Stacey Dodd
Jul 7, 20223 min
Hello, and welcome to my color-space!
This blog post serves to tell you a bit more about myself.
My name is Stacey. I was born in Papakura, Auckland in New Zealand. I live in the North Island. Currently Wellsford, but I will be moving to Whangarei from August -ish.
I am 37 years old. I married my husband (Joe) in 2004, who I refer to as Mr Stakiwi. My son, Thomas, is 8 years old. And of course, my cat, Mundai (pronounced Monday Haha!)
I have a Bachelor of Social Science, with a double major in Psychology and Sociology, and Graduate Diploma in Primary Teaching. I primarily taught Year 3/4 children but I have also worked in a Kindergarten setting as well.
My son was born 6 weeks premature because I developed Pre-Eclampsia. He developed a brain bleed due to a stroke while in utero. Likely when my organs started to shut down. As a result, he remained in hospital for nearly 2 months. He has Cerebral Palsy (wheelchair based), Dystonia, CVI (vision impaired), autistic traits, sensory processing difficulties, partial Gastrostomy fed, Epilepsy, Global Delays, non verbal and skin and food sensitivities.
Yes, this is a lot to deal with but you should know that Thomas is a happy, loving and humorous young man. For us, as parents, this is all we know and we are forever grateful to have Thomas in our lives. He enriches our lives in a way we would never have known otherwise. For this, I always believe that life is to be enjoyed. so go and eat that donut or have extra coffee!
Thomas is also the reason why I did not return to work but also the reason I looked within the home environment to seek comfort and stimulation. When Thomas began Kindergarten, I started painting with acrylics and then watercolors because this was a lovely and quiet activity I could do from home near Thomas. I started seeking out better quality watercolor options, including shimmers. I was not able to find these within New Zealand and bought from a hand-maker from overseas.
In the time my custom order was being made, I researched and experimented with shimmer watercolors and this was where my passion for making watercolor paint began. This was back in 2018. Thomas also started school later that year and I had even more time to disappear down the watercolor making black hole. I jumped into making neon watercolor paint and I ended up with too much paint! As a result, I listed them on Etsy.
I sold my first set about a couple weeks later and started to share my process more on Instagram and grow there. I think I had a small following of 200 or less but I spent my time (A lot!) networking with artists and making friends. Because I lived in a small town (1800 people or less) this was a wonderful online opportunity to connect with likeminded people.
Fast forward to today, July 2022. I have had the pleasure of working with hundreds of different pigments. I've made over 300 different colors and growing. I launched a watercolor paint making course via Class 101 and it has been such a joy to see others begin their watercolor making journey equipped with the knowledge and tools for success!
I have worked with some pretty incredible pigments such as gemstones and experimenting and creating special granulating watercolor paints. I also enjoy collecting rarer or foraged pigments, antique pigments and palettes. My current project is to repurpose antique palettes. This is such a fun experience. Another area of interest I am currently and quietly working on is foraging and processing my own earth pigments. This is something that takes time and patience.
Over the last year or so, another area I have been working on is painting for myself more. I think that this has been an area that got neglected while I threw myself into paint making and then found myself struggling to find a balance between the two. I think that I am still working to find this balance but that making small steps forward such as smaller, achievable watercolor painting projects has been a positive outcome.