Vanessa Peterson

I am a Secondary School Teacher and I teach Spanish as a second language, Textiles, and Fashion. I have two very active young children, and spend most of my time working and parenting. When I am not with my children or teaching my students how to speak Spanish, sew, design and illustrate, I do enjoy being creative and working with my hands - mostly with textiles. It has been a very long time since I attended design school, but lately I have been taking various short courses during my free time to develop my skills set and get back in touch with my inner artist. I am inspired by many painters such as Frida Khalo, Joan Miró, and Emily Care. I also find a lot of inspiration in the playful and innovative illustrations found in my children's story books. Along with art and illustration, I love textures, colours, and shapes found in fashion and architecture, as well as nature. I love the perfect imperfections found in flowers, bodies of water, the ocean, seashells, rocks, forests, and the sky.

I enjoy knitting and sewing, and have been experimenting with some weaving and macramé. Weaving and creating compositions within woven tapestries and pieces sparked my urge to return to watercolour painting and sketching, while also inspiring me to build upon my textiles skills. I have been developing my skills and playing with watercolour painting, but I am looking for more direction in terms of how to seek inspiration.