Sandra Veljanovski was always a curious child; with her first memory of artistic expression when she was just three years old.

On a dark, rainy day, Sandra had an artistic vision during Preschool Art Time: she would paint a rainbow, with birds flying over. Waiting patiently in line and entertaining peers with off the cuff comedy (with such comic genius as ‘Why did the crab cross the road? Because he wanted to become a lobster’), when she finally made her way to the art table she was horrified to discover that her only options were brown, red, yellow, orange and black. Succumbing to her now infamous stubborn nature, Sandra was determined to create her opus. Feverishly working to transform her lemon yellow cardboard into a work of artistic beauty, her concentration was only broken when told her to pack her things away. To which she replied, “I’m creating a masterpiece, leave me alone.” Seemingly unappreciative of her artistic vision and integrity, the teacher attempted to rush the piece. But by the sheer force of will that can only be bridled by an impetuous young girl, the work was allowed to come into its own glory. This uncompromising passion for her art was rewarded during the parent’s day art prize where, feeling vindicated, Sandra took home first prize. This taste of success and recognition awakened a fire within young Sandra, along with the knowledge that her pursuit of her art would become a life-long driving force.

With her childhood plagued by constant bouts of the influenza, tonsillitis and inner ear infections, the sickly young Sandra spent her days attempting to recreate the prints of Picasso, Kandinsky and Toulouse-Lautrec hanging in her Sydney home or going to school with her art teacher mother. There she created linoleum block prints quietly in the back corner while secretly watching students engage in illicit classroom couplings. On occasion she would stay at her grandmother’s house, listening to Eastern European radio and trying to sync the sound to the muted television in the living room. When this caused too much frustration, she would often retreat into the worlds provided by the written word.

Known among friend for her eccentricities, at certain parts of her childhood Sandra whole heartedly believed that she was a part of a Disney movie, story book or doll set being enjoyed by some unknown ‘real’ child and her somewhat off-centre ideas of life and its inner workings continue to amaze and confound those around her to this day.

Receiving an Honourable Mention in the coveted Fisher’s Ghost art prize in 1994 with a colourful reinterpretation of a large black vase found in her living room, Sandra received her first official recognition for her work and in a sound investment, spent the prize money on upgrading from a Sega Master system II to a Sega Mega Drive.

Sandra’s final work in high school was a massive post-modern interpretation of Picasso’s Guernica that now hangs in the hallway of her family home. From here she decided that she was not yet ready to grow up and become a ‘responsible adult’, so she attended the University of Wollongong and completed a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Visual Arts), graduating with Honors and a Bachelor of Arts (Communication Studies), graduating with Distinction.