Tutors

I have been an artist since i was 2 years old. I was always making something. As I grew up my love for all art grew, i was never content in staying within one practice. At 15 I went to school but also went to night school 3 days a week learning photography, pottery and sewing.

When I was 18 I moved to New York which was the catalyst for my art, I spent hours in every art gallery I could find.

Once home I enrolled into Media Arts in Waikato and started exhibiting my work. I then got involved with scouts through my daughter and the adventures we had began to pour into my art.

I started teaching art to children while I was getting my degree and everything in my life clicked. Teaching art was what I was meant for. The children’s imaginations and thirst for the unknown made my classes inspirational and incredibly creative. This form of teaching has proved to be i
ncredibly successful and the children within any of my programmes have discovered more about
who they are through the process.

I moved to the Hibiscus Coast and immediately identified a need within the community for a high
quality art programme for children. I designed Youth Rodney Arts Programme in 2006.
This programme included after school classes and weekend workshops in all art dis-ciplines areas.

We run programmes that give the children opportunities to enter competitions, exhibit their wor
k in galleries and be apart of a vision together. We have field trips to galleries in and around the
Auckland area, giving children opportunities to open their minds to all the possibilities in Art.

I soon discovered a lot of children had working parents who couldn’t get their children to all
activities and I wanted to be able to accommodate them as well and that is how Treehut after
school programme was designed. Our after school programme has become more
than I ever imagined. The children enrolled have taken up all our challenges and not only
are they learning but they are having fun doing it.

Each term we strive to make the next better than the last and this next term certainly
will be a roller coaster of fun.

• M.B.A Media Arts

• Certificate of Business

Cath O'Brien

The Balinese do not have a specific word for art. They simply say do everything well. To me art or the creative process is a part of everything we do. It is in us and our surrounding world and in the things we do. I am interested in the ways we choose to express our creativity, whether it is in the way we dress, through our career, with our families and friends, or in our gardens. I currently choose to express my creativity mostly through photography and moving image, however I also paint, draw, create collage and write poetry.

Whatever artform I choose I am interested in capturing the essence of the subject I choose to represent. To me this is when something comes alive and communicates with the viewer. After 12 years working as a registered nurse in NZ and overseas I decided on a change of carer and returned to a learning environment.

I completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts in 2002 at Auckland University of Technology. I have been involved in a variety of group exhibitions over the last 6 years and I am currently preparing for a
soloshow. I have worked in the arts since I completed my degree in 2002. I managed a community
art centre in Grey Lynn for a couple of years. My most recent role was as Arts Adviser at Rodney
District Council. I left the Council as I wanted to devote more time to my art practice.

My role at Treehut as Art tutor and Coordinator enables me to work in a cre-ative environment.
I enjoy working with the children to on our exciting art projects. I find their creativity inspirational

Natalie Dowd

I graduated from the Bachelor of Dance Programme at AUT in 2008, having taught and carried out research into the area of special needs and dance. As a teacher and choreographer I believe everyone can dance. I am passionate about creativity within dance and so include a variety of music, dance genres and choreographic tasks to provide a framework within which the dancers can have
fun creating their own movement and dances.

Susannah Law

Susannah is a local artist and teacher based in Red Beach busy raising a family alongside her art career.

Sue has won numerous awards in acrylic painting since her childhood, specialising in portraiture and contemporary marbling techniques.

Regularly exhibiting successfully around Auckland, she has sold works to numerous art collectors nationally and internationally.

Currently her studio is based in Wainui rd, Silverdale, Auckland.

After completing a Diploma in teaching in 1992 she spent many years teaching children in the local
community. Then completing a Diploma in Art and Craft in 2005 she set up art classes at Estuary Art
Centre in Orewa for children when it opened in 2007. She is the Education convenor on the EAC
Education committee, liaising with tutors and helping fundraise for the education facility here.

Sue teaches at Tree Hut on Tuesdays and as required as an art specialist.

She regularly organises and consults for grant applications for various art related projects.

For enquiries please phone her on 027 259 2897.

Lewis Bostock

I’m an Independent Filmmaker and Film Critic from Auckland. I have a passion for Self Distribution
and building the Film, Television and New Media Community in New Zealand. I graduated in May
2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in Film, Television and Media Studies. I make a living as a DVD Advisor
at JB HI-FI in Albany. As well as by teaching Filmmaking and Film Studies to Youth and Adults in the Rodney District.

• Bachelor of Arts Graduate in Film, Television and Media Studies