Monday, 17 August 2015

meet challenge admin - Kim Bergstrom

Kim Bergstrom


1. Your name, location
Hello! Having lived in Melbourne all my life I am what you would say 'Melbourne born and bred', and with all my family living here I cannot imagine living anywhere else!

2. Describe your family
Together with my husband we have two boys 10 and 8 years old and two excessively spoilt girls (dogs); Mabel and Pearl.

Week 25 2015: AFRICA by Kim Bergstrom
3. Describe your art work
My artwork is perhaps best described as experimental as I do not have a distinctive style and really enjoy trying different techniques, styles and mediums. Watercolour appears to be something that I lean towards and when in doubt, grey lead is my traditional favourite or my comfort zone.

4. What is your career goal?
At sixteen years of age I wanted to be a hairdresser or a teacher in an art room, hairdressing won and after twenty-one years in the profession and having attained many of my career goals in this field, inclusive of owning my own business and teaching apprentices, I wanted to challenge myself further. Whilst I was passionate about hairdressing, I really enjoyed the teaching aspect yet felt this was not the age group where my heart truly belonged.

When our first son commenced primary school I helped in the classroom with hearing the children read and this was the new direction I wanted to take. Last year I was overwhelmed and delighted to achieve a new career goal of graduating from university with a Bachelor of Education (Primary) and this year have delighted being a part of a classroom environment. I made the decision to not specialise in art as this is something I wanted to be able to bring into the everyday classroom.
Bonus Challenge: COCOON by Kim Bergstrom


5. What is my career goal? 
Well, it is as simple as it is complex in that my goal is to share my love of the arts (music and art) in an environment in which academia is viewed as more successful than creativity and the arts therefore through a holistic approach in celebrating and sharing both equally.

I believe that creativity is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status. - Sir Ken Robinson

(Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity#t-178853)


6. Describe your art background
I have never thought to have an art background as such, it is just something that I have always loved and done. I am not sure what my parents saw however it must have been something because in my early teens they enrolled me in art classes and I undertook these for a couple of years. I have never seen myself as ever having stopped doing art, it has just taken different directions through many forms of creativity; calisthenics, hairdressing, sewing, crafts, scrapbooking, playing musical instruments.

Week 22 2015: CHILDHOOD by Kim Bergstrom


7. What do you love about the Challenge?
I adore how the challenge has brought my creativity back to my love of art with so many different techniques and styles that I have reveled in trying. The challenge has also provided a safe place in which I can 'loose' myself but then celebrate and share with like-minded people.
Week 5 2015: KITCHEN by Kim Bergstrom


8. Has there been a highlight for you since being a part of the challenge?
There has been a several highlights!! I joined the challenge during week two, last year and having my work 'liked' and commented on was quite overwhelming as I have never put my work 'out there', it is my hobby and many people did not even know I was arty. The first time Tania chose one of my illustrations for the weekly blog pics was an enormous highlight and is still a highlight when chosen!!

The most memorable highlight is the incredible honour of being chosen to represent Week 17: Horse at the exhibition in Perth earlier this year. One of my pieces chosen and hanging amongst so many professionals and talented artists was beyond my wildest dreams. Most recently was the wonderful highlight of being asked to join the admin team which now gives me a valid excuse for spending time on Facebook looking at all the beautiful artwork and seeing the growth and development of everyone.

These are only a few of the highlights however the ongoing highlight is the positive and encouraging environment in which Tania and Nicky have created and continue to grow and develop, a privilege to be a part of.
Week 17 2014: HORSE

Wednesday, 12 August 2015

jess's picks - week 31: SHAKESPEARE

Dramatic and poetic, this week's theme of Shakespeare brought a range of work either interpreting some famous phrases or portraits of the great man himself. It was a pleasure putting together some images that struck me - apologies for spelling mistakes, with a new baby I'm getting a maximum of 2 hours sleep at a time!

Anne L-So

Demelsa Haughton

Ian McLean

Janet Murphy

Joanne Stead

Katherine Harper

Lauren Tregenza

Leonie Cheetham

Margaret Dewar

Marie Laure Fontan

Marjory Gardner

Michelle Kempees Lewis

Nicky Johnston

Peter Hinton

Peter Papanmanolis

Rachele Rebetez

Raffaella Picotti

Sally Fawcett

Sarah Deverell

Sophie Pittaway

Suzy Houghton

Vair Buchanen

Karen Allen
Deborah Parker

Tony Dalla Venezia


Monday, 10 August 2015

meet challenge admin - Lisa-Marie Kerr

Lisa-Marie Kerr

1. Your name, location
Lisa-Marie Kerr, Brisbane

2. Describe your family
There is my incredibly supportive hubby Shawn, who (thankfully) believes in and supports every crazy idea I come up with. Gotta love him. Ryan is 20 and a pilot – he could fly a plane solo before he could drive a car, craziness! Caitlin is 18 and in the Army and then Mia is 8. She is my earth angel. My family is my everything.

Week 32 2014: PSYCHEDELIC by Lisa-Marie Kerr


3. Describe your work
Ever changing. I have had over 10 different careers in my life so far. I am a constantly evolving creature. Drives me nuts, but inspires me at the same time. At the moment I work part time in a gorgeous gift boutique, and I have just launched my business “Bear and Sparrow” a children’s décor range that I designed and am having a local carpenter make for me, and I am a career coach for teenagers by trade. So a jack-of-all-trades, master of none as they say.

4. What is your career goal?
Right now in this moment it is to launch “Bear and Sparrow” and to have it become a household name. I would love to be featured in an interior design magazine for it. I dream of the pieces I design being treasured by families for years to come and handed down from generation to generation. I would love to own my own manufacturing plant here in Australia for my pieces and support Australian workers by being 100% Aussie owned, designed and made.

Lisa-Marie's new children's decor range logo

5. Describe your art background
None! Ha! I just draw/create from the heart. I have done an interior design course before, but that is about it. Art for me is my soul therapy. I don’t draw as much now for the challenge, but I am constantly drawing designs for my décor range. I think I was always a creative at heart, but until I started the challenge last year I kept it suppressed.
Week 15 2015: VIETNAM by Lisa-Marie Kerr


6. What do you love about the Challenge?
Oh easy! The people. Or should I say friends I have made. So many beautiful like-minded souls that I have been blessed to be connected with. I was so lost when I stumbled on to the challenge. In a very bad place emotionally. It literally saved me. The people, the support, the inspirational work. This challenge is very special. I feel like I owe a lot to Tania for following her dreams and as a result inspiring me to reconnect with mine. Words don’t do my emotions justice in response to this question. Thank you Tania and Nicky for all the work you have done, and continue to do with the challenge.

7. Tell us something that we don’t know about you
2 years ago I wrote and self published a book “Get Job Ready: a teens guide to getting their first job”. It is currently in over 500 libraries and schools in Australia and I was interviewed on “Sunrise” with Mel and Kochie about it. That’s my 10 seconds of fame!

Week 30 2014: SYDNEY by Lisa-Marie Kerr


Follow Lisa-Marie online:

Website: www.bearandsparrow.com.au

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/bearandsparrow

Wednesday, 5 August 2015

trish's picks - week 30: PORTRAIT

What an incredible week... so crazily hard to make a selection! I was totally blown away by the talent on the wall this week! Thankyou all for sharing your wonderful artworks.

Here is just a few of the many pieces I loved.



Penny Fisher


 Chrystal Rankin 



 Hayley Atkinson



 Heidi Cooper



 Ian McLean



 Izabela Ward



 Jess Racklyeft



 Jolanda Jarman



 Lex McKay



 Linda Graham D'Agostino



 Michele Kempees-Lewis



 Nicky Johnston



 Peter Hinton



 Raffaella Picotti



 Sally Fawcett



 Sophie Pittaway


 Vickie Stokes




Vanessa Pritchard



Alina Alexandra



Alison Smallwood



Amanda Hunt


Anne L-y So


Annet Weelink


Aska Theillustrator

Betty Sargeant


Bronny Boniface


Clara Cook



Damien Thomasz



Dave Liew



Deborah Parker‎



Evon Lim



Judy O'Brien



Julie StAubyn



Karen Allen



Karen Erasmus



Kate Bouman



Katharine Harper



Kathleen Potter



Leonie Cheetham



Lisa-Marie Kerr



Margaret Dewar



Maureen Ann Lacey



Natalie Daniel



Oana Dumitru



Samantha Cohen



Sarah Ang



Sarah Hart



Vair Buchanan