I was born in the year of the floods. Coincidentally my birthdate is also known as D-day. I may have entered a world of great disasters, but decided from the start I wanted to create something beautiful. Which lead me to the world of design and print.

I was born of Irish/Latvian heritage. With an Actress, a known pirate, and some dubious germans hanging out in my family tree, my character has been built around from many colourful personalities. It seems like chaos and terror should surround me, but quite the opposite. I believe in much of the Buddhist teachings and try to apply them to my day to day life, especially when it seems a little out of control. So that’s where I came from.

He and my poor teddy bear, Aged 4.

How did i get here?

At the tender age of five, my first hint of design blood was creeping through already. Unbeknownst to my parents, I made my first invitations and distributed them to my whole grade one class. Consequently, I enjoyed my first big birthday party with twenty something other kids at my house. Mum was stoked! I had design all around me though I was still unaware of it’s existence. In kindy, my best friends dad was an old school commercial artist, who worked from home with his own bromide camera and home studio. Whilst this stirred my thirst, even back then, I didn’t really think about it until much later. The designer in me emerged again when I asked for a printing set with little rubble slugs for my tenth birthday, so I could typeset my own newsletters, make multiple copies and distribute them to family and friends. How didn’t I see innocent play turning into my future career?

After finishing my scholarship at the Queensland Art Gallery’s during my last year of primary in 1986, I went on into the high school on the hill, over the river. It was there that my grade eight art teacher enlightened me, and informed me as an artist, I would always struggle to make a living from my work. Though she suggested, from the style of my work, and my attention to detail, that I would be better suited to more of a commercial artist or graphic design career. This rang bells in my head and reminded me of the big bromide cameras under my friends house, the little rubber slugs of my printing kit and the hours I spent bend over my drawing table with pencil shavings all over the floor.

From that day on, I have worked on my creative skills and abilities and continue to look, learn and love the industry I’m in.

Appreciate design and print as a profession. To create beautiful things is a specialised field, that involves knowledge, research, strategy and vision, and must be respected and appreciated. If you appreciate art and design, follow my Twitter or sign up for regular Designarena updates.