Hi! My name is Karen. I was born in Cornwall, England and now live in Sydney with my husband David and my three beautiful children, Thomas,  Daisy and Harry.

I decided it was time for something NEW, so in 2008 I packed my own ‘bag’ and headed off on a new voyage of discovery. Funnily enough sometimes you don’t need to go very far to discover…I looked at myself… a 30- something successful business woman working in the corporate world, successful yes, but not really satisfied. Then, one night, breast feeding my daughter in the early hours I thought and pondered and allowed my mind to just explore…..I was thinking about when I was a child and how much I loved to dress up and play ‘lets pretend’. My mind wandered and thought of 2 children’s programs I use to watch - ‘Mr. Benn’ and ‘Jamie and his magic torch’ where the main character was wildly transported into other worlds, had exciting adventures and amazing journeys. Well there it was in the early hours of the morning the fundamental ideas for Around the World in 80 Plays was born!

I had been to so many of the same old Arts crafts, music and movement classes with my little ones, which whilst they were all fun, there was something very similar in their approach. I knew I wanted to get back to the real me ….The Artist, creative, hands on, inspired and so thought about those classes and then my life experiences. Suddenly I was inspired by using the stories and experiences from my travels and the possible combination of cultural education through Arts …

David & I were both born in England so had traveled a lot in Europe on holidays; France, Spain, Greece, Malta, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Scotland, Ireland, Wales. Then in 1999 we got married and enjoyed the next 3 ½ years traveling around the world on the longest honeymoon ever! We travelled through America, Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, Fiji, Cook Islands, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesthoto, Swaziland, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Nepal and India ….a trip of a life time.

This epic journey took us to places both physically and mentally that I had never imagined before. We skydived, climbed glaciers, trekked in the jungle, went white water rafting, bush safaris, drove through the outback in our campervan, trekked the highest pass in the world in the Himalayas…… We met the most incredible people on our trip, visited the most amazing places, countries, villages and landscapes that took our breath away and changed the very essence of who we were. Appreciation, time and respect for others was one of the main learning’s, I dived head first into a world of colour, texture, music, sounds, tastes and just felt over whelmed with excitement as my mind had opened the Pandora’s box……..!

I am currently a mum and a professional face painter and children’s entertainer so the progression to a more workshop based form of arts entertainment seems quite natural.  I graduated from Nottingham Trent University with an honours degree in Contemporary Art, major in Visual Art. After graduation I set up my own Performing Arts company ‘Pushers’ and I worked on a variety of art projects, gallery based, live art installations, performance arts projects at festivals; Edinburgh, Sheffield, Brighton & Glastonbury and was production manager for a Channel 4 film. The experiences were varied and helped to enrich my portfolio and understanding of a variety of mixed media art forms. I continue to paint for pleasure and by commission.

A mum of 3 pre-school children I have a great understanding of what makes children tick, what generates passion and creativity and as a big kid at heart I have great fun and working rapport with the children (Why not read my testimonials.) During my degree I was also a teaching assistant for grade 6 – 7 ceramics and a Teaching assistant for grade 5 art and textiles. I ran 2 undergraduate art placements with primary schools – 1 x ceramics / 1 x live art.

In the U.K I was a fully trained St.Johns Ambulance member and assistant leader at the Disabled Brownies & Guides in Nottingham

I have had a full working with children check in Australia and have Public Liability Insurance $10,000,000.