Director/Lead Artist- Ellie Sandall
Artivity is run by Ellie Sandall, a children’s book author and illustrator and experienced art teacher. Ellie has a BA in Graphic Design from Bath Spa University, an MA in Children’s Book Illustration from Cambridge School of Art and is qualified to deliver Arts Award at all five levels (Discover, Explore, Bronze, Silver and Gold). As well as running the Arts Award courses on Thursdays, she teaches our Wednesday classes and Sapphire class on Mondays.
Ellie has previously worked as an artist in residence for seven years across two primary schools in Peterborough. She then decided to go fully freelance, launching Art Stars (later to become Artivity) in summer 2016, and now teaches art alongside writing and illustrating picture books.
Ellie is qualified in First Aid at Work, Paediatric First Aid and First Aid for Mental Health, holds a DBS certificate and Public Liability Insurance, and has completed Safeguarding training.
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Lead Artist- Vikki Harold
Vikki leads our Tuesday classes. Her artistic skills and interests are wide-ranging and eclectic! Vikki works as a freelance creative practitioner/workshop leader with a number of arts organisations, including Vivacity, Peterborough Presents and The Green Backyard, doing everything from painting a nightclub to making props for theatre companies to putting on festivals.
Vikki has a shop on Etsy under the name Cyan Maiden, making synthetic dreads, beads and jewellery. She also works as a carer, previously with vulnerable older people and more recently supporting a child with disabilities. She has always endeavoured to use her creativity to help bring joy to those she cares for.
Vikki holds a DBS certificate and is qualified to deliver Arts Award at Bronze and Silver levels.
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Lead Artist- Jen Walker
Jen leads our Monday Key Stage 3 and 4 classes. She is a freelance creative practitioner, facilitator, and artist with 25 years’ teaching experience and a passion for inclusive, hands-on, creative practice. She brings energy, warmth and colour to every project and loves sharing happiness and enthusiasm for all things creative.
Jen is passionate about reusing and recycling materials and working in a more sustainable way, and tries to make this an integral part of her practice. She loves learning new skills and then sharing these with others. She regularly works with other local artists and the local community including Mindpsace in Stamford, Art Pop Up, Peterborough Presents and SKDC.
Jen has an enhanced DBS certificate as well as current safeguarding, Emergency First Aid at Work, and Health and Safety in Education certificates. She also holds full Public Liability Insurance.
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Lead Artist- Bethan Bealby
Bethan hosts our Sunday Crafternoon groups weekly throughout the term. She has enjoyed many artistic and creative pursuits throughout her life covering a wide range of skills. Bethan has her own business hosting craft groups and parties for children with a keen interest on using recycling to create the crafts. She is also currently working with Little Miracles in Peterborough with SEN children as well as working at a local forest school.
Bethan holds a qualification with First Aid at Work, a DBS certificate and Public Liability Insurance.
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Support Artist- Jo Crawford
Jo supports our Thursday classes, including our Arts Award classes, and is qualified to run the Bronze and Silver levels. Having been passionate about libraries and literature her whole life, Jo also works at Deeping Library where she particularly enjoys running rhyme time at the library with preschoolers and babies, creating displays and running events. She also loves working with the volunteers and meeting the public.
Jo was on the PTFA at MDCP for 10 years, in various roles including chair. Through this, Jo has been involved in putting on summer and Christmas fayres, egg hunts, coffee mornings, discos and shops! She also oversaw the development of the school library and read with children in school.
Jo enjoys being creative in her spare time and loves to do watercolour, linocutting, calligraphy/brush lettering, collage and crochet. Her sons are creative too, and both attend Artivity.
Jo holds a DBS certificate and is qualified in First Aid.
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Support Artist- Amelia Koldan
Amelia supports our Wednesday classes as well as our Sunday Crafternoon sessions. She has been at Artivity since she was in Year 4 (age 9), exploring a variety of arts- in this time she completed her Bronze, Silver and Gold Arts Awards! She has also just completed her GCSE in art and is going to college to study animal care and management.
Amelia has found an appreciation of acrylic painting and realistic drawings- her favourite things to draw and paint are jellyfish as she finds them free flowing and she can let the paint brush guide the way through the page. She has a passion for helping young minds unlock their inner artist and creative mind to produce their best works, and making sure they are proud of all the masterpieces they create.
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Support Artist- Chloe Churchman
Chloe supports our Wednesday classes. She has just finished sixth form at the Deepings school, where she studied Art, Photography and Criminology.
Chloe has enjoyed art since she was a child and has previously been a student at Artivity!
Her favourite forms of art are sketching and digital art. She also very much enjoys doing cartoons over realistic art as she feels she can be a lot more creative with cartoons.
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Support Artist- Libby Stygall
Libby supports our Tuesday classes. She is a self-taught artist, since studying art in GCSE and A-level.
Libby specialises in commissioned artwork, creating hand painted pieces ranging from portraits, venues, painted bottles, pet portraits and more. When she is not working on commissions, Libby channels her creativity into original works that are deeply connected to nature, finding joy in bringing ideas to life through the medium of paint.
Driven by a passion for spreading happiness through art, Libby is eager to further her career by bringing this joy to children at Artivity. After volunteering at Artivity and finding the experience incredibly rewarding, she was inspired to take on a role where she could assist children in discovering the joy of art. She also hosts painting workshops for adults, sharing her passion and techniques with others.
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