An evening full of diverse inspiration is in store for those who attend the upcoming ArtsMad session.
The next ArtsMad event is taking place on Tuesday, August 18, 5.30pm to 7.30pm at the Monarch Room, Prince's Gate Hotel.
There will be nine creatives sharing their stories and works with the audience.
Michael Barker was born in 1966 in Rotorua and began drumming aged 10, playing in garage/cover bands until 1985 when he moved to Melbourne Australia to commence orchestral percussion studies at Box Hill College of TAFE and The Victorian College of The Arts.
He has recorded and toured with prominent contemporary recording artists.
A songwriter/composer and singer, Michael plays in his own band Swamp Thing, as well as performs solo shows as a multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter.
Claire Delaney is a visual storyteller who lives with her partner Glenn in Rotorua.
She spends her days as a full-time illustrator and writer. She has published several award-winning books.
Her most recent book, The Isolated Illustrator, is a project dear to her heart documenting her emotions and feelings throughout the lockdown period of Covid-19.
Angela Frank is a local poet who has been co-ordinating arts events in Rotorua for the past seven years.
Angela Frank. Photo / Supplied
With poetry being a developing passion for her, most of these events have had a literary focus. As an ArtsMad presenter, she will be sharing some of her poetry in collaboration with local musician Jamie Pickernell. Jamie is a sculptor and musician.
Jamie Pickernell. Photo / Supplied
Kylie Lang started her business called Wholly Chocomole in October 2017 after she realised that what she enjoyed doing most in life was being in the kitchen.
"I love creating delicious food from scratch and decided to focus on raw slices, cakes and energy balls."
Kylie Lang. Photo / Supplied
Nearly three years later, it's still going strong, and she loves having a business that is all about creating beautiful-looking slices and cakes and devising new flavours and designs.
Lucia Lemos was born in the Pantanal region in South America. Surrounded by colour and movement provided by nature, she grew an eye for colours, details and synergy.
Lucia Lemos. Photo / Supplied
"My incursion to the creative realm started in fashion design where I had created a large collection for a self-owned brand and collaborations."
She has stepped foot in the marketing universe, executing different projects in Brazil and New Zealand.
Tom E. Moffatt. Photo / Supplied
Tom E Moffatt is an author of children's literature and laughter.
His first book, Barking Mad, won the Tom Fitzgibbon award and was published by Scholastic in August 2016.
He has since written several books, many humorous short stories and almost a thousand original jokes. He will be talking about joke writing at ArtsMad.
Tom lives in Rotorua with his wife and three young daughters.
He says he is also looking forward to listening to the other artists as it is a great opportunity to hear about what's going on in Rotorua.
"I've been a few times and am always surprised by the diversity and range of talks."
Trish de Muth. Photo / Supplied
Trish de Muth has always drawn and painted, and been interested in trying every type of art.
After raising her children she got a diploma in art, followed by a teaching degree.
Later in her career she decided to do a Masters in Fine Art.
An overseas trip with her husband last year, which included the nine-day Baha'i pilgrimage to the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa, Israel, has inspired her to create a talk about the architecture of Baha'i temples around the world.
She says their architecture often reflects the culture and traditional materials of their location. Their main purpose is to provide a sacred space for people of all religions to pray and also to inspire them to be of service to humanity in whatever way they can.
Harm Zudimeer. Photo / Supplied
Harm Zudimeer runs Studio ZEDD and Dancing Moose Bicycle Adventure Supplies.
He is a designer and maker of storage solutions for self-propelled adventurers, as well as a cabinetmaker and general tinkerer.
