About

My favorite thing in the world is being outside to explore. Every chance I can, I choose to be in nature. The world is a massive place with endless amounts to see and learn. To be able to capture a moment so that you or others can reflect, admire, or learn from is a powerful tool. With global warming rising, nature is being affected more. Using photography and artwork in order to help spread awareness on how our actions are affecting the natural world is my goal. Capturing the beautiful places and moments throughout life is really special. The different mediums I use to capture or recreate moments make it continually interesting to keep creating.

Colleen’s Mihimihi

• Colleen Florence Choma 
• Mary Anne (mom) John (dad) – Irish and Polish 
• Newton, New Jersey USA
• Delaware River, Paulinskill Lake, Alantic Ocean
• I have been living in NZ for a little over a week.
• Mary Anne, John, Danielle, Jackson, Oliver (my dog). My immediate family comes first. They are the most important to me. We support and love through all hardships and celebrate during victories. 
• ‘Home’ is many places for me… New Jersey, Vermont, where ever I feel most myself/safe/cared for/ happy/ loved. It does not necessarily have to even be a place; ‘home’ can be a person for me as well. 
• Influences are my acquaintances, my surroundings, my professors, nature, other artists, music, my moods.
• ‘One thing’ that inspires me to be creative is being in nature. There are so many patterns throughout. There are so many noises and sounds that make up songs. There are endless amounts of colors to be noticed. The feeling of the wind blowing through me and the refreshing water running over me. The wet mud or clay that can be sculpted and rocks to be stacked. The sun warming my skin and heart. There is so much more in nature that inspires my creativity. 
• I am not sure what my favorite medium to work with is yet. I just started oil painting for my first time and have been enjoying the challenge. I really like drawing with charcoal, sculpting with clay, collaging, and photography. 
• My end goal for studying at NMIT is to challenge myself to things I personally would find ‘hard’ or scary. I also have a hard to just starting assignments so I hope to make as much artwork as I can while I am here. I would like to build my confidence up about my own work and try to find a direction of work to start heading towards. 

Colleen’s Ikigai

I love the environment and nature. Exploring new places is my favorite, as well as bringing people together for it. My passion is seeing and bringing creatives together in order to view and share all different kinds of work. More minds thinking together is a very powerful tool. Being open to all ideas and thoughts. My mission is to help people slow down in their busy everyday lives. Others need to understand that every action affects others, the environment, and the future. I came to NMIT with the intent to make as much artwork as I possibly can because in the past I would become to hung up on perfecting my work instead of finishing what I started. Studying art has not been an easy practice for me. It has scared me thinking about my future. I know only creating and learning will push me to head in the right direction. I need to be more confident in talking about my own work. I need to practice being more straight forward and not starting my sentences with “maybes” or “I don’t knows”. Traveling to New Zealand has helped me push myself out of my comfort zone. Reaching out to new people and inviting them to go places or do thing with me has been becoming less and less scary. My inspiration comes from traveling, other artists, music, being outside, friends, cities, posters, museums, photography, poetry, and so much more.