what you do).

I am a visual artist who paints and illustrates, has a small apparel brand and is the full time Events Manager for Katch Katikati creating amazing community-based events for the town of Katikati in the Bay of Plenty. Katch Katikati creates, promotes and runs events for the community, young and old. My main focus is to get more events for our 18- to 35-year-olds. We have lots going on for the retired community and for our kids in schools, but there is so much we can do to keep our creative young adults in the community, so I am working hard on our 2023 calendar with this focus. For example, there are some incredible young talented musicians in the Bay and we have the amazing boutique Junction Theatre here in Katikati, which is permanently set up to host gigs and shows with a professional sound system and seating area. My aim is to give these young people the opportunity to showcase their talent in our 100-capacity theatre and gain valuable experience in a theatre environment. Outdoor gigs are also on the cards for lazy Sunday afternoons in one of our many parks in the future. We are a very creative bunch in the Bay of Plenty; the more we can share and enjoy the local talent, the better! Our biggest event is the Katikati Avocado Food and Wine Festival which is coming up on the 14^th of January with live music, markets and food and alcohol vendors. A great big fun afternoon in the sun.

What cities/towns have you lived in (or spent more than a few months in) beginning with the place of your birth?

I was born in Rotorua, grew up in Auckland and moved to Australia at the age of 21. I lived in Sydney for ten years and then moved to Queensland to a small coastal town of Yeppoon, and then down to the Gold Coast for a year in Currumbin before returning home to New Zealand and living in Christchurch, Rotorua and Mount Maunganui before settling at Waihi Beach earlier this year. I love to move around!

What are the earliest stories you remember hearing? The ones that told you about the world?

I grew up in a really creative and imaginative household with some fun aunties and uncles, too, so all the stories were made up – one specifically lives on and is about a jellyfish called Jack. I plan to make it into a kid’s book one day soon!

What’s your favourite Bay of Plenty landscape, park, building, location, suburb, or side street? Why?

The beaches, all of them. I am a coastal girl, I love to be in or near the salt water. It calms me down, refreshes and revitalises me.

What’s an average day in your life at present?

Up at 6 a.m., hopefully catching a sunrise from my bedroom or down on the sand with a coffee in hand. During the day I am creating amazing events for Katikati and outside of that, painting murals, working on illustrations and production for my apparel brand Chur Aotearoa. Chur Aotearoa is a brand I created initially for the mountain biking community in Rotorua. We have a huge group of riders there who all get together and encourage one another to get out on their bikes and try new challenges (whether attempting a harder trail than they are used to, or simply encouraging new riders to give mountain biking a go). It’s one of the only sports where, even on a professional level, riders will help each other get better even when they are competing against each other. That sets such a great example for the younger generation. They always bring positive vibes and support each other no matter what.  There was a gap in the apparel market at the time (tees and hoodies), so I started something for the people of the Rotorua community, and when looking for a name I chose something people could identify with:  chur. The word itself made a lot of sense. It is part of the day to day language in Rotorua – almost used in every situation as a greeting, a thank you, an acknowledgement, or praise.  It represented this community of stoked riders so well and they instantly resonated with it.

How do you want your art/work to make viewers feel?

HAPPY!  I use bright and fun colours that make you happy and appeal to the eye. I am a very visual person and love colour combinations and the theory behind how colours work together and creative emotions within. I am heavily inspired by pop art and the psychedelic art era.

What does success look like for you?

Being happy in my own skin, being unapologetically me and creating whatever I want whether anyone likes it or not (someone always likes it!). We are programmed to want to be liked, and often that leads creatives down a path of doing what they think people want rather than creating what their heart desires and we burn out and lose passion for what we are doing, and it becomes a real unenjoyable slog.

If you didn’t become an artist, what would you be doing?

If my family had anything to do with it – a teacher. There are three qualified and one studying currently, in my family!  I have often thought about going and getting my teaching qualification, but something always pops up and I get all I need out of workshops. Never say never though!

How do you know when an artwork is finished?

Generally after thinking it’s already done three times. It seems to be the magic number!

For you as a creative person, who are a few influential artists or thinkers?

Andy Warhol and Mulga the Artist.

If you went away from the Bay of Plenty for a long time and then came back, what are the first three things you would do or visit?

Head to the beach – we are so spoilt with such an incredible East Coast.

What is missing or lacking from your Bay of Plenty community or environment?

More murals – there are never enough, haha.

What was your first real job, second, third?

Yacht club dishwasher, mailroom coordinator, after school care teacher, pattern maker (costume design)… it goes on and on. I have done so many different part-time jobs, years of events and I even drove for Uber when it very first started in Australia back in 2012.

Where would you like to live, but have yet to?

Dubai, Berlin, Bali. I did a gap year when I was 18 and lived in the UK working at a YMCA Outdoor Education Camp for school kids and community groups.  Aside from that and living in Australia, I have never lived anywhere very different to how I grew up. I would love to move to a country where I don’t know much about the way of life; I believe experiences are what shape, teach, and inspire us as humans. I love change, so why wouldn’t I want to move overseas and experience as much as I can? You never know who you might meet along the way and that is so exciting! Berlin has an incredible art scene so I would love to go and I almost did move there a few years ago. I often wonder what that would have been like. Dubai seems so other worldly and Bali would be amazing to stay for months on end. I will get to all of them!

What word of advice would you offer an aspiring creative person?

Play, experiment, get your hands dirty and just do whatever YOU want.

What’s the biggest problem about life in New Zealand? How you would solve it?

Tall Poppy Syndrome. I come from a really encouraging and supportive family and group of friends, and I know that is really lucky, but it irks me when someone’s natural attitude is to tear people down. In my twenties, I dealt with a lot of ‘but when will you get a real job?’ when speaking about being an artist and what I wanted out of life. It only fueled my fire but to have to constantly defend your dreams or purpose is really discouraging.

I’m not sure I can solve the problem solely, but I work really hard to be positive and educate others on the magic of following your passions, living out your dreams and doing what YOU want. You have one life, you have to live it. However you want! I guess that’s why I am so passionate about helping the younger generation.

I LOVE life in New Zealand – I lived in Australia for 13 years and moving home to NZ was the best decision. Nothing beats home and we are so lucky to be from such a chilled out and stunning part of the world.

What is your dream of happiness?

Having a boat-load of mini animals on a piece of land. I will happily be a crazy animal lady.

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