What I make brings people joy, and that makes me happy.
My story
I come from the fashion world, where I've always had a love for beautiful things in fashion, art and history. As a designer, I was lucky enough to create beautiful pieces of clothing with amazing fabrics, specialising in corsetry and tailoring. One of my favourite designers from that era is John Galliano.
My love for collecting goes back to childhood, growing up with my grandparents. I remember being taken to the local tip or wrecker's yard for a scrummage, or led into an op shop hunting for a forgotten treasure. That instinct has stayed with me ever since.
I later worked as a makeup artist, where colour came into play in everything I did and I loved creating beautiful images.
After a career built on beauty and creativity, I arrived at creating visual masterpieces through the art of embroidery. Today, as a textile artist with an Australian Heritage background, I collect beautiful vintage objects to use in my work. History is a large part of my oeuvre — in a world that so easily throws things away, I want to keep history alive. Obsessed with colour and fabrics, I use hand embroidery to transform collected objects that were once loved into loved-again visual masterpieces.
This piece (above) was made from my Nana Shirley's doily, which she made herself. It's special to me, and through it I carry a piece of her with me forever.
I am a member of the Education Committee at The Embroiderers Guild Vic, which brings me immense pleasure and allows me to introduce other types of textiles to the Guild.
This gorgeous piece was done in a Gold Work class at The Embroiderers Guild Vic with Rhonda Justus. It's very close to my heart — it's mounted on a frame given to me by a special friend. My obsession with gold work has come from Rhonda.
My creativity comes from my pain and experience — a purpose of my work is to create to forget. If there is a peril in that, the profit it brings is worth it all. I have a love for meaning, and everything I make is something I would have in my own home, in the environment I want to be surrounded by.
What makes me truly happy is having my beautiful pieces in an exhibition, so the world can love what comes from my heart.
Featured artworks
27cm x 27cm x 3cm
Inspired by the earth and the quiet rhythm of tending to my garden, this piece captures the layered colours of a cabbage patch in full bloom. Hand-worked in wool and mixed fibres, it translates the textures and tones of the garden into embroidery.
The piece is mounted on a hand-painted ceramic plate, created by a fellow artist — part of a small collection of her work I’ve gathered over time.
I love this piece.
Details include:
Hand-painted ceramic plate
Wool and mixed textiles
35cm x 55cm x 3cm
This beautiful gold crab is worked in Goldwork — a craft I love and one that's very special to me. It's a beautiful technique, extremely time-consuming, but so worth the effort. The piece is embellished with pieces from my collection.
Details include:
Heirloom buttons
Heirloom brooches
Mixed textile materials
Special stitching
23cm x 17cm x 2cm
This embroidery pattern was bought on a childhood trip to Tasmania with my parents. It took many years before I could bring myself to make it — but I'm so glad I did. It's a gorgeous piece, and one close to my heart, given my love of tea.
"Teatime" is adorned with a number of special pieces from my collection to give it an even more personal, layered look. It's then mounted on a plate hand-painted by the same special lady artist.
Details include:
Embroidery
Hand-painted plate
Brooches
Beads and pearls
Mixed textiles
39cm x 29cm x 2cm
An assortment of jewels set within a wool forest, mounted on a copper platter gifted to me by a dear friend's mother. She once used this platter for serving fruit and cheese — it brings me so much happiness to give these treasured, once-loved pieces new life.
Details include:
Copper platter
Jewels
Brooches and beads
Wool and mixed textiles