After studying fashion design and working in the fashion and textile industry for most of her life, Merryl Shand has only discovered the joy of painting in more recent years. Merryl is a practising milliner with many, many hats to her name. She was originally inspired by her grandmother who in her day, used to sell “model” hats for an exclusive department store. Merryl started developing her portraiture skills to better portray hats to customers.  This developed into a real enjoyment of drawing faces, trying to express emotions and nuances.  She has experimented with using various mediums such as chalks, watercolour, ink, acrylic and most recently using layered, lino prints. Merryl loves sewing, and anything textiles, including felting.  When she has any spare time, she is usually found doing something creative. Since joining the TAM group, Merryl has found more confidence to explore her artistic pursuits, and is looking forward to participating for many years to come.