Lately I’ve taken to counting birds, in the sky, in the garden. Listening to the sound of them in the trees, hidden yet present. They symbolise the freedom of flight, the raucous antidote to silence and the great Apausalypse.
The future is now…
What interests us as a child circles back as our future comes forward to meet us. We can have many lives in one lifetime. I was a writer before I was a photographer. I made films before I wrote plays, made paper before I started screen printing.
Why artist residencies?
Why go on artist residencies? While you need a proposal to submit with your residency application, the work you make might completely go off on a tangent. I’ve learnt the best thing is to stay flexile and adapt to your new surroundings.
Why Create?
Creativity is a blessing. It takes you outside of yourself to a place that is “out of time”. It is akin to connection with something greater, the divine, the universal life force.
Artists as Activists
The history of art is full of artist activists. Art can “spur thinking, engagement, and even action”. It can not only bear witness to events, but can move us to hope in the midst of despair. Hope for freedom, hope for action, hope for equality and justice in the midst of the ensuing world chaos that can threaten to overwhelm us.
A little bit wonky
A little bit wonky is a good thing in art, it frees you from perfectionism. When it comes to repurposing old artworks, the courage it takes to tear up or paint over the old, is worth it. Old and boring transforms into wild, wonky and unique.
Marking the Days
When you are at home is self-isolation, how do you mark time? In the Middle Ages the marking of time was both cosmological and seasonal. Can we turn crisis into opportunity and document our days with creative activity?
The Future You Imagine
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.
Failing on purpose
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.
Occupy ~ bearing witness to history
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.
True North
Finding your true north could be as simple as tearing up the maps that define borders and map our connections to each other instead.
Pretty or Pretty Confronting?
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.
Connecting through Stories
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.
Saying YES to chance
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.
Awe and Wonder
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.
What if?
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.
Gambling on Yourself
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.
No Regrets
What will you leave behind as your legacy? Think of all of that you have already achieved, rather than what you haven’t. Your creative self expression is your legacy. Be proud to share it with the world, no comparisons, no regrets.
Flying fish and fractals
Looking for inspiration? You have everything already inside of you. This is what I remembered when I went on a research trip down the rabbit holes of the internet. What I was really looking for was in my own imagination, a journey back to myself.
Be the Light
I love lighthouses.These powerful beams of light are a metaphor for connection, across the seas and lands. Having an online business is a bit like that. Shining a light from an online platform to inspire others.