Helen Parkinson, HOD Visual Arts
Where have you taught? My first teaching job after I trained was at Westland High School in Hokitika. It is a school about twice the size of Kaikoura High School and I was full time Art teaching there but was still the only Art teacher. It is also a Year 7 to Year 13 high school.
Qualifications DipTexDes, DipTchg
Biography relating to your artistic career
I attended Kaikoura High School as a student and, took Art to senior level. I left school the year before they moved to the site the school is on now. In my senior year I applied and got accepted to study 'Textile Design' at what was then called Wellington Polytechnic. I studied there for three years and was in the top two in my class for each year I attended. Although I didn't qualify for a bursary scholarship from Kaikoura High School, I did achieve this after my first year at Design School. Subjects studied at Design School were things like:
- Life Drawing
- Printmaking
- Pattern Design
- Carpet Design
- Knitting and Weaving
- Photography
- Garment Construction and Sewing
- Art History and Aesthetics
- Business Management
Although I was offered jobs in the knitting design industry in Auckland, I wanted to stay in the South Island and already had an idea I wanted to do teacher training. Being a teacher would allow me to eventually come home to Kaikoura and contribute to the community I grew up in.
I did a post graduate year in teacher training at Christchurch Teachers College and did teaching practice sections at Kaikoura High School, Awatapu College in Palmerston North and at Rangi Ruru Girls' School in Christchurch before starting my first full time teaching job in Hokitika.
Being a teacher in a sole charge department has meant I have not had a lot of time to do much of my own artwork and what I do tends to revolve around what I am teaching students at the time. I like to experiment with different media and the artwork that I do and the styles I prefer have changed over the years. I have learnt a lot myself while teaching, both in terms of skills and knowledge.
I have created artwork for sale in the past and have sold some through 'Hislops Cafe' when they were first open.
I have briefly had a small general graphic design business in addition to my teaching. For this I was doing business cards, rack cards, flyers, posters, logos and product labels. I still sometimes do small jobs in the design area but many of them are for charity organisations or for the business my husband and I have. That involves designing honey labels and some content for our own website.
