Mandy Tardif
I was raised in northern New Hampshire, in copious amounts of snow, close to the Canadian border, so I am appreciating the warmth and sun of my new home in Hawaii now. Due to my love of all things creative and a natural talent for art, I graduated from PSU in New Hampshire, with a BA in Graphic Design and a minor in Art History. Right after September 11, 2001, when the Twin Towers were attacked, I relocated to sunny California and resided there for many years. This was where I truly started to find and pursue my passion for art. This was also when I truly began to embark on a full time career as a freelance artist.
From teaching art classes in elementary schools to many years of nannying and face painting at hundreds of parties, I have a lot of experience with kiddos and have found that helping families out is a great compliment to my creative lifestyle. Plus I love kids. As far as titles go, I am a professional canvas painter, muralist, face painter, a children’s book illustrator, certified personal trainer and singer/songwriter. I am SUPER CREATIVE and I LOVE MUSIC so, if your little ones like the arts, they will love their time with me. I play guitar and ukulele (not professionally) and love to make up songs off the cuff with words I encourage children to give me. I also enjoy hiking, yoga, dancing and spending as much time in nature as possible.
I am not a consumer of a lot of technology and I do not watch TV or play video games. Although I have used them in the recent past, I prefer to stay away from things like social media sites as I find organic connections in real time much more satisfying, and enjoy doing “old fashioned” things like arts and crafts, picnics, drives to new places and creating songs and plays.
If there is anything else you would like to know, just ask. I want you to feel very comfortable knowing your precious ones are in good hands. I look forward to meeting you and your family and hopefully becoming a part of it.
1 COMMENT
We are on our flight back to Berkeley and I wanted to send word on our experience with Mandy Tardif.
Vacationing this past week in Honolulu with our grandchildren and our close friends and their grandson would not have been as memorable and as enjoyable without the daily presence of marvelous Mandy.
Not only did she manage to fulfill all of our expectations but she exceeded them by some! She was completely in tune with the children’s needs, moods and desires. She engaged them creatively and joyfully at the hotel, doing face painting, ( Mandy is a true professional), spending time at Kid’s City, at the Arcade and on all mornings – spending splendid time at the beach building sand castles, throwing football and running around with the kids.
But, the most magical and memorable moments happened on the beach with our 5 year old grandson, JJ. From being fearful around water and afraid to get into the ocean, within a week’s time, with daily morning beach time, playing in the sand and in the water, Mandy, with her joyful, confident and playful attitude, gained our grandson’s full trust. With her guidance and total attention, he was transformed into a playful fish, handling his own small surfing board and refusing to get out of the water.
We are forever grateful to her for helping our boy overcome his fear and transforming him into a sea and sand lover. When his mother asked him this morning, what he loved most about Hawaii, he said ‘meeting Mandy’!
Dalia C. Nagel