Fiona left school in year 11 and did a variety of jobs. In 1985 to 1990 she attended the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney. Founded in 1890, it is the oldest continuous fine art school in Australia and is still operating today in assisting artists achieve their dreams. Over the years, Fiona has thought of herself mostly as a visual artist doing black and white pen drawings,  but also gouache colour pictures.

Most recently, Fiona took an opportunity to be part of Stuff of Tales. Each writer or artist is paired up with a museum in the New England area and conducts workshops. Fiona had the chance to explore Saumarez Homestead with the view to select an item from the collection to become the basis of a story.

By Becky Holland

Trish Donald is a previous board member of the New England Writers’ Centre. Her artwork regularly makes an appearance in the newsletter.

In 2018 Trish launched her first book with Little Pink Dog Books who were looking for emerging authors and illustrators. 

Little Pink Dog Books liked some of her monster drawings and asked if she would write and illustrate a book where those monsters were Worry Monsters - manifestations of a child's anxiety. They asked if the child could overcome her Worry Monsters by using mindful breathing, that would help young children cope with their anxiety.

It aligned with Trish’s desire to help parents and children connect through books, and so began "Tissy Woo and the Worry Monsters".