what i do by isy {fitzroy}

I was born in Switzerland.

My father was a photographer, my mother is a well published author, my grandmother was a painter and I had an uncle who was a famous sculptor, so I was surrounded by creativity from birth.

Ever since I can remember I was complaining to my mother that school interfered with my ‘making-things-time’.

I was never bored as a kid, I was always making something and covered in paint or gluing my fingers together.

My mother once found me with a lighter playing inside the large 70’s stone fireplace re-modelling the arms and legs of my Lego and Playmobil men and their horses… not many had any feet left, LOL!

I sewed clothes and bedding for my Barbie and Ken from about the age of 7.

My mum was very creative; she had a lot of fantastic ideas which involved a lot of recycling and finding new uses for old things.

I’d been in kindergarten teaching and nannying since I left school and home at 17 but I’ve always taken part time courses in art and craft.

I’ve done lead lighting, glass blowing, silver smithing, millinery, photography including developing the images, sewing and hand painting clothes and bags, paper making, archival book binding, resin casting, glass casting, pottery, screen printing, print making -copper plate and zinc etching, knitting, life drawing and painting, decoupage…

Around ‘91 to ‘93 I had a hat stand with a friend on the streets in Auckland (where I grew up). At the time I was part of a small central Auckland co-op called The Fish Tank.

We were 4 young women in our early 20’s taking turns running the shop downstairs and painting our stock upstairs. We mainly made hand painted t-shirts and bags.

That same year I discovered a shop called Texan Art Schools, they represented students of arts courses and young artists which planted the early in.cube8r seeds.

When the Auckland sky tower was approved we had to leave because the shop was located where the sky tower now stands.

I’d looked into buying a franchise of another similar Auckland space but it didn’t eventuate… lucky really!!

In 2000 i started a full time fine and applied arts degree at Monash with a glass blowing major.
The whole 3 year course was painting, drawing, craft electives in metals/jewellery, ceramics, print making, sculpture… i was in heaven! I worked up to 5 part time jobs to stay afloat working in laundrettes over weekends and over night nannying.

I’ve always loved colour and interior design and the combination of all these and a one year dip ed in secondary art teaching and the support of NEIS makes in.cube8r.

Now all i have time for is blowing glass one day per month but that keeps me content. in.cube8r and franchising is a full time job, an awesome job :)

My next dream is to create a sculpture garden like this one near Christchurch (i hope it still stands!)