Why and when did you become an artist?

I grew up on the beach in North QLD in a very creative, artistic and musical publishing family where DIY was the norm my father and mother both drew and painted (as their parents did) invented magnificent contraptions and made everything for us from paper mache Easter bonnets, circus walking stilts to 3 wheeled wind surfers that sailed on the beach. Art, nature, getting your hands dirty and hardwork was our way of life.

In my primary years my sister and I would gather the kids in the neighborhood and make up musicals to the latest pop songs and perform them for our parents. In The land of make believe” by bucks fizz was a hit.

I was the sporty girl, at school successful at athletics and swimming. I also studied classical ballet, jazz and tap right through till my senior year at high school. Although I loved dancing it was never praised, acknowledged or performed in front of my peer group. Sport was, so I excelled at that and it became the safe option to survive the high school years. I tried art in year eight and was humiliated in front of my class for my lame attempt at a pottery pig and that was the end of art. Secretly at home I would make up songs, get lost in my paint by numbers and design clothes, packaging and things. I always pretended I was a designer and artist.

In the family publishing business {it first started underneath our house} I always had access to the dark room, materials and enlarging machines. I used to love the way the desktop publishes used the little vinyl letters to make up pages - back in the olden days. I always made cards for my friends. I also remember when my parents got their first computer. After my senior year I studied Childcare at the Western Australian Nanny Institute and went into childcare for the next 2 years. I then roamed around Australia for the next 4 years taking hospitality jobs on Brampton and Great Keppel Island, a short stint in Victoria and then Uluru Ayres Rock where I met my husband of 13 years, who was a Chef at the time. We both worked and saved for 12 months so we could travel overseas.

We went overseas in 1996 which was the start of my reconnection to my artistic side. Travel was not only inspiring, and interesting it gave you the time to reconnect with your self, your environment and everything in it. The backpacking world is such a contrast to the working world, people are so much more open, communicative, gentle tolerant and understanding all in all kinder.

The 3 years in this bubble was when I really started to reconnect to my child hood and upbringing and bring my past in parallel to my present which created my future. None of it was conscious it just erupted like a volcano. I was drawing in Africa and Spain and loving taking candid photos of people in their everyday way of life in Egypt, Burma, Europe and Asia. When we landed back in Australia we bought a tiny run down cottage in Albion. We spent the next 3 years renovating it which continued the creative artistic flow I had enjoyed overseas.

I enrolled at Tafe and studied Business Administration it was the practical thing to do I knew nothing about computers and I also enrolled at the Brisbane Institute of Art for night classes while working as a event coordinator at the Windsor International Motel. During the next 6 years I continued to study at the BIA taking painting, drawing ceramic, portraiture and professional arts practice classes. In that 6 years the renovation boom started and my husband I loved it so much we both changed our occupations to purse renovating, building, decorating and designing.

I took it on fulltime while my husband started his carpentry apprenticeship. We managed to makeover 4 properties in 6 years and then we had a baby. After the birth of our son I was feeling pretty able and confident so I entered 3 pieces of artwork into the Churchie Emerging Artist Competition and was surprised and delighted that one piece was accepted and sold.

I had never shown my work to anyone outside the BIA so for me it was a validation that I could start to take myself seriously and since then I have exhibited again in Brisbane and Melbourne, and applied for 2 grants. I don’t have to pretend anymore.

Who/what inspires or influences you personally or as an artist?

I always come up with ideas in my head sparked by what ever, in the past it has been things such as, nature, the cemetery across the road, an industrial wall, Barron landscape, old wood, graffiti walls, rusted old trucks, sticker labels on fruit, or council green bin lids.

I love obsessive repetitious, pattern making and the light of the inbetween bits of pattern which age, wear and give depth to a surface. Graffiti walls that have been layered with posters, old things, and broken bits. Pop art, Indigineous art, the Fluxus movement and artist such as Tracey Emin, Andy Warhol, Andy Goldsworthy and Shepard Fairy all boost my juices.

Describe your career as an artist, your art practice and why you do it. What has been the highlight so far.

My practice is a personal representation of me and my life. I don’t do it, It does me, I can’t seem to escape the urge to make and think like art, tweak, arrange, make beautiful, display, collect, solve problems, add or subtract. My highlight so far would be every time I sell a piece of work to a stranger, thrilling!!!!