Kristin Hyde
DREAM BIG, AIM HIGH
DREAM BIG, AIM HIGHHaving been a Flight Attendant for 32 years, and after taking a month's holiday with her eldest son in the Bahamas, the night Kristin Hyde flew out of Houston to come home was the night the world started closing its borders and unbeknown to her at the time, she had already crewed her last duty. They say ‘When life gives you Lemons, make lemonade’ ... so I did. I took the leap, and at 60 years old in a pandemic, I became a full-time artist.” Kristin tells us her story:
“I am mainly self-taught, having taken the odd class over the years, both online and in person. I have always been a bit of a closet creative. I would scrimp and save and spend my money on art or craft supplies. When my children were little, I started painting on terracotta pots for friends. They quickly became sought after and so I created ‘Pots for Tots.’ From there I have always dabbled over the years in many different artistic endeavours from mosaics and water colours, screen printing to beading then jewellery making, eco printing and felting. I was always eager to try new things, but painting has become the dominant leader.
Bryony Bedggood
A COMPLETE CREATIVE
Other than art lessons while at school, Bryony Bedggood is a self taught artist who has always been drawn to creative pursuits such as dance, music, writing, and of course, art. “Our Mum studied art in Dublin and our Dad played guitar and was a wonderful influence in taking time to stop and really see things. They always encouraged my siblings and I to follow what we loved doing.”
Creating is what makes Bryony happy, “I feel very off kilter if I’m not creating. I’ve had a few different careers with a high element of stress, also interesting life experiences that have contributed to me wanting to focus on my art.” Being an artist gives her the freedom to explore all the different things that excite her. “I have way too many ideas floating around my head to not follow through! Sometimes I definitely feel like there isn’t enough time to cover or discover all the ideas in my head!” She also plays flute and piccolo in a couple of orchestra and chamber groups.
Sheree Foster
SHEREE FOSTERS ARTISTIC JOURNEY
By Ben Lavin
Sheree Foster has always been involved in one way or another with creative things. Before becoming a full time, self-taught artist “...graduating from the school of Life’’, she was in Banking, Event Marketing and then, after having her family, a Design Build Consultant, with interests in photography, floral, and landscape design. She actually never considered becoming an artist until a visiting friend observed a piece she had created lying on a table and then asked her what gallery she had bought it from. She was quite taken aback to hear that Sheree had made it and after learning there were no plans for it she promptly decided to buy it on the spot. It now hangs proudly on their wall in their new contemporary beach house in Waihi Beach - all two metres of it, and recently been joined by piece number two another two metre monster. Thus began Sheree’s adventure as an artist which she admits was a bit of a crossroads in her life. What should she do next?
After doing several weddings and seeing the wastage of flowers for one day she decided she wanted to create something from this and the idea came to her of repurposing floral waste into all sorts of art pieces from wreaths to busts of heads, all in pre-loved flowers and often with a vintage flair. The enjoyment of creating this art, as well as the pleasure of seeing one of her pieces in its forever place, was what really motivated her to keep going.
Rebecca Mathews
MY SOUL DREAM
MY SOUL DREAM“When you find something that makes you happy then the pursuit to better yourself comes naturally”, says Rebecca Mathews, whose mantra is, whatever is good for your soul, do that. “After I found my love for painting, I started showing my work to friends and colleagues who loved it. I sold many pieces and picked up a few commissions.”
Rebecca is a self-taught artist. She loves learning and the challenge of trying new things. “My first painting on canvas was in my 20s. I bought a paint-by-number and loved it. However, it didn't look real enough for me so I started researching; reading books and watching tutorials.”
Jackie Krzyzowski
DETAILED DELIGHT
Jackie Krzyzowski never had any formal training but always enjoyed drawing as a child. She used one private workshop and various online tutorials to get her started with pastels. She explains further:
I spent most of my adult life with horses and riding as a hobby and with family life, working full time and studying part time there was not much time for anything else. I always thought that one day I might come back to my art. Getting older, I was not fit enough to carry on with the horse riding and moved to breeding and showing miniature horses. This was successful for 10 years, but again, getting older, mobility issues were making this hobby more difficult and so I decided to retire from it. Then came COVID lockdown and I was looking for something to do and now I am on this new, amazing art journey.
Bec Robertson
AVIAN AFFINITY
AVIAN AFFINITYBec Robertson’s grandmother and her grandmother’s sister were painters in their retirement. Bec’s grandmother also wrote and illustrated poems and stories, “As a kid I also wrote and illustrated A LOT of ‘newspapers’. I would make up fanciful news stories and pictures then sell ‘the paper’ to my dad for lolly money. I soon learnt that I could resell the same articles to my other family members for more money for lollies! I loved showing them new pictures and ideas and getting their feedback.”
She tells us more: “I have loved being creative for as long as I can remember. As a young child I had a cupboard in the kitchen under the bench where I kept all my treasures, little bottles of crayon sharpenings, paper cut outs of anything which took my fancy, matchboxes full of strange found objects - I think a few unfortunate forgotten lady bugs and a caterpillar died as a result of my match box obsession.”
Michaela Voigt
MICHAELA JANE VOIGT
Always a very creative person, when the decision came in year 13 to decide what was next for Michaela Voigt, it was either going to be something along the lines of Sports and Nutrition or something creative and she chose an Applied Arts Degree - a Bachelor of Applied Media Art at the Southern Institute of Technology which she completed in 2013.
“I did focus a lot on the digital side whilst studying but my favourite class, looking back, was definitely life drawing. Since graduating I have mostly been a full time Graphic Designer putting work into the odd exhibition but in the last couple of years I have really started pursuing my love of drawing again in particular flowers and botanicals.”
She finds inspiration in all that surrounds her. “I draw things I have seen that are memorable to me and it’s usually the little things.
Livia Dias
CLASSIC BEAUTY
Livia Dias is an artist who enjoys painting nature, gardens and people. Livia grew up in an environment surrounded by art. At the age of 13, she began learning drawing and painting from her uncle, Gilberto Dias, who is a professional artist and art tutor in her home country Brazil. Her passion for art has never stopped since then. She’s been working as a full-time artist and art tutor since 2000.
She had a classical training based on the Old Masters teachings and glazing techniques which she is very grateful for, because she says that it taught her the importance of developing the skill set to create the illusion of form and depth on a flat surface that is crucial for her art. Her uncle was her first inspiration. She was amazed at what he could create with a brush! He introduced her to many other artists in a variety of styles which contributed to shaping her artistic journey.
Jordan Turner
TRUE CALLING
TRUE CALLINGAt the age of 13, Jordan Turner’s foray into the fine art world was cut short by her family’s relocation from their home town of Cromwell to another country town. She’d only managed to have two private lessons. “My tutor handed me four pieces of paper and directed me to paint four faces without my brush leaving the paper. I feel like ever since that time, I have been mastering faces. He must have known that I was drawn to faces, as it’s exactly what I am drawn to now. The face and body and capturing the emotion, it’s just fascinating to me.”
She claims her biggest inspiring factor to becoming an artist was when she was 16: “My Mum took my brother and I to the New Zealand Body Art Awards, in Auckland. That event left a lasting imprint and inspired me to research and then sign up and get accepted into studying makeup and film production, at the Design and Art College of New Zealand.” Jordan completed this certificate at the age of 20. From that point she furthered her skills by travelling and sketching her way around Australia and the UK, finally settling in Melbourne. “During this time I really started to focus on developing my creative craft. This involved leading various creative events, teaching workshops and displaying my artworks in galleries and art shows, throughout Melbourne.”
