It’s all about the journey

Ihaven’t had any formal art training, but I did excel at art during high school, receiving multiple year level awards, and I also chose to do arts focused electives during my university studies. Attending life drawing classes, art sessions run by local community art groups, and painting with friends have been good motivators to keep creative activity a priority in my life.

I have loved the arts since I was a young child. My mother was very creative and dabbled in many creative and artistic pursuits – painting (watercolour, acrylic, oils, abstract, realistic, using different materials, techniques and tools), drawing, tapestry, ceramics, textiles, photography drama singing music – so I was surrounded by creativity and artistry and got to see art making in action all the time. Mum was a fundamental influence and appreciator of my artistic development and she fostered and encouraged my creativity at every turn. My parents valued my imagination and getting lost in the moment was a regular part of my childhood. I also remember my mum helping me to ‘see’. I think that ‘learning to see’ and ‘being present to what you are seeing’ is a big part of the artistic and aesthetic process. When I was small mum took time to bring my attention to things. She showed me that a flower wasn’t just yellow,