Tell us a little about
your creative life.
My creative life is
full! It is all consuming and it is joyous. I get to be a creative parent, I
get to collaborate with amazing people, I get to surround myself with paper and
ink and thread and I get to make books
all day long. My creative life extends to my garden, the landscape that
surrounds me and my community.
Where do you live and
why?
I live in a divine
rolly green land just past Uki in Northern NSW.
We moved here from inner city Melbourne 10 years ago and although we
sometimes miss the energy of the city we have surely created a home here. We
are nestled amongst world heritage rainforests in this area and love the
freedom that comes from living here. We love the wildlife, the flora and the
solitude. And we love the people.
What is it you make?
I make many things but
my greatest love is making handmade books. I print also and fold paper and set
up movable type for my letterpress andI take copious amounts of photos. My
books are made in small-runs, limited editions and one-offs. They’re made from
up-cycled, foraged and found materials plus fine printmaking and drawing
papers.
Where did you learn
these skills?
My first strong
memories are of painting and drawing. Throughout my life, I’ve always been
involved with some form of creating. My formal education includes a degree in
Fine Art History from Melbourne Uni with a brief stint studying in New York. I
went on to study Printmaking at Southern Cross Uni for a short time before I began
teaching Visual Arts in the Riverina. But the best teachers have been the
artists and makers that I surround myself with. As far as bookmaking is concerned
I’m largely self-taught, although books are a natural progression for many
printmakers. I am constantly learning by observing those who participate in the
workshops I run with my friend and fellow artist Heather Matthew and I am
routinely awestruck by watching my children at play.
Where do you find your inspiration?
Inspiration is
endless. I’m never at a loss for what to create next. I find really small,
fleeting things inspiring, a cloud, a bird call, a stone, lichen on a branch,
fungi, a shadow or a word. Music and poetry and writing are constant sources of
interest and ideas or philosophy have always been a part of my image making
process. I’m inspired by the land, the colours I find there, the stories and
the history. Memory is another theme that I always come back to. But when making
books it may be as simple as responding to a found material and asking it what
it wants to become.
What is your fondest
childhood memory of making something?
One of my most vivid
memories is of decorating envelopes with pressed flowers, glitter and paper
collage and then sitting on the footpath outside my house trying to sell them.
I sold two!
Do you find time to be
creative every day?
I’m so fortunate to be
able to dedicate a lot of time to making. Most days I do create and on those
days that I can’t I try to be creative in other ways, through food, or in the garden
or with the kids. Being creative keeps me sane so it’s in my interest to find
the time!
When did you know you
wanted to pursue a creative career?
I’ve always known I wanted to pursue a creative career. I’ve gone off on many tangents but have always come back to true north. After becoming a Mum I felt that it was time to commit to making but it has only been recently that I have had the time to pursue my practice on a full-time basis.
Who is your creative hero?
I have so many. Shepherd Fairey, Swoon, bookmakers Jim Croft and Shanna Leino, Mike Parr, Eva Hesse, Kurt Schwitters, Joseph Cornell, Frida Kahlo, Albert Durer, Isamu Noguchi, Barbara Hepworth, Louise Bourgeois….and on it goes.
What would you love to
learn to do within the next year or so? What creative skill / talent?
I really want to build
up my repertoire of bookbinding techniques and I’m super keen to brush up on my
very rusty screen-printing skills. But the big project is to master my
Heidelberg Windmill Platen Letterpress. If there’s time I’m up for some
upholstery lessons, playing with natural dyes and learning how to navigate
InDesign.
Please share some of
your favourite web wanderings.
Lately I’m loving:
Ms Browns Lounge the Lismore arts space run by the uber
talented Joanna Kambourian and Darren Bryant.
