My name is Rawnie Parsons-Lock. I am a young artist and visual arts teacher living in the Netherlands.

Artist world
As an artist I am trying to reconnect with nature in the Anthropocene era that we live in. I find it important that the natural elements have an equal roll in my work as I do. This could mean that the work is a collaboration between nature and me or maybe nature has inspired me in some other way. In an era when life seems to be a race against time, I try to capture the small moments that people tend to ignore or forget exist. 

Usually, I use different materials and a range of techniques in my work depending on the message or story I wish to portray. By combining different materials, alluring textures occur and this makes the work ever more abstract. I also think it's important that artists are aware of the materials they use and their effect on the environment. Art should either be biodegradable, recyclable or strong enough to live forever without disturbing the natural surroundings.

Teaching World
As well as being an artist I also work at a secondary school as a visual arts teacher. I love working with teenagers as I get to understand how they perceive the world we live in and I get to teach them the benefits of art. 
I find it important to teach the students how to tackel modern day problems using artistic problem solving.  To do this I have found that working cross-curricular is very beneficial as it teaches a child how to use multiple skills in one assignment. In my opinion, it is a great way to prepare the student for the "real" world after secondary school as we live in a society where artistic problem solving will be ever more neccesery.