I have an addictive personality. Many people can manage addiction, but like reading a good book to the end, I find it hard to stop watching a TV series right in the middle. So I’m now about to become a total Netflix addict.
Year in Review 2022
This is the year I have given myself permission to design the life I want to lead my way and to encourage others to do the same. As I do this I become clearer in how I want to work, what I want to create and how important travel and adventure are in keeping my inspiration alive.
Talking with my Hands
Whenever I make new art, I ‘talk’ to my materials with my hands; moving papers around, ripping some up, stitching some together, folding and glueing. It's what I've been doing as I get ready for my exhibition, Paper at The Centre, Beaudesert, QLD in January.
New Views
Seeing things from a new perspective, allows them to come into better focus, where you can see the luminosity shine through. When confronted by my own perceived inadequacies, art provides a window with new views.
Fluid Time
Fluid time is variable, flexible and adaptive. Which is what I have experienced this week in England as I packed in travel, discovery and art in 7 days of wonderful adventure. Time that is measured not by the hours in the day, but in the fluidity of motion.
Leaps of Faith
This week I listened to my inner voice, booked a ticket to London Heathrow, caught a train to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire and bought a motorhome. Some people thought I was mad to do such a wild thing, but there were others who encouraged me to keep going, so I did.
Adventure Planning
How do you choose your own adventure? Combine art and travel and that’s the grand adventure to me. Which is what I’m planning for 2023. This is the big reveal. I’m off to Devon, England to undertake my Masters at Dartington Arts School.
Intuition, Research and Inspiration
You can make art with any materials and any tools, but like writing a story, you need the right ingredients to start. When people ask me about artist residencies and what to create, my answer is the stories will find you. You first need to listen …
Say YES!
I’ve lost count of the number of synchronicities that have happened in my life. When you say yes to opportunities and chance meetings with people, sometimes the best experiences present themselves.
The past, present
I have been creating new ‘place mats’ about time and place. They talk to me about preservation. Of objects, of homes, of lives. The idea of ‘sandbagging‘ the past is a topical subject. Floods now sweep across northern Victoria and western NSW and sandbags replace fire hoses as we swing in this pendulum of climate crisis.
Painting by numbers
What if you could make art that incorporated a formulaic method of response to an idea or materials where the images appeared “as if by magic” and all you have to do is join up the dots. Wall art or ‘art to make you scratch your head’?
Audacity
Some of the things we do as artists are audacious. If we want to make an impact with our art, we need to dream big and that often means we need to invest forward. Believing in your project and the timely opportunities that come with it only happen when you begin it.
Think like an artist
Intuition comes in many forms. It means being finely attuned to the creative tools and materials you use as well as rejoicing in life’s little miracles. Following your instinct helps you think as an artist.
Happy Talking, Talk
It can be pretty scary thinking about how to talk about your art. The best way to create a talk with ease, is to know the 4 things about your art: your Who, What, How and Why. These are the essential ingredients for a 2 minute “elevator” pitch or a longer talk about your art on the wall.
Planting seeds, harvesting legacies
You can move away from a town, but it can still draw you back to it. Returning to the small town of Mansfield to honour the life of a friend, was also a process of honouring and integrating the many parts of my own life.
Validation
Picture yourself at your own art exhibition. Someone you admire is introducing you and your art works to an audience. It’s like having a magic mirror reflecting back at you. You feel validated as an artist, whether someone buys your work or not.
Finding Your Way Home
Home is a bag, a backpack, a book, a man, a family, a dog or two. It’s many things to many people, but as I have journeyed over the years, my needs are becoming simpler. Home is a a crackling fire, or the sound of waves at the beach. Shelter, birds singing and family.
Value is a Mirror
How do you price your artwork, especially when you are starting out? Valuing yourself for where you are on your journey means embracing all your perceived ‘failures’ and keeping on going. I know now that the more I exhibit, the more I value what I do and why I do it.
Pause for Effect
I have many artworks which are in a state of pause. Projects that lie dormant in my “waiting” drawers, unresolved, needing some special spark to activate them. Waiting for me to ask the right questions to reveal a deeper narrative.
Collage Your Life
Creating collages, every day for more than years has given me a creative practice, a visual diary and ways to work through some of my ideas on a small scale. Now some of these collages are featured in a new book Collage Your Life by USA artist /author Melanie Mowinski.