Bachelor of Visual Arts, Married to Michael, Three children Ages 11, 13 & 15.
My work references fabric and clothing, particularly fashions from the Victorian period. I translate clothing into expressive, textural vessels.
My mother instilled a passion for sewing when I was very young, and this passion has never left me.
All the art works in this show are first sewn in fabric, integrating construction methods used for Victorian dolls clothes.
They are then moulded in plaster and slip cast using stoneware clay.
I like using fabric as it is tactile, enticing, it draws you in, it triggers memories and emotions, it’s familiar.
My original concepts for using fabric and clothing, reference the idea of “there’s more than meets the eye”.
Clothing so often defines who we are as a person. A first glance makes an impression, whether it’s accurate or not. Clothing assumes an identity. This can come from its history, for example, rips or stains. Or from the type of fabric, like silk, lace, or flannelette. Or from its purpose, for example a uniform or tartan.
What we see on the outside is not necessarily a reflection of what is on the inside. Our image is typically other people’s judgement of character.
We are many things to many people. On the simplest level, to my husband, I’m a wife, to my children I’m a mother, to my mother, I’m a daughter.