I am Kate. Kate, who experienced serendipity that changed her journey for good.

At the age of 16, my mum asked me, ‘What do you want to study at sixth form?’ I told her, ‘All I care about is art,’ and she replied, ‘Do it. Just do art.’ Since then, I’ve never wanted to do anything else. After a BTEC in Art and a Fine Art Degree at Nottingham Trent University, I then went off to study my PGCE in Art at The University of Cambridge and was a teacher in schools for 10 years. I felt lucky to have been able to indulge myself in art for so many years. Life, however, became busy with the two most important people in mine: my children. But I continued to teach part-time and found myself making even more art for myself during this time. My passion for art had returned.

Then in 2021, I received some unfortunate news; that the school I’d been working at for 7 years was closing permanently, which meant that all staff were being made redundant. I felt devastated, worried lost, excited and worried again. But after 24 hours of being told the news, I felt hopeful, and I wondered if this could be my calling. A fresh start.

What I knew for certain was that I wanted to make art every day. It might only be a small piece, but that way I’d be making the most of this opportunity, and embracing my passion in life.

That was only the start of the journey…

WHERE AM I NOW?

I am now working in my own art studio in my garden in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, continuing to create art and embracing what I love. I am so grateful to have had art commissions, the chance to exhibit again and the joy of creating art everyday. I utterly adore teaching art, and couldn’t imagine my life without it. So now I host a range of art workshops in my studio space to continue to encourage the talents and ambitions of adults and children, and their love for the arts.

So here I am now, and what a calling it was.

‘Kate is a multi-disciplinary artist who not only uses her studio to create a range of art, from expressive abstract paintings to realism drawings and oil paintings, but also uses her space, Haleshott House of Art, to encourage the talents and ambitions of adults and children, and their love for the arts.

Kate is a passionate multi-disciplinary artist, who has often struggled with the pressure and sigma of finding her ‘style’. So, instead of taking this as a negative, she continues to explore a wide range of media, themes and styles confidently and joyfully! This evidently helps with her teaching but also allows her to express and create what lays within her creative mind, whilst embracing the calmness and releasing tension art can bring’