Suzanne Vesty Dip. Drama, Grad. Dip. Tchg (Secondary: Art & Art History), M.F.A., M. App. Sci.SE (Distinction), Registered Celebrant, Civil Union Celebrant, A.Th.R., Prof. Mem. ANZATA.

Suzanne has 28 years professional experience as an adult educator, therapist and consultant in creativity centred human development. She was the Founding Director of Wings (1988 - 2002), a private school in creativity centred education – and has conceived and directed many innovative, experiential creative programmes within all manner of community context. She is a practising artist and exhibits her work. As the Director of Spark Studio, she provides a wealth of experience; she holds a passion for creative expression and visual art education as offering a life changing, life enhancing learning experience to Spark students.

Jenny Wood

Jenny is the first point of contact for Spark Studio and is responsible for the administration. She has previously worked in the natural health industry and more recently in the not-for-profit sector.

Rosemary Barnes

Angela Byrnes

Angela co-ordinates funding of Spark Studio to ensure there are sufficient funds to maintain and develop our service. Angela has a background in marketing, and has an interest in education.

Sally Legg M.A.A.T. (Clinical), AthR, Mem. ANZATA, Nat. Cert. Mental Health

Sally has been with Spark Studio since the beginning of 2006, and completed her clinical internship for an MA in Arts Therapy within this context. These studies were a progression of her work as a Recovery and Rehabilitation Practitioner and in Intensive Community Support. Aside from her time at Spark, Sally provides Art Therapy at Focus 2000, and also facilitates a community Art Therapy group on the North Shore. She is Secretary of the Australian and New Zealand Arts Therapy Association and is passionate about seeing the profession develop within New Zealand. In a related area, she helped to create a multi-sensory therapeutic environment within forensic I.D. services, and prior to coming to Spark, facilitated art programmes for young offenders. Sally’s been involved a variety of visual and performance based arts endeavours since her schooldays, and has passion for poetry and prose, but most of all, she values how Spark Studio offers people the opportunity to use the art-making process to communicate their experience and find meaning through creativity.

Anna Rae BVA

I graduated from AUT with a Bachelor of Visual Arts in 2000. Since then I have been working as an artist and as an art tutor. I have been teaching children, teenagers and adults and began working part-time at Spark studio in November 2006. Spark studio is a fantastic studio environment for people to come and explore their creativity and share time, ideas, and techniques with friends and tutors. I enjoy being involved in peoples’ creative processes and sharing in their self-expression and learning. Along side tutoring art, I am also currently documenting the artists’ creative process and artwork through a video diary and through still photography.

Amy McDonald BA, Cert. (Art and Craft)

Amy has a background in care giving, tutoring workshops, gallery experience and as an exhibiting artist. She believes that the creative process offers opportunity for self discovery and healing, as well as the immense enjoyment and satisfaction creative expression and learning brings. As Art Facilitator and Health Care Worker at Spark Studio, Amy delights in sharing creative knowledge, celebrating diverse and unique perspectives and fostering the community atmosphere present at Spark Studio.

Ian Moore MFA

Ian is a practicing artist represented by Tinakori Gallery, Wellington, and has works in several collections. He has studied a wide range of techniques with various professional artists and has a Master of Fine Art from RMIT, Melbourne (2004). He has always worked with paint and art materials both commercially with signs and graphics and as a fine artist. Ian has a wide knowledge of theory and practical application of various art media. He provides the opportunity for Spark students to engage in a wide range of art making, providing creative, practical and technical skills to empower and enable students to realise their own potential art making.

Allyson Hamblett BA, Dip Libr

I have cerebral palsy, and have been involved with Spark Studio for 6 years as an artist. I have a bachelor of arts degree majoring in Education from Auckland University, and a Diploma in Library and Information Studies from Victoria University of Wellington. I became very interested in website design about 10 years ago, and feel that webdesign and art making are very complimentary fields. I am currently studying for a National Certificate in Computing (Level 2) through MIT.