Me & BJ, our Clydesdale horse, 1984.
There have been scary moments in my life when I came close to catastrophe. Like when we were travelling in our horse and wagon and disaster nearly struck. That was when I learned a very hard won truth. I had to surrender and hand over the reins.
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Work in Progress - stitched collage for inclusion in my upcoming Occupy exhibition 13-19th August
Rebellious daughters. We did everything we could to avoid the “domestic arts” and all they represented. Transforming a legacy of domestic skills into unapologetic art.
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Syntagma Square, Athens, 2011.
Occupy is a powerful word. Ten years ago it was a rallying call for people in over 900 cities worldwide to protest against wealth inequality. Occupy is also the title of my forthcoming joint art exhibition and art workshops in Murwillumbah in August. Both are narratives of human habitation and occupation.
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Finding your true north could be as simple as tearing up the maps that define borders and map our connections to each other instead.
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Vincent Namatjira in front of his Archibald prize winning painting Stand Strong for Who You Are, 2020.
What is the purpose of art? Is is it to be pretty or to challenge our notions of who we are at the deepest level? Today is the start of NAIDOC week and we are called to have a “deep challenging national story” around how our Indigenous art and artists can lead the way we see ourselves as Australians.
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At the Ardlethan tin mine, 1978
Stories connect us on a heart to heart level. I look back on my time as a young journalist in a rural town and realise how lucky I was to be able to peek into the intimate lives of the women who lived in the district, empowering them to share their stories.
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Spontaneous adventuring can feel a bit daring and dangerous. Saying yes to chance gave me the opportunity to “get over myself” on an unplanned midweek road trip north.
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In turbulent times, there is an urgent need for art to pay attention to the ordinary wonders in the world.. To give them form, to really notice and document life’s everyday beauty. To communicate the awe and wonder of being alive.
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From the Deep Sea (detail) 2021 Poured paper pulp…work in progress
When you’re feeling dissatisfied with the unresolved pieces lying around, look at the work with new eyes. ‘What if’ is always a good place to start as it gets the creative juices flowing.
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Where do you put your money? Less You Want to Draw the Heat (detail) 2020. Stitched collage.
The only way to grow is to expand your thinking. I’ve invested in myself many times over even when I didn’t have the money upfront. It has always paid off although I couldn’t see the outcome at the start. Gamble on your creativity - for hard work and investing in yourself pay off.
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