Rate My Professor Jo Bone

Jo Bone serves as the Academic Resource Officer in the Pathway and English Language Centre within the Division of Humanities at the University of Otago. In this capacity, she manages teaching and learning resources, including a small library dedicated to students studying English and preparing for university studies. She facilitates access to relevant materials for both students and staff, while also supporting creative outlets in the academic setting. Her role contributes to the centre's mission of providing pathway programs and English language support to prospective university students.

Jo Bone holds a degree in languages and art history from the University of Otago. Her academic background aligns with her professional interests in linguistics and visual arts. As a Dunedin-based artist and illustrator, she was influenced from childhood by her artist mother, fostering a lifelong passion for drawing and storytelling through pictures. Initially pursuing languages professionally, she later rekindled her artistic pursuits through personal projects, community classes, and fundraising initiatives involving illustrated cards, Christmas decorations, soft toys made from felt and fabric, and collage. Her preferred mediums include ink, watercolour, coloured pencil, gouache, and collage. Jo Bone specializes in character illustrations infused with personality and humour, valuing sketching for its ability to record fleeting moments. She organizes group sketch walks at sites like the Dunedin Botanic Garden, conducts workshops at Toitū Otago Settlers Museum involving treasure hunts and sketching historical figures, and leads sessions at Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden using viewfinders. Notably, she facilitated a collage workshop for migrant Afghan women as part of a community integration research project at the University of Otago's Centre for Global Migrations. Additionally, she founded the Dunedin-Ōtepoti Sketchers group, which holds monthly meetings for sketching and discussion, with goals to affiliate as an official Urban Sketchers chapter. Within the university community, Jo Bone engages in sketching campus events, such as blossoming trees and performances like Maplewood at the Farmers Market, enhancing cultural and artistic life at Otago. She also supports initiatives like Language Match at Otago, a language and cultural exchange program.