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 29 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. Through Spark Studio Ltd she is engaged as the Northern Region Arts advisor for Arts Access Aotearoa where she is part of a small team developing nationwide arts programmes for the Department of Corrections.

Josie Maskell
Josie Maskell joined Spark Studio team in March 2009 following an 8 year stint in London working for a theatrical training company as the business development manager. Her role at Spark involves researching and writing funding applications, public relations, marketing and all administrative tasks.

Rosemary Barnes

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. During her time at Spark, Sally provided Art Therapy at Focus 2000, and also facilitates a community Art Therapy group for Raeburn House 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.

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, 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.

Abi Raymond BVA, Cert. counselling theory

Abi graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts and a Certificate in Counselling Theory in 2008 and is currently studying towards a Masters of Art in Arts Therapy at Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design. Her artistic practice explores and combines photography, printmaking, book making, drawing and mixed media. She has had two public exhibitions of her photographic work and produced a few photographic books, one of which is in the artist book collection at Elam Library. People and their stories fascinate her, this curiosity inspires many of her creative projects that document, investigate and reveal personal narratives. Abi was extremely excited to join the Spark team in August 2009, allowing her to assist and experience alongside the artists at Spark the power of the creative process. She gets great pleasure observing the determination of the artists at Spark and sharing in their delight of their many achievements.

Allyson Hamblett BA, Dip Libr, Nat. Cert. Computing (Level 2)

Allyson has been involved with Spark Studio for 8 years as an artist. She has cerebral palsy, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Education from Auckland University, and a Diploma in Library and Information Studies from Victoria University of Wellington.  Allyson has designed websites for the last 10 years, and feels  that webdesign and art making are very complimentary fields. She is currently studying for a National Certificate in Computing (Level 3) through MIT.