About Me

Hi everyone, want to know a bit more about me, well ok.

Alison Stephens here, Mummy, Wife, Daughter, Sister, Friend, Teacher, Education Co-ordinator, Self taught illustrator, Passionate Colourist.

For as long as I can remember I have loved art and creating. I remember having a '101 things to make' book as a child and spending my weekends and school holidays bugging my mum for paints, pens and that elusive empty washing up bottle.

At school I found a love of Science, which caused my art teacher concern about the art I was producing, (I borrowed a skull from the lab to draw instead of the vase everyone else was studying). She drew me to one side and asked me if I was OK. I realised then how art has an impact on emotions and how it could effect people and also that some people have an idea of what art is that may not fit with mine.

However she may have had a vision. I ended up concentrating on Science and Maths, the subjects I was told I was good at, then in college came the single most life effecting thing to happen to me. My symptoms that were always bubbling, finally boiled over and I was diagnosed with OCD, anxiety and depression. Have I overshared? well I didn't talk about it for years, but now I have come to terms with it and learnt ways to cope I'm happier than ever.

I got my Biology degree and post graduate Teaching qualification and became a Science teacher. For 10 years I worked with teenagers with social and emotional difficulties teaching hands on Science and running art, craft and karaoke clubs. I loved it, but the constant curriculum changes and demands got to me. Luckily during those 10 years I also married my childhood sweetheart and had a beautiful son, who helped me realise I was stuck doing something I decided on doing years ago, based on what other people told me I was good at.

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So I changed! I left teaching without a clue of what to do except to find out what I wanted to do. My hobbies came to the front of my mind and I spent time doing online courses and practicing from illustration books. Then I spotted a job advert for teaching crafts in a local store. LIGHT BULB MOMENT. 

Teaching and art together! People who want to learn! I got the job and have now spent three years teaching colouring and craft classes, training further in products, being a guest artist at conventions and becoming the go to person for colouring products and the education co-ordinator for the store. Most recently I was invited to be on the design team for art section of the whole company, Spectrum Noir.

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Then BAM - Lockdown - no face to face classes. 

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Not giving up on my new found happiness, I decided to start this website, to continue helping people. Teaching colouring techniques, encouraging the use of art and crafts to ease stress, to express yourself, to help with pain both mental and physical or just to have fun. A safe place to share your work and get advise. 

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My goal is to create a thriving, supportive community by producing colouring pages and tutorials for us all to work on. Steep learning curve (technology and social media), and costs I didn't realise before I started out, but the friends I have made on this journey make it worthwhile - come and join us.

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