When did your creative journey begin?

My creative journey began as a teenager designing and making my own clothes. Dresses have then featured in much of my visual art works over the years as I have explored and exhausted various mediums: I was a colour field and figurative painter since finishing my BFA in 1989. Having children in 1999 and 2001 changed my practice, as I began to work smaller and with less toxic materials. It was at that stage that that I begin to work more with wire, thread, metal, knitting, weaving and stitching and also engaging in community arts more. In recent years I have married painting, textile and craft processes whilst also writing about art practices and craft-media.

What inspired you to pursue a career in the creative field?

At some stage in my secondary schooling years, I made the decision that I wanted to be an artist. I can’t remember why or what inspired me, but I do remember an air of mystique about my art teachers, so I think that sparked my curiosity. I focused on studying the art subjects in upper secondary school and got into the art school I wanted. That was a great foundation education in painting, film making, theory and aesthetics.

How do you connect with the Greater Geelong area through your work?

I came to live in Geelong in 1999 with my artist husband. I soon made friends who were fellow artists and parents of young children like we were. I helped organise or joined in with community arts projects and enjoyed helping to develop the creative community of Geelong over the years. This has been supported with numerous grants from the City of Greater Geelong and my teaching/art academic career. I have taught art education at Deakin University for nearly 20 years which has also enabled a strong interconnection with Geelong.

What challenges or barriers have you encountered in your career?

A barrier used to be not having enough money to support my art practice. However, over the years I have found ways to make a living with my passion of creating art, researching art, writing about it and teaching art. This has removed the financial barrier but now created a "time issue”.

Looking ahead, what would you like to achieve?

Something I am working toward is an exhibition or book (or both) that shows and explains the creative practice journey I have been on. This will pull together many small exhibitions I have had, and papers or book chapters I have written and published, to tell my whole story as a creative. I want to do this to help others understand that, unlike the artists lives I learnt about during my art school years, you can be an artist and have multiple careers, trajectories and be multi modal.