I was a finalist with these works in 2020 at The National Contemporary Jewellery Awards at Griffith Regional Gallery November/December 2020.
An artist residency at Bundanon through the Bundanon Trust in 2018 gave me the chance to research indigenous plants of the Illawarra region in south eastern Australia. Over several years it has given me a wonderful opportunity to have a connection with local Aboriginal people who have enlightened and included me in some cool burning events. The inspiration for my work comes from the knowledge learnt in regard to the benefits of burning bushland at the optimum time of year to generate plant diversity. Plant diversity has been a life long interest for me and these works: vines and grasses focus on specific flora growing back after smoke, fire and rain. The medicinal Sweet Sarsaparilla, Smilax glyciphylla, used by Aboriginals as a medicinal herb and later used as a substitute for black tea by Illawarra settlers. The Wiry Panic Entolasia stricta a soft grass eaten by kangaroos, an essential plant food required to keep them healthy and within their bush setting and the delicate Scrambling Lily vine Geitonoplesium cymosum which requires sharp eyes to identify. These works are available through Stanley Street Gallery, in Sydney.
