ABOUT
I te taha o toku matua
Ko te Mauitikitiki a taranga te maunga
Ko te Wairoa-hopupu-honengenenge te awa
Ko Takitimu te waka
Ko Ngati Kahungunu te iwi
Ko Wimaroro te hapu
Ko Taihoa te marae
I te taha o toku whaea
Ko Whakarongorua te maunga
Ko Utakura te awa
Ko Ngatokimatawhaorua te waka
Ko Nga Puhi te iwi
Ko te honihoni, te popoto, te ngahengahe nga hapu
Ko Mokonui-a-rangi te marae
Ko Winiana te whanau
Ko Michael-Lydia toku ingoa.
He tauira o te reo Māori. E ako ana au i te wananga o Massey, engari e noho ana au i Ōtepoti inaianei. Kaore au e ako, heoi, ka mahi au i nga mahi toi mo tenei wā.
I have worked many jobs. I am a trained barista, I've taught kapahaka at primary school, I threw a hand to teaching te reo Māori for a publishing house, I've been a checkout chick and I've even driven a ute for a weed spraying team. But, none of these jobs have brought the exhilaration of leaving the security of a mainstream weekly pay check to pursue my creative ventures.
The touch , the sound, the emotional connection of exploring art in all of its forms is my way of speaking to the experience of life. Not only this, but it connects my to the whenua, ngā Atua and my tupuna who walked this earth before me. Through my body and down into the tips of my paint brushes run the energy of a creativity that is greater than just me.