As we celebrate our graduating students of 2026, we chatted with Katie Godwin who studied onsite from our NZ Certificate in Creativity (NZQA Level 4) programme, right through to our NZ Diploma of Art & Creativity (Advanced), Level 7.
Creativity has the power to transform lives, offering a pathway through challenge, a means of self-expression, and a way of making sense of the world around us. In this deeply personal reflection, Level 7 graduate Katie Godwin shares her journey of navigating illness, addiction, grief, identity, and healing through creativity.
Katie’s story is a powerful reminder that art can be far more than a practice or a qualification – it can be a lifeline, a source of connection, and a catalyst for hope.
By Katie Godwin, Advanced Diploma in Creativity (Level 7) Graduate
Tēnā koutou katoa,
Ko Katie Godwin tōku ingoa. Nō Hīraka me Ingarani ōku tūpuna. Kei te noho au ki Pōneke. My journey at The Learning Connexion began in 2018. I had spent two years battling with addiction and my mental health after leaving college at the end of 2015. The Learning Connexion was not just an art school to me, it was a life line.
I remember the sense of excitement 17 year old me felt when she heard there was an art school in Lower Hutt. For years I spent every day painting and composing, as it was the only way I knew how to express painful emotions I felt at the time. Even though music and art was a healthy outlet, it was one I felt alone with most of the time. Creating alongside others was an experience I knew my soul yearned for.
During Level 4, I became unwell and was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. I worried I wouldn’t be able to continue my study, but the Programme Support team was great at making it possible for me to do so at my own pace. That meant the world to me, as I had started to make friends there so it was important for my well-being to be able to come onsite when I could.
It was a relief to be surrounded by such down to earth and kind people. I had been bullied at college and struggled with depression since 13. It wasn’t until art school that my depression eased. My music and art shifted in emotion as I felt a sense of hope for the first time since growing up.
After completing Level 4 I gained something invaluable; belief in myself and my potential.
In 2019 my bowel disease went into remission and I enrolled at Victoria University of Wellington to study composing, philosophy and psychology. My positive experience at art school the year before gave me the confidence to try living in a university hall with other students.
It was an amazing experience, however I often found myself procrastinating assignments. I felt drawn to express what I learned through art instead of writing essays. I created a series of unorthodox drawings exploring sexuality and deconstructing social constructs and as I continued with these drawings, I started to understand the cause of my depression growing up; shame I had felt about my own sexuality from a young age. Understanding the psychology behind why our brains develop differently from each other, and why we think and feel the way we do, gave me courage to express myself more freely.
After completing first year university studies, I sent in a portfolio of my drawings and was awarded the Frank Davis Scholarship which covered Level 6 tuition costs. Receiving that scholarship meant a lot to me. It felt like confirmation from the world that yes, it is okay to be me and express myself authentically.
During Level 6 I focused on human anatomy and portraiture. Much of my art took inspiration from exploring the story of Adam and Eve, where I felt a connection to Lilith through relating to the pressure women face to be a certain way.
After completing Level 6 I spent the next couple of years working. In 2022 I worked in a charity call centre and although I knew my work made a real difference in the world, the days felt long as I sat in an office making cold calls. Work colleagues knew me as the girl who drew while on the phone; the manager did not mind as it helped me focus.
The drawings I’d done at work were abstract in nature. At first I thought of them as mindless doodles on a page, but then I came to understand I was creating in a new way; letting my subconscious mind draw without a plan on exactly what I was drawing.
When I started Level 7 I felt excited at what I might discover through painting abstractly, instead of limited to a small notebook and pen.
I was lucky to have Sophie Saunders as my mentor for Level 7. Sophie is a brilliant abstract artist herself, and if it wasn’t for her insight I know my work would not have developed as strongly as it did.
Abstract painting felt similar to the process I engaged in when improvising on the piano. I chose my colour palette the same way I chose which scales to stay in; and moved between light and dark the same way I would sway from minor to major notes based on my emotions. I painted a series of colourful works deeply inspired by love.
In early 2024 I found out someone I’d dated in college had committed suicide. He had been a bright light in my life during those early years when I had been bullied. I did not know how to cope with grief, and found myself falling into addiction again to numb my pain. I lost the desire to use bright colours in my art.
I put down my paintbrush and began to paint directly onto canvas using my hands. It felt therapeutic to paint like this. I am extremely grateful I was enrolled at The Learning Connexion during that time, because I know if I hadn’t been I might not have survived my grief. Again, TLC has been my life line.
Slowly I began to use bright colours, specifically drawn to vivid shades of red. I felt red held an intensity to it; representing passion and the raw intensity of despair. At this point in time I had made a promise to myself that I would always endure no matter what, as I had started to understand that I too am loved in the same way I love others deeply.
At the end of 2024 I entered one of my abstract paintings ‘Grief’ into Toi Mahara’s Inaugural Young Artists Exhibition, where it won the Open Award. It was featured in the New Zealand Herald, and I took it as a chance to speak up to remind others they are not alone.
After graduating with my Level 7 Advanced Diploma in Creativity in early 2025, I spent the rest of the year studying mathematics, engineering and Artificial Intelligence at Victoria University of Wellington.
This year I have chosen to pause my studies so I can have time to focus on my creativity and slow down to look after my well-being. I bought myself a music workstation and have been spending my days learning how to produce music. I am excited to be moving soon to my own little place where I will have the space to set up a painting studio.
I’m discovering creativity is everywhere – in philosophy, mathematics, music, art, nature and life itself. My dream is to embody all creative aspects within myself and express that embodiment as authentically as I can with the world.
