This is the second in a series of interviews with Te Atamira's resident artists - creative practitioners who either teach classes or workshops in our spaces or work in our studios. In May and June in WHAKAARI - Te Atamira's main gallery - Sunny Sky will be offering sound-bathing meditation inside Bailee Lobb's exhibition In Bathing, Bask. She will also be running art workshops for young people at Te Atamira. I asked her a few questions about her work and inspiration.

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Louise Garrett, arts and cultural coordinator

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LG: What is the source of your creative practice? What inspires and motivates you?

SS: Energy is my source. I see it, feel it and use it to create and use it daily through my life’s work and creative projects (that’s my art medium). I am inspired by colour and textures, and motivated by divine intuition. The art of living resonates with me – how we show up, transform and how we choose to evolve very much like the art we create.

LG: You grew up in a small town in the north of England. What brought you to Queenstown?

SS: I left northeast England as a teen globe trotter. Ended up here being attracted to the ‘4 seasons resort’ feel. Twenty years’ later and still here! Reminds me of Scotland and the Lakes District of England.

LG: Through your company Epic Living, you offer a huge range of coaching and healing services in a number of different areas, from parenting, through fashion, to meditation and more. In a nutshell, what is the main thread that connects all these different activities?

SS: Transformation and empowerment. It’s like soul therapy for ultimate connection. E.p.i.c. represents emotional and physical intuitive connection: Helping people feel their essence, their true colours helping align the mind, body and soul to feel vibrantly alive, like Joseph being aware of the magic in his technicolour dreamcoat.

LG: During Bailee Lobb’s exhibition In Bathing, Bask in May and June, you will be offering sound-bathing sessions in the installation using crystal quartz singing bowls. What should participants expect?

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SS: Sound bathing is a deeply-immersive, full-body listening experience that intentionally uses sound to invite gentle yet powerful therapeutic healing and restorative processes to nurture your mind and body. The sound introduced whilst in savasna (lying down) will bring participants into a deep state of consciousness, an opportunity to unplug from external stimuli. Each quartz singing bowl pitch matches the musical scale which relates to different chakras of the body, balancing the electromagnetic field. The experience is to invite deep rest and relaxation, enhancing mood, soothing the soul and exploring self-enquiry and self-discovery. Sound bathing reduces stress, anxiety, relieves pain, improves mental and emotional clarity as well as stimulating the immune system!

LG: Describe your dream project.

SS: Wow, there are lots of dreamy projects. Would love to create a meditation playlist with local musicians, publish books by kids for adults, curate a local wearable arts brand with textile printing in collab with local artists and job creation for youth as a fashion incubator...

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Click for more information about Epic Living.

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Click for more information about free sound-bathing sessions at Te Atamira.

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