Katarena finds her love for art

While she was caring for her sick mother, Katarena discovered colouring books and quickly became obsessed with them.

She ended up with thousands of dollars worth of artists’ pencils and decided to start creating her own drawings.

Katarena said she had recently moved to Warrnambool and while she was looking for a community art project she discovered South West TAFE’s art courses.

“I saw the studio and it reminded me of how much I enjoyed learning and studying. I was at a point in my life where I had no direction and I was looking for something creative,” she said.

Katarena enrolled in the Certificate IV in Visual Arts and loved it so much she’s planning on continuing with her diploma next year.

“I’ve just loved it. The teachers are so supportive of everything and anything you want to do and I’ve met some of the most incredible artists,” she said.

Katarena is now looking at how she can take her art and turn it into a career in the online world.

“I’ve only been involved in art for two years. Before that I could barely draw. I just want people to realise that you don’t have to feel like an artist to study art, you just have to be willing to give it a try,” she said.