I was born in 1966 and grew up in Marlborough NZ and have been in Nelson since leaving school.
I have a Visual Arts Diploma 1998 and a Visual Arts Degree 2005 from Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology. For the past 13 years I have juggled my art practice with having and raising four children.
My work is an ongoing theme concerning my identity in relation to motherhood and domesticity.
My ideas are always evolving as I grow older and life changes.
I use the cup motif repeatedly in my work this represents domesticity, nurturing and memories.
Current Work
The work is still about motherhood but it is about my late mother.
Her china cabinet was full of treasures she had collected throughout her life all having her special memories attached to them.
Sadly when I go to the recycle centres and garage sales I see hundreds of these same treasures that have been discarded.
I collect and use these treasures in my art, breathing new life into these once loved objects. I think about the memories that might have been attached to each object.
I use oil paint on recycled metal trays, doilies, table clothes, tea towels, cupboards etc.
Artists that have influenced my work are firstly American artist Sally Mankus who uses mixed media and recycled household objects. Sylvia Siddell with her anxious household still life's. Jacqueline fahey's portrait of domestic family relationships. The techniques of Tony Fomison with his monochrome palette, thinly applies paint wiped back to expose light.This to me is metaphoric for wiping clean layers of grime.