The meeting of ocean and earth has always intrigued me and it is in this rolling, fluid and evolving state that the inspiration for my work comes. Diverse as pounding waves devouring the coastline or the serenity of a small rockpool where life goes on in a symbiotic state of peace. As a mixed media artist, my work is heavily influenced by the materials I choose to use which are, either salvaged from garage sales and op-shops or from beachcombing.
I am a beekeeper, which also influences and informs my work. By observing these little creatures, it has inspired me to chart their activities and study their sense of community. As a by-product of honey harvesting, bees wax is readily available resource so it was inevitable that making my own wax encaustic paint and developing ideas based on this material was going to happen. I love the juxtaposition of the speed you have work at to get the wax paint onto the medium compared to the very labour intensive and slow process of building up the multiple layers to get the desired opalescent effect. I love that the paint can be as sculptural as you want and smooth at the same time. Amazing! I have a love of printmaking, how images are created and their frequent unpredictability. Making collagraph plates brings me great satisfaction as I use mostly recycled materials to created the matboard plates. I like that they are fragile which results in an automatic limited edition, (before it disintegrates and goes in to the compost).
Similarly, I love working with Papier Mache where a recycling process can create any kind of 3D shape you want. I particularly like animal studies but sometimes I have the urge to go rogue and make some surreal creatures which may or may not exist in some other part of the universe! Finally, I have a love of textiles. It has been a lifelong learning journey for me. I was taught to knit and sew by my Granny and consciously endeavour to honour her and continue her legacy. I scour op shops for tangled masses of embroidery floss and get great satisfaction unravelling the threads and employing them to created new works. Slow stitching is both meditative and inventive. A win win practice in my book.
As a process driven artist, I feel deeply concerned about the global state of our environment and with this in mind I endeavour to create work whose processes minimise ecological impact while celebrating the joy our amazing world can bring to everyone’s daily lives. I find joy in the small and ordinary