Art was never my thing at school, and I was infact informed by my art teacher that my art was ‘unsatisfactory’. As a result of this, I decided that I hated art, and avoided it at all costs.

However, at the age of 18 I did AS level photography and also accessed art therapy to help me deal with some problems I was having. These experiences opened me up to using art for emotional expression, and I had very positive reinforcement from my lecturers and therapist!

After this, I decided that I wanted to use art to help others. I co-facilitated art workshops for people in different cultures all around the world, including in an orphanage in Jordan, with young indiginous people in Australia and with street children in India. Additionally, I facilitated creative workshops for people with eating disorders at First Steps Derbyshire.

I also co-organised an exhibition called Inside Out with others at First Steps which took place at QUAD Derby in February 2012. You can watch the virtual tour here. The images were all created by those affected by eating disorders, and the exhibition raised awareness and broke down stigma surrounding these conditions.

I gained a First Class Degree in BA (Hons) Creative Expressive Therapies at Derby University. During my placement, I worked with a variety of people including young people with learning difficulties, siblings of terminally ill children, young carers, young people leaving the care system, children in community playgroups, unemployed dads with their children (encouraging child led play), and patients with cystic fibrosis in a hospital setting.

I myself have mental health issues (anorexia, borderline personality disorder and associated conditions), and have found creativity vital in maintaining reasonable health! I have had experience of being an art therapy and a drama therapy client. I also use art in my own time as an outlet for emotions, a distraction technique, and for relaxation and fun.

I have enjoyed all my creative experiences, but I currently want to use art to raise awareness of mental health issues through my own images, as well as getting others on board. I am not even well enough to hold down a job, and could never have done this on my own, so I am lucky to have a group of friends and the fantastic Artcore helping me with the logistics of exhbiting my work, which I would otherwise be unable to do.