Thrive on Arts at Empire Theatre is still one of my absolute favourite events. This year's theme was Ocean and I said YES let's make some sea creatures. 

Coral Tapestry 
Coral Tapestry is a living artwork, shaped by the hands and imaginations of the community. Over four days, participants wove fabric, objects, and personal contributions into large panels, collectively simulating the growth and complexity of a coral reef. As each person added their piece, the tapestry evolved—layer by layer, thread by thread—mirroring the vibrant, interconnected life of underwater ecosystems.
Sea creature sculptures were interspersed throughout the panels, creating moments of discovery and inviting further interaction. Their presence encouraged participants to continue contributing, sparking curiosity and play as the reef grew in richness and scale. This work celebrates both the creativity of individuals and the power of collective action, reflecting how communities, like coral reefs, thrive through connection, collaboration, and care.

If you haven't read the book My Two Blankets by Irena Kobald I encourage you to do so. It is a meaningful tale about displacement, otherness and ultimately kindness and friendship. The amazing team at The Lighthouse Toowoomba wove together a stunning community project that illuminated the pages of the story throughout the gallery and featured key installations of reponsive pieces. 

They also held readings from the author and asked me to support two community kids sessions in the creation of their panel for a community blanket. 

I love these kinds of projects, I find my role is to simply listen, encourage and support technical artistic advice, but really champion the individual as the narrator. We also have a creative voice, but sometimes it is intimidating to share. Especially in a public forum. Paired with the unknown of materials and what to do with them, something that feels natural for me, becomes an incredible hurdle for others. And it is in this space I find my roll is to be the quiet pillar one can lean on when they need a little support.

The wonderful team at the Esk Garden Fair asked, 'are you interested in a painting a live grass mural for the festival this year?'

My initial response was, 'yes', quickly followed by 'how does one paint grass?' Never to back down from an interesting challege I started investigating. Findly quickly this wasn't a medium artists were regularly engaging with, so I went to my next best option and started exploring the world of sport...in particular field painting. 

WOW let's actually give a round of applause for the field painting industry, this was certainly not easy, even though it was fun. 

The next step was to practice, and thankfully my parents were happy to donate a patch on their farm for me to do so. It was all about learning the materials. How far to spray from the grass, what ratios of the paint worked best? Playing with angles and designs. Learning the movements of my body, tranisitioning the smaller wrist flicks into whole arm swings. It was a problem-solving adventure. Let alone thinking what I would physically look like in the process, because this was in itself a performance as much as an artwork. Im sorry for those that caught me stretched out or hunched over sometimes making the best design took precident over creating an aesthetic photo opportunity for people. 

The result was a growing design starting from the centre and expanding outwards. The day was beautiful, the conversations were rich and by the end I had aches and pains in parts of my body I had yet to experience. 

But would I do it all over again....for sure!

Science Nature Art invites you to explore the intersectionality of scientific inquiry and artistic expression. By visually interpreting data from nature—plants, animals, and ecosystems, you’ll learn to see the natural world in a whole new way. Transforming these observations into layered compositions that blend organic textures with abstract forms. Participants are encouraged to create their own collages using the provided data and imagery, fostering a hands-on exploration of how art can reveal hidden patterns and connections in nature. This interactive experience inspires creativity while deepening our understanding of the natural environment.

Well that was the write-up, but wow, what an experience. I love a good provocation, and Queensland Museum Cobb & Co Provided. Put simply, they asked, what does Science, Nature, Art Mean to you? And how can you invite others to play within that space creativity? 

The outcome was a series of inspiration collages based of flora and fauna and an open invitation for the public to come and create their own verison to take home. 

When formulating the grand idea I had a few musts (for myself, obviously, as I was the one doing the project).

• The project needed to be accessible, I wanted people of all ages and experiences to feel safe to have a go
  
• The space needed to be accessible to everyone, with tables and chairs at different heights and space to accommodate wheelchairs and other needs
• The materials needed to be readily available, encouraging people to replicate the concepts outside of the museum

And of course I wanted to be personally happy with the works I produced as the installation (so no pressure).

The installation ended up being on display for a little over 6 months and was well attended with me hosting children's and adult workshops where we looked at my process in a little more depth. 

I honestly loved this opportunity and would love to explore this space more.

The first series of children's art workshops in the Lockyer Valley were a smashing success. With all four sessions sold out it was a wonderful two days at Laidly and Gatton, meeting new families and holding space for children's creativity. 
The two workshops, Aussie Animals and On The Farm offered children the opportunity to engage in student-led learning. 
As an artist, parent and teacher, I find it essential to create a space safe for authentic creative exploration. A space that allows students the safety to have a go and see what happens, while having the knowledge that there is support and guidance offered on an individual level. Problem solving and discovery is where the arts shines.  
I also know that initially this can be confronting for some, the idea that all is a possibility, that ulitmately there is no answer and that the individual decides what the outcome looks like. In each session, expectations for self-directed learning are clearly outlined. And they can, for some, seem simple, a provocation such as, 'we are going to create an acrylic artwork based on an animal you choose.' It seems simple, and can be just that: pick a photo and replication. It also offers the students the opportunity to mix and match different reference images, build a narrative, play with character design,  deconstruction and the list of infinite possibilities continues. 
After being introduced to available tools and art materials, students take the initiative to independently organise and engage with these resources, allowing them to explore and develop their artistic ideas.
Throughout each session, I offer technical tips and tricks to the class and the individual, depending on their needs. 
Teaching like this, I find, offers so much more to students than outcomes, and yes, again, it can be confronting, and sometimes, I admit, confusing.  For many, education can feel like it needs a lot of rigid structures, formulas and processes.  The arts is one of those subjects that offer a difference. 
Now, yes, there is a foundational technique, 100% so before someone says what about the technical stuff. That is also covered at an age-appropriate and individualised level. But the basis of classes I find the most important thing is to offer a space to play, and make mistakes while feeling supported. 


Acknowledgement:
The Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) is a partnership between the Queensland Government and Lockyer Valley Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.

Window paintings are always such an interesting project, the transparency of the surface and ability to see through, around and behind plays with the idea of space, flat surface imagery and movement between planes. 
For the series of works I created over carnival it was important to me to reference local inspiration and relevance, I didn't just want to paint something generic 'Spring' like. 
Instead I drew from the ideas of celebration and carnivals 75th birthday, as well as pulling from local birds and colours seen locally. 

The Finch, was obviously going to be a pair of finches, the double-barred variety that is spotted frequently in the region. The choosen colour palette was pulled from a bouquet of poppies, which may seem an odd choice in isolation but was actually selected as The Finch Bar filled their tables with poppies over the Spring season. 

The Other Bird, really played with the concepts of deconstructed flowers, celebration and local birds. When visiting the site for inspiration I was instantly attrached to the vibrant pops of colour poking out from the lush greenery of the grounds. With established hedges, shrubs and the towering trees the site felt warm and cosy nestled amongst the nature while being in a built environment. Yet if you took moment to pause you would notice all the neon flowers poking through, some maybe tiny but they felt as if a sprinkling of glitter amongst the space. I was instantly drawn to these inconspicuous objects and dove straight into the most vibrant and neon of colours in my paint box.  Thinking of flowers, confetti and streamers it was a delight to paint. 

What fun is was to design Queen Bunny Bee for the Grand Central Shopping Centre annual float for the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers parade of 2024. I was thrilled when they asked me to do the job, it's such a happy space for my creativity to reimagine a found object.  
I even challenged myself with a quick turnaround of making a set of wings with paper mache over a weekend - hot tip it was a lot more involved than I thought but oh so worth it. 

I've never held one of these before, it's similiar yet so different to an exhibition. It's also nice seeing everything you have made over the last few years either for your practice, experimentation or work sitting side by side. It's like a collision of worlds that happen to be very compartmentalised in my mind. 

It's also wild to think that there is over 60 pieces in this collection of mostly acrylic on canvas with a sprinkling of works on paper. 

Each piece is it's own, even those I've created for workshops, no two pieces are the same that's for sure. And finding them walls to hang and be loved on feels like such an honour, they deserve to be seen and not stacked in piles and stored on shelves...as they currently are. 

The affordable collection sale will be hosted at Tinker City 76 Russell Street Toowoomba, Friday 18th October 5:30-7:30PM. All are most definitely welcome, see you there!

Thrive Youth Arts Festival at the Empire Theatre Toowoomba is one of my absolute favourite community events. There is such a beautiful mix of families gathering together together to engage in the arts for and with their children. Set amongst the backdrop that is the heritage Empire Theatre itself, with the sun shining and chatter of the kids the vibes are truly magical. 

This year it felt right bringing the BIRDS along for the ride as they accompanied the festival theme for 2024 beautifully. I truly love to create space for authentic uninhibited sensory exploration that is temporal mark making.  The process really does break down some of our personal barriers and struggles we may have with making art publicly, and privately. 

Watching people of all ages, genders, ethnicities and backgrounds happily pick up a piece of chalk and scratch some colour onto the pieces was awesome, if I am being honest. 
To accompany the BIRDS I also created (with the assistance of the one and only Aaron Stalling) a set of transparent easels. Created or more assembled from a series of repurposed found objects I loved the idea of peering through and double sided collaborative artworks. Using classic poster paint that was washed both thoroughly and not so thoroughly throughout the festival had a lot of our youngest artists heading straight to the surface. Having the easels at their eyeline was really important for me, often art is made and displayed for taller eyes, but throughout the festival I saw many small children run for the colourful panels with parents in chase only to discover what had caught their eye when they were immediately in front of it. 

The concentration of thought was visually noted on their faces as they worked their way around the panel. Depending on the space available they would make their own fresh designs or begin to place with colour mixing and layering adding to already existing painted areas. 

As always being amongst them and also watching everyone create together had my own mind ticking over new and other ways to facilitate community arts projects in the future.

When the team at Empire reached out and asked, 'hey would you be insterested in create a Spring design for our windows?' I was of course going to say yes! I love any opportunity to leave a splash of colour and being spring themed with a prompt, critters, insects was the obvious choice for me. 
The ever present and sometimes overlooked classic spring partner. I instantly thought about the joy that comes from bending down to inspect the colourful blooms only to discover a bee buzzing through the same patch. I've watched countless times someone bent over trying to capture the perfect photo of the quickly moving critter. 

I have such a love of drawing and painting insects, they lend so naturally to to colour blocking, patterns and compartmentising. All the things that make my brain tickle with joy when I am in the thick of the creative process. 

Painting pubically is also one of my favourite ways to connect with community, with many people stopping by to ask questions, cracks a joke or two (you missed a spot is always a classic) and to just stop for a moment and watch. 

I had many questions this time about my mark up process. I experienced a far amount of anxiety this time around, not because of my ability to actually draw or scale the objects but more so working with my body and not against it. With the weather warming up, the scale of the pieces and the need to hold my arm vertical for so long I was really mindful about my ability  to even finish the pieces with my chronic health condititions. Blood pooling and draining is a major consideration in my life so I needed a way to get the designs up quickly and accurately. A projector or doodle grid really wasn't going to work thanks to the surface being glass. And then thank you lightbulb moment, it's glass! I took my digital drawings I created on my tablet and turned them into budget posters, and thanks to the wonder that is an at home printer, tape and bluetac what would have taken twice the time was done in no time. Thanks technology. 

The windows will be on display till the first week of October, so please swing by grab a selfie and enjoy the colour! And why not pop into a show at the theatre!

As spring comes into bloom so does all our local cultural activations, which means I need to limber up my painting arm and start getting ready for the marathon that is the next few months. Creatively and career wise I spend a lot of time trying to keep my mind, body and life in balance as best a possible knowing what the next 8 weeks will look like for me each year. 

Getting ready or keeping creatively fit involves a lot of doing, a lot of play and almost thoughtless mostly response making. It helps ground my ideas and practice moving onward without the stress of outcome. Outcomes happen regardless sometimes they are great, sometimes they won't ever see the light of day and that's ok too. 

Journalling helps me acheive that, plus there is something utterly delicious about thumbing through an art book, it shifts from functional project to art object in itself.  Collage has been my place of happiness lately, I mean it has been for a while but the act of making, dissambling and remaking really does tickly my brain. Plus the oh so delightful physicality of it all, the feel of the paper surfaces as you layer, weave, cut and tear them......*happy shudders* want to see my real weirdo come out ask me about paper! 

Hats off to Sam from The Field Guide for creating such a fun excuse to play with my food.  If I am toastally being honest I was resolved but not 100% happy with my work, not enough to exclude it obviously but sometimes this is also the process and I am so cool with that.
The breadwinner of this experience was the experience itself. I found it challenging with some similarities in medium qualities to what I feel more experienced with and others so far out of the bag. 
I would 10/10 do it again, and I really hope this fun exhibition will create more opportunities to spread joy, one slice at a time. This was a jampacked exhibition, with a jam-packed opening, and that makes it a toast-worthy idea.

As artists we are often invited to create for a cause, to donate a piece for auction. If I am being honest I am pretty selective about when I agree to this. It's not that I don't want to support, I love that I have that ability when I do. But it has to be acknowledged that it costs artists not only time but actual money in resources.  I say this to be transparent, I am asked to donate on average once a week across a years calendar I am not quiet there yet with that kind of disposable income. (one day hopefully). 
But this one intrigued me I mean glass turntables. The playfulness of the spinning art, the ability to really play with layers, peep holes and texture. And of course the challenge of working on glass, I would be lying if I said it was a walk in the park. 
Each piece was a collection of a moment, images of birds in colours representative of their environment, a deconstruction of reality. Exploring the idea of the fragments of experience that we have in a moment and what we take away. Was it a sound, smell or colour that permiated senses and ultimately what we take with us when we leave. 

Thank you Momentum Mental Health for inviting me to participate the project was fun and I hope that it has helped in some small way to support your much needed supports.

Honestly one of the most exciting moments for an artist is when some says, 'I trust you, just go for it.' 
It was a brief conversation, a remark about a wall being in desperate need for some love and a throw away comment of 'would you like a mural?' 
The next thing I was collecting my basket of ready to go mural supplies, a bit of a snack and my headphones...music is essential. 
I then got to it, I walked around the space with fresh eyes. Music plugged into my ears while students buzzed around doing their own thing. I wanted to get a sense of the space, the shapes, movements, objects and people. There was a beautiful mix of energy, learning, nature and community. A lot going on yet a lot also being acheived. Under the canopy of tall and proud trees with their Autumn leaves hitting the ground I felt myself sink into that creative space. As if all my body had taken a big breath in and my shoulders relaxed. 

Out came the chalk, brushes and paint and up went the marks. The room was surrounded with glass and almost immediately I found students reconfiguring their activities so they could do them within view, they were curious about what was going on. Some of the middle years popped in and asked directly, 'what are you doing?' and when I said painting a mural oh their excited faces was a joy for my eyes. I asked, 'do you want to be a part of the design?' 4 little bodies jumped with excitement and they each made a shape with their individual bodies, some contorted into the oddest oh shapes and we traced around their forms. They picked their base colour and were satisfied to go back to their learning and come back to see the progress. 

The work unfolded really quickly, automatic painting is great for that. The marks are an extension of my hand and also the moment. The colours where choosen to compliment the exisiting space and before I knew it by the end of the day 2 hours later I was as done as I could be. Day two would be ladder day. 

This mural was truly a delight to create, and looking over my shoulder to see small faces squished up against the glass to see it all unfold in real time was an added bonus.  Some of my favourite conversations.

Q - "What will it be?"
A - "When I know you will know, I am just seeing what happens naturally'

Q - "Are you allowed to do that, paint on walls?'
A - 'Yes, I have been given permission to do this, it is great fun. But always ask an adult before you paint on any walls ok."

Thank you Maridahdi Kindergarten and Primary School for the opportunity to create art in your space. I hope it brings joys to your staff and students for a long time.

2024 has kicked off with a bang, with 2 big weeks in the rural town of Goombungee about 45minutes of Toowoomba. I know the town well, I've down community activations and held an exhibtion. It's all a frequent stop of our family drives around the region. The town just has such beauitful personality and energy. The Goombungee Public Hall has been lucky enough to secure funding through Flying Arts Alliance and with local Scott Aldadice dutifully overseeing the logistics it has been a dream for me as an artist. 

Working with communities is so high up on my list, I always sink back into my own childhood living in Outback QLD understanding the duality of lack of arts opportunities and how much of an impact it had on individuals and communities as a whole when they were available. 

Having a community of all ages coming together in a stress-free environment to learn, create and connect is electrifying, seriously there is a real buzz you get from the atmosphere. 

It is also a truly beautiful thing to witness people just jumping in and having a go. Creativity can be such an uncomfortable activity for so many. We all seem to carry an amount of self imposed pressure to be perfect, or a hidden shame of failure, or even a memory where someone made you feel like your art isn't good enough.  And then for whatever reason so many of us stop, and we tell ourselves 'I'm not very artistic', or we hold ourselves to someone else 'my sister is the creative one'. 
As an artist I know that's not true, what we really should be saying is 'I'd love to practice more' because like learning to read or understanding math we all know that we didn't just wake up knowing that information, we learnt it through persistance, dedication, help and error.  Also known as the process of learning. 
​
Now I am not saying that everyone wants to be an artist, just like I understand the basics of something that I am about to turn it into my career but I know enough. I also know that if I really wanted to I could learn more and advance my skills. The arts is the same! 
Attending community arts events like this is watching people feel 'not artistic' start to have a go, because it's not as scary and then the joy of accomplishment that they did that. Boy, that really is something beautiful to be a part of. 
I am such an advocate for community arts, I honestly believe every single community should have one free to the public event for me to gather, create and connect. It is an essential step in building stronger communities and connections. 
I still have two more sessions to go at Goombungee and I am honestly lookign forward to them. 
Art for everyone I say.

​ 2023
If you had asked me what this year has been like, I probably would have said slow, easy, a rest period.
But it's funny when you look back on it, so much was actually achieved. The biggest thing in my books was setting out structure and strategies for balance. It would be in implementing these strategies that I would have to say is why I look back on the year and think what a year of low-key rest.
The truth is the studio grew, with more employees and collaborators coming on board.
The studio in itself is a whole other thing. With a growing cohort of regular kids, our adult classes, holiday workshops, private parties, and more.
We attended 4 major festivals, hosted an exhibition, and collaborated with numerous councils and shopping malls. And next year is looking even bigger!
As an artist, I managed to have a solo exhibition, one that I felt was over due. It was beautiful to be able to share a piece of my soul with so many.
A big shout out to Flying Arts Alliance that enabled me to share my business knowledge with hundreds of people this year. I seriously love all things start up and if you'd love to chat about workshops and guest speaker opportunities for next year send me a message.
Public art came in the way of community projects and temporal murals this year. I love painting on things and I think 2024 I'm ready to get back into this a little more.
As a family we travelled over 8000km this year with a mix of for fun and for work. This country is beautiful and I must say I'm a huge fan of the road trip method. Watching the landscape morph and adapt is captivating and truly an essential part of my practice and my cup filling capacity.
Through these adventures, I have witnessed many of Australia's beautiful native species up and close and personal with my family all too patience as I sit and soak up the presence of wildlife in their environment.
I've take so many photos this year I've create a space just for them @stallingphotography on instagram so I don't clog up this page.
Thank you 2023

When the wonderful team at Empire Theatre said, 'hey, would you like to be a part of Thrive this year?' I said yes before even hearing the terms of aggreement. A children's festival celebrating the arts and connection I was already sold before the pitch. A total stop digging you've struck oil situation, and I think they knew they were speaking my love language. 

So it was a to part connection one for Tinker to be able to offer low cost art and craft activities with a STEAM theme for parents and kids to do togther. AND the perfect launch pad for a community arts project. 

With STEAM in mind my brain went instantly to petri dishes, I love the idea of looking at things under a microscope and planning with ideas of micro v macro. There is something unintimidating about working within the confines of the little clear dishes with materials that are designed more for play than drawing. At the beginning the lonely few examples I had made looked pretty sad on our makeshift wall but one by one the piece grew. Sprawling out from an empty space into a larger piece made up of many. 

It was fun to watch families sit and cut and colour, some intricately making one piece and others smashing together bundles. Everyone connects differently with creativity and it is important for me to offer an opportunity for that connection to happen naturally. 

By the end children were proudly dragging their parents back to the wall to point out their miniature masterpiece which would become a fun game of 'have you seen this one'

If I am being honest this activity was a fun one, I'd definitely do it again. The unassuming petri dish was a great dip your toes in for everyone no matter how comfortable they felt in their own creative shoes. 

Thanks for having me Thrive, same time next year!

Work/life balance. This years goal was to build my home studio, and although it hasn't happened yet it is so very exciting because it is the next thing on the to do list. I've marked out the plot, found the company we are going to purchase from and already started a mood board of all the things that are possible. 
A home studio is something I have always dreamed of. We tend to gravitate towards tiny homes, not the super tiny trailer ones (I would though if it were an option) but more then little Queenslanders that's exactly perfect for us and full of character...but lacking in a studio. At home my working space is often a bench, tray table or my lap. AND yes I do 100% have access to the Tinker studio's, that is what I have been using for years so I am not going to pretend my practice doesn't have things available. 
But a dream of mine has always been a tiny building in my yard just for me. There is something magical about that setting and so I've moved it from a one day dream to a priority dream. 
We need to do those things for ourselves, when the timing and availability is right we should be doing that. 
So hopefully soon I will be able to update ya'll on the building progress and give you a tour of the digs. It's public now, it's in writing, it's going to happen!

It is always an honour to be asked by our Regional Art Gallery, lovingly known as TRAG to pop in and host a workshop. The prompt for this session was 'fragments', based on the current exhibition on display.  I immediately knew why they picked me for this, my whole practice explores fragmentation. For me fragmentation goes hand in hand with the habit of collecting.  In a nutshell the process of building a collection is a desire to build a complete and indepth picture through the gathering of smaller pieces: fragments.

Exploring this methology and with children is an interesting and philosophical one. It often feels backwards at the beginning, somewhat odd.  When we are starting a new work we often feel the pressure to 'know' the outcome.  'What's the plan?' is something that I often hear in a classroom setting. In truth, for some that makes sense that is the natural order, to plan out the whole process in your mind before marks even hit the page. For others knowing the ending before the beginning feels like trying to squeeze orange juice from an apple. Sometimes the story comes together as the journey unfolds. Using this methology we start collecting the pieces either physically or visually, waiting for the pieces to allign in a way that feels organic, it is the process informing the product.

Working with the kids in the workshop I wanted to break the workshop in half, two separate pieces that would come together. This felt the most organic way to trigger the process of fragmentation and collection. Through this there were lots of discussion and questions always moving back and fourth bewteen what has been, what is happening and where they are going. Some students playing with representational pieces and others emotional abstraction. It was such a priviledge to watch students play with these really complex concepts and seeing how through the same initial prompt, available resources and set tasks how quickly each of their individual narratives evolved. 
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It was a fun experience and the kids really created some interesting marks along the way. It was a day of creative play and honestly they could have sat there for another hour or two in that deep space of creative discovery.

It's been a hectic as well as a well oiled machine these past two weeks. School holidays, Tinker having the usual 3 months of work in 2 weeks, my own practice and life. I knew going into the April school holidays that it was going to be a lot of gripping my phone tightly waiting for me phone to ring with and SOS in one hand while I sculled tea with the other in an effort to calm my nerves. 

The thing is we have a REALLY great team at Tinker. AJ, Emma, Paddy, Kel and Ash just get it. They are adaptable and extremely capable and wickedly talented, they make this part easy. I never actually worry about them.  Instead I find I am on high alert with so many things on that I worry if something goes wrong how can I support them through it if I myself am also busy. And yeah things popped up out of the ordinary but we all just did the move, dance and jig (seemlessly I may add) so it always just felt normal. 

But these last two weeks we collaborated on a 4 day pop-up with Toowoomba Regional Council, 4 days of creative activiations at Kingaroy Shoppingworld, 5 days at Grand Central Shopping Centre, 4 days at Tinker South, 1 day at Tinker City, 2 Days at Zebedees, 1 kids birthday party, 1 night at Toowoomba City Library and that's just the studio...physically.  As I said I knew going into these two weeks that my brain would be full and as we are coming to the last few days I feel a great sense of accomplishment.

But aside from the administrative nightmare the work itself was delicious, glorious, soul enriching. When you are in that shared creative space I cannot describe it better than filling ones cup. You walk away feeling rejuvinated and all round happy.  The numbers reflect the community excitement too with over 2000 people through our collective workshops and activations. People love to experience the arts, we all need it. Whether its for professional purposes or just to stop being so serious and just play art truly is for everyone. 

An added experience was my face....and how much it appeared through the media and socials and for that I am sorry. I guess it was somewhat inevitatble if you are going to be here, there and everywhere your face is bound to show up from time to time.  Or in this case every day on a new platform. it's kinda (very) weird to wake up every day do a check in and then HELLO it's me, but you'll be glad to know it will slow down a bit as I do over the next few weeks. We will all get a break from seeing my face spamming your newsfeed. 

So what's next, I've got a creative workshop coming up as part of the creative arts summit, back to the regular Tinker programming and you'll catch me in Brissy over the next few months with some professional development sessions. But over all my big to do list is to get into my garden. The weather is turning and I want to prep it for Winter and nature isn't going to wait for anyone I need to get in there ASAP.

Recently I was asked to share some personal knowledge with year 12 students at the school of creative arts UniSQ. The brief was teach them something from your practice. Love that. 
With 1.5 hour up my sleeve, acrylic paint, brushes and paper I knew exactly what I wanted to share. 
When we started the session, I offered this. Today we will play with paint, I will show you my personal technique for creating layers or a double exposure technique but ultimately we want to have fun. There is no assessment, no theme, no outcome at the end other than playing with our medium. 

I am a firm believer that in order to develop we need to be able to play, explore, challenge concepts, let go and not always be outcome focused. Sometimes we need to sit down and create and not make a design. Just let the art happen. 
This idea can be really challenging, for most people. It often depends on how much you have stretched your art muscles. Nothing can be scarier than a blank piece of paper. 

But after about 10mins there was a visible and audiable difference in the space. The shoulders relaxed, the sounds moved from nervous groans to delightful and sometimes surprising hmmms. 
Students stopped the rush through, waiting for the next instruction and started having conceptual conversations amongst themselves. Offering ideas of brush movements, colour theory and compositions. 

I then moved through the space with them, painting alongside them and offering conversations and individual creative input throughout the space. 
The students asked some fascinating questions about my practice as an artist, as well as their potential within the industry. Most wanted to know what actually is the creative industry and what careers options were actually available. The shift is slowly happening, there is still the constant humm in the background of 'well I need a job that pays and if I am an artist I will be broke'.  But the conversation is happening, the arts is moving towards a space of career options not career doom. 

Everyone say it with me - you can have a career as an artist! 

Once the pages filled with colour we then switched it up a gear, and this is where the technical side came into place. I demonstrated how I created the layers and suggested other ways to interpret the technique. Students then adapted the technique to their own work and off they went on their own journey. 

It was a great day. 

Earlier this year the team at Darling Downs Health asked me to create a series of works for their annual staff awards. 
Honestly I love the idea of giving out artworks instead of tropheys. There is something intimate about sharing art with others, and I felt deeply honoured to even be considered. 
The brief was simple, create a series of works that embody the pillars of the organisation, in your own voice. It is a beautiful thing when someone offers you the space as an artist to simply create authentically in your own voice in response to a concept. It's wildly exciting and soul enriching. 

I truly hope those who were awarded these pieces find love and joy from them.

Artist Statement

This body of work explores the principles of compassion, courage, dignity, innovation, integrity, vision & volunteer through the lens of our region. Connecting with the landscapes of the Darling Downs; Meewah, inner CBD, the tall gums of Highfields, our Sunflower fields and institutions.


Alex captured reference images of each space that she believed embodied the principles of compassion, courage, dignity, innovation, integrity, vision & volunteer.


Colour palettes were pulled from these reference images and each painting was developed using her signature painting style of automatic mark making. Through the use of colour, pattern, painting and screenprinting each artwork tells its own story.

An exhibition, for me at least, is a confusing time. There is a sense of great calm, possibilities and excitement. Mixed thoroughly with regret, dread, fear and nausiatingly crushing imposter syndrome. Ill feel like it's kind of good to know that no matter how many times you've have done one, or how much further you go up the ladder with you career the thought's of...but is it shit...still comes and goes as naturally as the day and night. 
Now that I have primed you with some pretty worrying feelings I think it is always important to establish that these feelings do not come from a space of hate or ill meaning esteem crushers. But more a light hearted and honest look at the process for some (dare I say most) in our want to learn, discover and improve.  These moments of self doubt are no longer crippling, they do not stop me from moving forward. And I kind of enjoy the fact that I know in my heart that I will always be a student of myself. 
But there is something about a solo exhibition, for me, that really gets me into all kinds of knots. I love it, I love the making, the play, the resolution, and the deadline of it all. It grounds my constant need for discovery to stop reflect and mark a chapter in the book that is my practice. There is something titilating about piecing together an exhibition that tells its own unique tale of events. A gathering of pieces that individually are their own but together form a whole story. 
The pieces for this show are 100% on the eclectic side, a word I often cringe at it's over use. But there really isn't a lot of other words to describe it. A series of works all made with the same mediums, methodology and reference materials but yet form a series of unique moments, colour palettes and interpretations. 
So the count down is on for the show, and my biggest thing now is I wonder who will make it to the opening, followed by I wonder what questions they will ask me? 
At this point in the process I have one more piece I would like to complete before the exhibition opens and that is a secondary interactive piece. I already have some planned, but this is one that I have been mulling over for a while and now it's just a matter of sourcing the materials and making it happen. 
I love an exhibition to evoke a sense of participating of community, the allow opportunities to people to play with the idea of the works and the space that is a gallery actively and not just passively. It's are core part to my interest as an artist and it only feels essential to be included within my practice as part of the show. 

Creating with a community is so important to me. It feels natural, second nature, obvious.  Providing opportunities for people to collaborate, make marks and move as a single organism mirrors what life is like as  community. Some flow together with ease, others chaotic and distruptors, some with hesitation and others entirely observational. 

As the artist I find my role in a commuity setting is to present an opportunity and let the people take over it. There is no set outcomes, every space has its own voice, its own history, its on identity. I can take the same set of tools and resources to each space and new conversations, imagery and outcomes will be determined based on the people and place. 

This year I was honoured to be asked to attend the Jacaranda Festival in Goombungee Queensland as the lead artist. The limitations were chalk, outdoor, drop in attendance and weather. 
My whole body sang with the perfect ingredients for a project I had been working out mentally for many years now. BIRDS. I have always loved the tangibility of objects, they transform the marks and intention behind them. Moving from surface design or the need to 'draw' on a board or flat substrate incomparison to the idea of play and freedom with an object. Collectively we move into the idea of adornment, colour, line and fluid movements as we move away from the sometimes rigid and intimidating ideas surrounding 'drawing' and often coupled with representation. 
Objects break down barriers and encourage more participation from community, and once initial marks are made people will flow through an entire space with more confidence to create across all surfaces. 

The festival witnessed exactly those sentiments. People across ages and demographics came and participated. With many coming back to see the visual transformation of the space across the day and to add additional marks to their original. Playing a game of blind collaboration with a stranger.  The conversations led in all directions. Asking about me as an artist, what that looks like for me as a person, a career, a passion, a form of expression. They asked about The Arts as a whole, the adjoinging gallery space and other ways the can connect with those spaces outside of a festival setting. They remarked on the joy moving through the space they felt and witnessed from others and how it is a different side of their community that they had not really stopped and taken the time to notice before. 
The Arts has a way to visually and physically bring a sense of community together. A way to bring the feelings of an environment to the forefront where people can see the intangible thread that binds a community together in a phsical form. 

Growing up in my own community it was those events that marked my memories. Each year we would have an all school musical performance where the whole town would get together and celebrate The Arts. It was one of my favourite memories of growing up. An evening where we would sit on picnic blankets watch, play and celebrate. It is those events that I feel obligated as an artist to provide for future generations of communities. Those memories that have sat with me my entire life, that have shaped me as a person and a sense of place. 

Community art projects are not only essential but vital. And I am fortunate to be able to share those moments with others.