Another eco dyed embroidery piece in progress.  I love that old clothes and necklaces that were thrown away are getting a new life via these works. 

I am pleased to announce that I have been selected as a finalist in the Clayton Utz Art Prize with my work entitled Woven Destiny II.  The work is one of a series that use layered embroidery and eco dyeing to create stitched artworks about our relationship with the environment and consumerism.
UPDATE:  This work has been awarded a highly commended and can be seen on the Clayton Utz  website (for sale) with the other finalists and winners.

My work Pleasant Hill 2017 was acquired by the Ipswich Art Gallery during the Ipswich Art Awards 2017. This drawing was part of the Consumed series of works recently exhibited at Crows Nest Regional Art Gallery.  Pleasant Hill refers to Brynhyfryd (Blackstone Castle) which was built in the Ipswich suburb of Blackstone in 1889.  The castle only existed till the 1930's when it was auctioned off for a fraction of its original cost and mostly dismantled .  Eventually undermining made the site unstable and eventually all trace of the castle was removed from the site.  The image contains a depiction of Brynhyfryd being consumed by crochet drawings of patterns from a thousand pound note used during the time of its existence.

I have a solo show currently displayed at Crows Nest Regional Gallery till 9th April 2017.  The gallery is only attended during specified hours and relies on volunteers so a call to make sure they are open is advised. The number is listed on the top of the exhibition poster above.

A couple of views of my work in the Qld Museum as part of the group show Curios? curated by Carrie McCarthy of Cultural Flanerie.   This was a group exhibition as part of the World Science Festival Brisbane from 22nd to 26th of March 2017.  The work in the top photo next to my exquisite corpse birds is that of Geoff Thompson.  In the second image you can see the hanging work of  Janette Stok  and the work on the facing wall is by Michelle Vine entitled  "Contested Biography I (Quadrat) 2017".

I am happy to announce that two works form the Endangered series have been selected to be exhibited at the Queensland Museum.  The works were created during my time there in 2014 and formed part of my solo exhibit in 2015.  I will join several other artists including Maria Fernanda Cardoso, Elisa Jane Carmichael, Selene Cochrane, Simone Eisler, Emma Lindsay, Sara Manser, Julie-Anne Milinski, Deb Mostert, Jeanette Stok, Geoff Thompson, Michelle Vine and Carolyn V Watson in this exhibition entitled The Art Lab which will be open to the public as part of World Science Week 23- 26 March 2017.  Apparently we are next to the baby turtles! 

This work Consumed 2 was my entry into the  Ipswich Art Awards 2016 and I'm glad to announce that it was acquired by the Ipswich Art Gallery.

My most recent work Consumed is currently on display at the Judith Wright Centre, Fortitude Valley Qld as part of the Queensland Regional Art Awards(QRAA) touring show for 2015/16.  Cream of the Crop is a showcase of 30 finalists from all over regional Queensland.  Last year I won the Wayne Kratzmann acquisitive award for Exquisite Corpse as part of this competition, so feel very fortunate to be included again this year.  The show is touring Qld regional areas, check out the Flying Arts website for more details.

I am looking forward to my next residency in September this year at Gunyah.  Its a beautiful studio/house set in bushland overlooking the ocean in Newcastle.  I hope to see some evidence of a couple of species of birds featured in my Exquisite Corpse series (Endangered) as there is nearby bushland where they have been sighted.  I will document the residency and artwork/activities I undertake and that will be published on the Gunyah blog.

Recently I undertook a two week residency at Jugglers Art Space as part of the Qld Regional Art Awards, Wayne Kratzmaan Prize.  It was a very busy two weeks and I produced a lot of work.  Here are some photos from my time there, you may have seen them on Facebook or Instagram.  

I felt very comfortable at Jugglers, this experience is best summed up by a line from Noel Arnaud "I am the space where I am". (Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard)