Efua is a qualified teacher and Head of Art at a local school and graduated in 1989 from Kent Institute of Art and Design with a BA (Hons) Fine Art (painting). Through various innovative schemes Efua has been instrumental in setting up a variety of Art clubs for younger children, establishing several successful ‘Artist in Residence’ schemes at the school and curating various exhibitions of student work. Having spent much of the last 15 years focusing on developing the art department for the benefit of students, her recent participation on the Artist Teacher Scheme here at the University College, has re-kindled her passion for her own fine art practice. 

"My commitment has always been to the visual arts and what has sustained me in my current position is the ability to explore my own creative interests through the work of others. After experiencing a week long Artist Teacher Scheme in the summer I am looking to continue to explore some of the themes I worked on in that time. These being the effects of children, loss and the experience of growing through painful experiences. These will not be overly narrative but offer connections to everyone. I am keen to avoid cliché and hackneyed imagery. Being exposed to contemporary work and workers will encourage greater critical analysis. I want to continue to work with a sense of urgency so that the juxtapositions I create have a rawness and energy to them. I would start by finishing a series of simple screen prints that I planned in the summer based on an assortment of plastic ‘bits and bobs’ from childhood. Our difficulty in describing through words things that have such vivid and personal recollections attached to them mirrors our inability to come to terms with the expectations we had as children. These are rarely fulfilled in adult life. I am also keen to incorporate observational drawing into my work, keeping this as an integral part of the process. The summer course engendered a sense of joy for me and I am keen to use this positively."