Nurture, Members Exhibition 2022

Nurture
Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre annual members exhibition

Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre is supported by
the ACT Government, the Visual Arts and Craft
Strategy – an initiative of the Australian State and
Territory Governments, and the Australia Council
for the Arts – the Australian Government’s arts
funding and advisory body.
Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre
Tues–Fri 10am–5pm
Saturdays 12–4pm
Level 1, North Building, 180 London Circuit,
Canberra ACT Australia
+61 2 6262 9333
www.craftact.org.au
Cover image: NOT, Young Frankenstein 2022. PhotoTim Bean

Nurture
Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre annual members exhibition
| Adam Dossetor | Alice van Meurs | Anita McIntyre | Annie Trevillian |
Barbara Rogers | Brenda Runnegar | Bronwyn Sargeson | Cam Michael | Caren
Florance | Dianne Firth | Elliot Bastianon | Galia Shy | Gerhard Herbst | Helen
Keogh | Isobel Waters | Jennifer Robertson | Jeremy Brown |
Jo Victoria | Jono Everett | Judi Elliott | Julie Bradley | Kate McKay |
Kirandeep Grewal | Lea Durie | Lee Leibrandt | Luke Batten | Luna Ryan |
Michele Grimston | Minqui Gu | Monique van Nieuwland |
Nicola Knackstredt | NOT | Rebecca Selleck | Rene Linssen |
Robyn Campbell | Ruth Hingston | Sally Blake | Sharon Peoples |
Sophi Suttor | Sue Peachey | Tania Vrancic | Wendy Dawes | Will Maguire |
Ximena Briceno |
Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre
8 September - 22 October 2022

NURTURE
Exhibition Essay
Has the word “nurture” gained wider currency in the past five years or so?
I found many definitions which were straightforward and only a few which I felt conveyed the
meanings as indicated by Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre information given to exhibitors: “This
year’s Craft ACT members exhibition, Nurture, will celebrate and explore the ways that nurturing
ourselves is valuable and vital for contemporary craft practitioners, artists, designers and makers.”
They were also told that: “Nurture draws on the well-documented benefits of creativity and making
to support mental wellbeing by engaging in goal-oriented, repetitive sensory processes which can
calm the mind. Such activities have been scientifically proven to reduce stress and anxiety and
improve wellbeing. (Craftfullness, Tahsin & Davidson, 2018, Quercus).
In their artist’s statements several of the exhibitors concurred with these ideas.
A few people mentioned the importance of connectedness. Lockdown during the COVID pandemic
hurt us all. I was impressed with the way Craft ACT tackled the issues of members being isolated
and unable to sell their work – an important aspect of their income and an expression of how Craft
ACT nurtured its members. I am sure there were members, however, who felt the isolation more
acutely than others, particularly those who teach classes or who collaborate with others.
Several members referred to repetition and rhythm, and being in nature, often walking or undertaking
some other repetitive activity as a form of self-nurturing. Repetition “… replenishes myenergy and
calms my soul …”, one wrote.
Other sentiments included “tactile care”, “active and embodied meditation”. Several members
referred to the process of making and the immersive activity of hand working as being nurturing.
One member summed this up “… the making process is one of nurturing – at every stage the maker
physically holds the work …”. Or put another way, there is “… direct interaction with the subject and
materials.”
We have all had a different response to COVID and the lockdown. I hope not many people will have
felt a “ … sense of mistrust and separation internally towards ourselves …” as one exhibitor stated.
Exhibitors are all professional members of Craft ACT, meaning they have been acknowledged by
their peers as having achieved a high standard in their work – the design, its execution and overall
quality. I am a big supporter of setting such standards and congratulate Craft ACT for maintaining
this category of membership. As a result, we have an exhibition of outstanding quality.
Several exhibitors expressed an intellectual approach to their work in their artists’ statements. They
are thoughtful and express their concern for the future of our planet, as many other artists have
done – and will continue to do.
When it comes down to it, we are human and as one member stated: “through the act of nurturing
others, we inevitably care for ourselves, our plant and future generations.” Surely this is the main
point of an exhibition such as this.
We are all nurtured, one way and another, by the work in this exhibition.
Meredith Hinchliffe
September 4, 2022
Page 4: Elliot Bastianon, Patterns 2022. Photo Tim Bean
Page 7: Ximeno Briceno, Masks for thought 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Adam Dossetor
Wood | Associate Member
Biography
Adam Dossetor is a local Canberran designer
and maker. He creates functional pieces of
artwork that have an organic flow and sculptural
form. Both his practice of furniture making and
the pieces he creates are intended to nurture
artistic expression, well-being and a respectful
connection to nature.
Artist Statement
The study of form range emulates living things,
their parts and animation. Pieces in this range
are positioned at the intersection of familiarity
and alienness. The study of form side table
gently brings an awareness of nature into the
room, through its shape and its materials.
The study of motion range is inspired by organic
movement and animation. Pieces in this range
translate transient motions into a static form.
The study of motion coffee table captures a
tranquil moment from flux. This table works
equally well as a large side table and brings an
organic sense indoors.
Page 8: Adam Dossetor, Study of form side table. Photo Tim Bean

Alice van Meurs
Textiles | Associate Member
Biography
EDITION began during Alice Sutton’s final year
of studying Fashion at the Canberra Institute of
Technology in 2011. From there she worked in a
studio at CIT for graduate designers before setting
up a studio at the Australian National Capital Artists
(ANCA) Dickson campus for 6 years. Her current
studio in Waramanga ACT.
Each EDITION collection explores sustainable design
and zero waste pattern making. Alice’s zero waste
pattern making called ‘Selvedge to Selvedge’ has
informed the design aesthetic of EDITION. A key
aspect of the design process is uncertainty as the
final garments silhouettes are determined in the
process not through drawings.
Artist Statement
When designing this dress as part of my 2021
collection I was reflecting on how it had been 10
years since I created my 2011 graduate collection.
I was embracing how freely I designed back then
and continued with my key concepts including
family ties, stories and connection to family and
land. I focused on the lines of the garments and
look at how the shapes and silhouettes worked
on women of all ages and body shapes. The
fabric I used was Ikuntji Artist Mavis Marks
‘Women’s business story’ fabric designed in
Central Australia and then hand screen printed in
Sydney.
Page 10: Alice Van Meurs, Business dress Ikuntji Artist Mavis Marks 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Anita McIntyre
Ceramics | Accredited Professional Member
Biography
For over 40 years the Australian landscape has be
at the heart of Anita McIntyre’s ceramic practice.
Her porcelain clay panels and “boat” vessels
evoke a true sense of place as she continues to
explore narratives of journeying through space
and time .First hands observation and memories
of certain landscapes are combined historical
and topographical references ,allowing Anita to
visually express har her own personal relationship
with the land .This relationship is always
underpinned by a quiet acknowledgement of the
deeply spiritual connection between the land
and its indigenous owners . Recent work revisits
her family history and colonial ancestry with
expressions of her heart country the Kimberley.
Anita’s connection with the landscape, history and
environment of these locations is depicted via an
abstract language of text, gestural marking and
cultural symbols, creating a distinct and profound
impression of her journeys and experiences.
Artist Statment
The Incompatible Series was born out of a
collection of clay from China and Australia,
leftover bits of clay from various series of work.
The boat form has been a continuum in my
work for more than twenty years it represents
my journeys and, in this case, the different clay
bodies origin. Stretching the limits of the clays
compatibilities is the concept behind this work.
Page 12: Anits McIntyre, Incompatible Series Boat 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Annie Trevillian
Textiles | Accredited Professional Member
Biography
Annie Trevillian is a Canberra based artist
and designer with strong technical skills and
experience in textiles design and printing
including digital technologies. She has gained
recognition for her expertise and understanding
of Canberra’s social history through her practice
and teaching. She is well known for her motifs
and the use of layered colour and pattern on
paper and fabric. From magpies to treescapes,
Annie arranges each element into a pattern. For
the CRAFTACT exhibition Nurture, Annie has
brought together ideas and inspiration from her
garden which flourished during Covid 19.
Artist Statement
Canberra Journalist Kerry-Anne Cousins explains,
“ … I always admire the skilful way this artist can
bring together different shapes of objects and
arrange them into such harmonious designs
… “. Her artworks range from small scale (tea
towels) to large (digital prints placed within
architectural spaces) which provides her audience
with tactile works to hold or simply sit within a
space and contemplate in comfort.
Page 14: Annie Trevillian, Backyard 2022. Photo by artist

Barbara Rogers
Design | Associate Member
Biography
Rogers has gained international acclaim for her
work which has been exhibited in Australia and
internationally.
Artist Statement
“There is making after making.”
In Loopholes, disruptive patterning is achieved
by layering and stitching. In a process of adding
and subtracting, masking and revealing, textile
artist and designer, Barbara Rogers, incorporates
innovative shibori techniques with other traditional
resist-dye processes in her unique artworks to
create subtly varied patterns and rhythms that
work in harmony with the cloth.
Page 16: Barbara Rogers, Loopholes 2018. Photo Tim Bean

Brenda Runnegar
Associate Member / Mixed media
Biography
I am an artist currently living and working in
Canberra ACT Australia and working full time on
my my art practice as a multi-media artist. I have
a lifelong interest and commitment to the arts and
exhibit regularly in both Canberra and nationally.
I have been a Finalist in various high-profile group
exhibitions, including the Portia Geach Memorial
Award in 2018 and 2019 and the Waterhouse
Natural Science Art Prize, in which I received Highly
Commended Awards. The majority of my work
depicts the natural world from landscapes to still
life, but more recently portraits and textiles. My
work is included in various private collections, both
Nationally and Internationally.
Artist Statement
Amber and Friend is from my latest series of art
dolls or Textile Sculptures, which have evolved
over the past four years. They are not children’s
toys and are made for display purposes only.
They are both entirely handmade and each is
attached toa purpose-built stand. They are handstitched
with the use of recycled fabrics giving
new life to old treasures. Amber’s torso and
hands are made from air dried clay and painted.
The theme ‘Nurture’ is evident as she is displayed
with her friend.
Madonna and child is from my latest series of art
dolls or Textile Sculptures, which have evolved
over the past four years. They are not children’s
toys and are made for display purposes only.
Madonna is entirely handmade and seated on a
purpose-built stand. She can also be hung on the
wall and given the opportunity to be displayed in
varying positions and places. The theme ‘Nurture’
is evident as she is displayed with her baby and
is entirely hand-stitched with the use of recycled
fabrics giving new life to old treasures. The
personality of both her and her baby is conveyed
by their drawn faces, untethered hair style and
the use of imperfections –visible stiches, vintage
textiles, and treasures collected from op shops.
Page 18: Brenda Runegar, Amber and Friend 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Bronwyn Sargeson
Glass | Associate Member
Biography
Bronwyn Sargeson is an artist who lives
and works on Ngunnawal/Ngambri Country
(Canberra). Bronwyn majored in glass at the
Australian National University and continues to
work with the material from her studio at the
Canberra Glassworks. Bronwyn utilises glass
to create compositions that abstract medical
procedures and reference bodily forms. Her
work seeks to translate the experiences of a
wounded body into moments of wonder and
playful exploration. Glassblowing is a method that
allows the artist to be present in the moment of
transformation and through active engagement
with the material, seeks to intervene in the same
way medical procedures are performed on the
human body. Challenging notions of beauty
often associated with glass, her work captures
the dissonance between distress and
awe, between the body as personal or medical,
seeking to realise the potential for transformation
in these moments of confrontation.
Page 20: Bronwyn Sargeson, Foreign Body 2022. Photo TIm Bean

Cam Michael
Glass | Associate Member
Biography
My making process is also a series of acts of
nurturing connectedness. I hand sculpt in clay,
hand build plaster molds, hand carve in wax,
hand build more plaster molds, watch my molds
as I steam the wax out, choose each piece of
glass individually and then when the glass is
out of the kiln regardless of whether I grind and
polish it by machine or hand, I am physically
holding the work at each stage. Each stage is like
a meditation on what I’m creating. This work was
made at Canberra Glassworks with support from
Luna Ryan.
Artist Statement
This work is about nurturing connectedness. In
subject, our ability to find connection and love
in a way that both simultaneously embraces
sameness but also transcends identity.
This work is about capturing some of the
joy of the ideal of having a garden. The feeling
of having plants in a space and how that can be
nurturing and create a feeling of home. By casting
the plants in glass I wanted to combine this with
beautiful colour and reflection in light, which is
constantly present and renewing.
Page 22: Cam Michael, The Garden, Prickly Pear, Succulent, Cactus 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Caren Florence
Paper | Accredited Professional Member
Biography
Caren Florance is an artist, designer, writer and
creative researcher. Her practice is informed by
material bibliography and book history. She works
predominantly with text, often collaborating
with artist and publishers. By using traditional
letterpress and bookbinding processes along with
more contemporary technologies, she produces
diverse works across the book arts spectrum, from
zines, artist books and installation work to formal
publishing outputs. She is collected by national
and international institutions (mostly libraries) and
private collectors. Her most recent commercial
volume is Lost in Case (Cordite Books, 2019).
Artist Statement
C:/Ovid: Changing to Survive is an artist book
made to bear witness to a very strange time.
In the quiet contemplation of one of our many
Covid lockdowns, my eye kept snagging on the
‘Ovid’ in COVID. Ovid’s Metamorphoses has many
contemporary critics but it’s essential theme is
change: attempts to survive under duress via
transformation. It’s what we’ve done, and also
what the virus has done.
I started making collages that mashed up objects
and people: eyes looking out from objects, bodies
with aerosol-inspired outputs. I also started
keeping what I’ve dubbed my Covidex: a running
list of overheard, found, and encountered texts
about the Covid-19 era. This text reels through
the years since 2020 indiscriminately, as the
index to an imaginary book about our collective
experiences. It rarely mentions dates; the alphabet
is the only system that continues to make sense
to me.
This artist book, DisRemembering, created for a
wider collaborative project called BookArtObject
6: LOSSED, was made while reading The Body
Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk (2014).
This keystone text for trauma recovery resonated
with my current experiences with trauma
mentoring through art practice. My method
of printing the back of letterpress type blocks
allows meaning to exist unread, and playing with
words within its weighty materiality allows me to
reflect on my family’s history of dementia, and
in particular my mother’s willing relinquishment
of her own trauma. I now have an heightened
understanding that forgetting is not always a
negative action.
Page 24: Caren Florence, C_Ovid Changing to Survive 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Dianne Firth
Textiles | Accredited Professional Member
Biography
Dianne Firth is a Canberra-based textile artist,
landscape architect and adjunct Associate Professor
in the Faculty of Arts and Design at the University of
Canberra.
Since the early 1980s she has moved from making
traditional quilts for beds to using textiles to
explore ideas, many informed by her training as a
landscape architect and observations of the natural
environment.
Using a process of abstraction she manipulates
light, line, color and texture to create mood and
movement. She is recognized nationally and
internationally through major exhibitions and public
collections.
Artist Statement
Intersection considers how, in troubling times,
many people are separated, go in different
directions, and become disconnected. Stitches
can bring them together, reconnect and mend.
Many small creatures seek sanctuary in long
grass. This abstracted composition of small
pieces of felt is held between 2 layers of net by
machine stitching.
Page 26: Dianne Firth, Intersection 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Elliot Bastianon
Wood | Associate Member
Biography
Elliot Bastianon has a diverse material palette and
attempts to extrapolate the most from everyday
things around him; often combining materials in
ways that he hopes will direct his practice down
a path not often taken. Bastianon is currently
undertaking a PhD candidature at the Australian
National University. His research is focused
on how the presence of mineral growth and
alchemical processes can provide new readings
on authorship. His work is also underpinned by
a desire to understand extractive processes and
subvert standard industrial practices to highlight
the entanglement of resources, geology and
chemistry.
Artist Statement
‘Patterns’ is a dining table that experiments with
surface finishing, non-traditional materials and
bold forms. The stout copper legs had a former
life as commercial water piping and were sourced
from scrap metal yards,bearingthe hallmarks of
time and weather. This introduces an element
of distance between the designer and the work
and invites chance and self-producing systems
to partake in the creation of thetable. ‘Patterns’
unashamedly celebrates a diverse material
palette and embraces production methods that
are technical and controlled as well as guided
by chance. The end result is a table that is novel,
exuberant and memorable.
Page 28: Elliot Bastianon, Patterns 2020. Photo PEW PEW

Galia Shy
Ceramics | Associate Member
Biography
My art practice has always been connected to
my wellbeing and self-care. My affair with art
started during my Ph.D studies, recommended
by my therapist as a means to release stress and
control my anxiety levels. I went through different
craBs, materials and methods until in 2016 I
encountered clay. I became completely fascinated
with the material and all one can do with it.
I enjoy pottery because it is both physically and
intellectually challenging. There is a magic in the
unpredictability of the firing process. It forces you
deeper into the process, to let go and see what
happens.
When I produce pieces I like, it is like an
accidental self-blossoming in the work. I mainly
wheel-throw my pieces and the #me I spend on
the wheel is when I replenish my energy and calm
my soul. This process of nurturing, that is the
process of making, is made real in the physical
objects that emerge. I hope that what I produce
have the same affect on the viewer.
I am drawn particularly to techniques like
Raku and Saggar, that enhance the element
of serendipity, in which something new and
unpredictable is born from heat and earth.
My pieces are decorative, untamed, rustic and
earthy. heir shapes are influenced by the ancient
clay artefact found in archaeological sites and
presented in museums around the Mediterranean.
They are never perfect or refined, which is also
in line with my Buddhist philosophy of accepting
things as they are.
Page 30: Galia Shy, Jug 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Gerhard Herbst
Jewellery | Associate Member
Biography
My affair with arts started during my Ph.D. studies
when my therapist recommended it to release stress
and control my anxiety levels.
I have tried drawing and painting, adopted glass as
a material of choice however when I came across
clay, a couple of year ago, it became clear to me that
I have found my home.
As a past scientist, I was extremely happy to find
that working with clay is a grand playground for
experiments. Clay lets one feel like you have some
control over it but it never gives itself completely.
Glazes, the next step in the process are even less
predictable.
I love that anticipation, after the kiln is closed off
and left to cool and the excitement of opening
the door to find what the kiln gods have created.
Something different, every time.
Artist statment
My practice explores jewellery’s role as a sender
of messages and conveyer of information. My
light-based installations encourage viewers to
look beyond the physical piece, as simply an
object of adornment and in turn, reconsider
the boundaries of the medium. Seedlings is a
metaphorical representation for both our present
and future world. As guardians of this Earth, we
sow and nurture the seedlings in our care, and in
return receive physical and emotional sustenance
from natures’ growth and regeneration. Seedlings
provide hope. It helps us develop a narrative for
the future. Through the act of nurturing others, we
inevitably care for ourselves, our planet and future
generations.
Page 32: Gerhard Herbst, Seedlings 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Helen Keogh
Textiles | Associate Member
Biography
Helen Keogh is an artist, designer and maker behind
Helen Keogh Designs, a luxury handwoven business
run in Canberra, Australia. Helen has a background
in graphic design and communication management
and has always run her own freelance businesses.
This latest venture into luxury textiles began two
years ago and has been developing steadily.
Helen loves to honour the tradition and history
of the practice of weaving whilst bringing a
contemporary edge to classical patterns using
beautiful luxury fibres. She is passionate about
creating unique modern heirloom pieces that can
be handed down through generations that leave a
light footprint on the earth.
Artist Statement
This is a portrait of Professor Elizabeth
McMahon; academic, author, and a guardian
of contemporary culture through her work and
outreach in Australian literature. Portraits are
traditionally created through paintings, drawings,
photography, and more recently the selfie. This
piece uses hand weaving and embroidery in the
form of a bookmark to link McMahon’s portrait
with her award-winning book, Islands, Identity, and
the Literary Imagination. The piece is a reaction
to the role of social media, in particular the selfie,
in creating a culture that relies on simple, insular
images that aim to define who we are.
Solitude uses the age-old and slow hand craft
of stitching and thread to create a portrait. The
figure of the woman in the image tries to capture
the feeling associated with aloneness or solitude
which is very much the state the artist was in
when creating this piece. In producing this piece
the artist examined the qualities of solitude as
part of an artistic practice.
Page 34: Helen Keogh, Portrait of Professor Elizabeth McMahon. Photo TIme Bean

Isobel Waters
Glass | Associate Member
Artist Statement
Throughout my glass practice I have explored
different aspects of the human body and my own
personal experiences as a front-line healthcare
worker. Since the arrival of the COVID-19
pandemic, society has been instilled with a
sense of fear and anxiety about the body. We no
longer trust that a cough is just a cold and not
a deadly virus. COVID-19 has fostered a sense
of mistrust and separation between individuals,
as well as internally towards ourselves. Rest In,
Rest Easy aims to represent the body as a place
of sanctuary and safety. I wanted to use glass to
help visualize how the body is our protector and
constant companion. Anthropomorphic glass
forms rest in the curves and folds of my body,
finding a safe place in which to nestle, like a child
held by their parent. It represents the kind of
tactile care that I craved most during the social
and physical isolation of lockdown, acting as a
reminder of all that my body does for me.
The tactile nature of ceramic wheel throwing
encourages an inherently mindful creative
practise. Since pre-pandemic times, I have drawn
on ceramics to focus my mind and body towards
a slow and intentional making process. My hands
connect to the clay, which in turn brings my
thoughts back into the present moment. Each
step in the process calms me and connects me
to myself. I believe that even in their completed
state, these handmade objects are instilled with a
sense of agency that encourages the user to pay
attention and be in the moment.
Page 36: Isobel Waters, Rest In Rest Easy 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Jennifer Robertson
Textiles | Accredited Professional Member
Artist Statement
Early explorers in the vcience of Geology adopted
ancient weaving nomenclature as analogist to
describe what they were observing. In recognition
of this history, Jennifer Robertson has opened a
dialogue incorporating the latest technological
developments in inorganic and mineral fibres
to speak of geological phenomena with original
woven sculptural and poetic works. Matter here
is intelligently woven, a matrix that exhibits
phenomena of fine-grained rock, crystal and
gem substances. These are poetic distillations
that also explore time, wind and water erosion
in shimmering undulations and crevasses. By
nurturing matter through craft, design and artistic
processes, innovative and unique works are
formed.
Page 38: Jennifer Robertson, Matter and Matrix 1, 2, 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Jeremy Brown
Wood | Associate Member
Artist Statement
These pieces form part of Jeremy Brown’s most
recent body of work, Home Grown, celebrating
the street trees of Canberra, and allowing
appreciation of some of the more hidden
aspects of its natural beauty. By combining
two main threads of practice, furniture making
and botanical illustration, these works create
a juxtaposition between the natural and built
environments, bridging the disconnect between
the origins of raw materials and a final product.
The design elements in the timber stool draw
inspiration from iconic local architecture and the
timber has been salvaged from felled Canberra
Street trees. The minimalist aesthetic allows the
inherent beauty of the material to take centre
stage. Accompanying the stool is a watercolour
botanical illustration, representing the living
specimen in a way that might be more familiar
to the viewer. These paintings are observational,
painted from life, and aim to accurately depict the
plants as they grow on our streets. In contrast, the
design of the furniture is abstracted and shaped
by the maker’s hand, taking inspiration from the
human made. This contrast between design-bynature
and design-by-human is both a tool for
linking raw materials to their final product, and
an ode to the harmonious existence of the two
elements in Canberra’s own streets.
Page 40: Jeremy Brown, River Oak Botanical Illustration 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Jo Victoria
Ceramics | Associate Member
Biography
My art practice explores ideas of place and
focuses on the influence of living close to the
ocean. Unglazed porcelain captures an essential
quality of this experience. The whiteness and
translucency of this material produces similar
qualities to bleached bones, fossils and broken
shells found on the beaches and rock platforms
on the ocean’s edge. Porcelain sculptural works
feel fossil like in the way that they capture the life
essence of once living things in this environment.
I use light in my work to portray a sense of
ephemerality. The way light interacts with
the materiality of porcelain enhances ideas of
fragility, strength and the influences of deep time.
I have also developed a series of glassy glazes
that create a sense of watery ocean light in the
works. A natural extension of my practice is to
introduce glass as a material that references and
deepens the experience of these ideas. In these
new works I aimed to mix porcelain and glass to
bring another dimension to my work where light
transfers, intersects and interrupts relationships
between the forms to create an immersive
experience to the exhibition.
Artist Statement
The collaborative opportunity to share skills
and material knowledge with glass artist, Robyn
Campbell has been a luxurious and stimulating
creative process that has extended both our
practices beyond what individual solo shows
could have provided. Our of the love of purity
of glass and porcelain and their respective
interactions with light have been the platform
to push our art practices to new and exciting
possibilities.
This exhibition aims to provide an experience
through shimmering reflections, shadows, and
translucency of the materials in the works,
where the individual objects themselves almost
disappear as they dissolve in the lightness of an
immersive whole, and where the calm feeling of
being near the ocean washes over us.
Page 42: Jo Victoria, Nesting 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Jono Everett
Wood | Accredited Professional Member
Artist Statement
Having spent late summer assisting the flood
affected people of Lismore where people’s lives
were both physically and metaphysically washed
away, I discovered folk were either driven or,
unexpectedly, chose to start completely new lives.
Walk a new road.
Hope is never lost.
Page 44: Jono Everett, Life 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Judi Elliot
Glass | Accredited Professional Member
Artist Statement
I know what shape I am... metaphorically
speaking. I am square. I often try to be round, but
I am uneasy with it. Round slips away from you
easily. Squares are positive and strong. You know
where you are with a square.
I have been working with architecture as my
inspiration for many years now. I am focusing
on the standing house and wall. I find that each
building and wall that one encounters in life, is
embedded with the lives of the people who have
inhabited them. I try to recreate these feelings in
my walls and buildings. My structures can stand
alone but gain strength with being grouped.
Together in two’s, three’s etc.
I believe that there is no necessity to force
change upon one’s work. The joys and sorrows
are impacted in the work as we live them and are
there for all to see.
I BELIEVE THAT THERE IS NO NECESSITY TO
FORCE CHANGE UPON ONE’S WORK. THE JOYS
AND SORROWS ARE IMPACTED IN THE WORK
AS WE LIVE THEM, AND ARE THERE FOR ALL
TO SEE.
Page 46: Judi Elliot, Graffiti on the Wall 2020. Photo Tim Bean

Julie Bradley
Mixed Media | Accredited Professional Member
Artist Statement
In this work I am travelling abstractly, emotionally,
metaphysically along a way of understanding.
Resolving a way forward compositionally -
travelling through the composition and the
artwork visually. Showing a way through-revealing
a direct path -finding the solution to a puzzle –
slowly a way becomes apparent.
Lines are repeated to provide rhythm and
repetition of line and cross hatching, sooth and
find their own way in the work - comfort and
discovery.
This work technically is process driven. Placing
paper pieces, shapes, arcs and lines and forms
create a platform to then work or walk through –
physically finding a way through the composition.
Distance is travelled and time is passed.
Page 48: Julie Bradley, Whispers in The Way 2021. Photo Tim Bean

Kate McKay
Ceramics | Associate Member
Biography
Kate McKay is a regional ceramic artist with
her studio on Ngunnawal country, very close to
the village of Collector and not far from Lake
George, Weereewa. McKay’s foundational practice
predominantly revolves around an intense focus
on process. While McKay is mostly known for
her stoneware cups, plates and bowls and other
functional objects, the black ceramic leaves
proposed for this exhibition represent a departure
from and exploration beyond the functional
realm. The inspiration for making these was for
the love of this dark clay and looking into the fire
and seeing the leaves float away as embers. The
process of making these is nurturing, as McKay
interacts directly with her subject (the leaves) and
her material (clay), bringing the beauty of the leaf
as a mark on the clay. The decay of the leaf can
also be captured so well in this process, it’s about
life and death, and the cycle that exists around us.
As McKay states, “clay can lend itself to the patina
of age, and I find that very beautiful.”
Page 50: Kate McKay, Nobody Leaves 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Kirandeep Grewal
Textiles | Associate Member
Biography :
Kirandeep is a visual and textile artist with
extensive international experience in several parts
of the world, currently based in Canberra. She
creates wearable art in silk that is free-flowing,
colourful and light. The colours and designs
she uses are inspired by the Australian flora and
fauna and her travels around the world.
The silk painting is all freehand. The silk is also
dyed by combining various dyeing techniques
(Shibori, indigo dyeing from Africa and Indian
dyeing techniques). Kiran uses ecologically
friendly techniques to minimise wastage of water
and dyes. Some of the silk designs incorporate
needlework and freehand machine embroidery to
make thread a part of the design. Various printing
techniques are also introduced for wall hangings.
Artist Statment:
A woman’s journey reflects strings of
relationships through which she ends up with
various roles and responsibilities. The silk strings
(recycled silk) represent the life and various
relationships that transform the inner being of
a woman. The rhythm of making the strings
is a slow and nurturing process, done over
family conversations and watching television.
Some of these relationships are also strong and
meaningful enough for her transformation as
she goes through her life. As colours are added,
they mark the length and effects of previous
relationships. The colours on the mask speak
about her personality and her transformation. Her
eyes hold some moments of life within her, giving
her inspiration and strength. The mask reflects
her presence, her experiences, her strength and
her learning as she evolves through her life’s
journey.
Page 52: Kirandeep Grrewal, Custodians 2019. Photo Tim Bean

Lea Durie
Ceramics | Associate Member
Artist Statement
Tracks takes you on a journey through the
landscape, feeling along pathways in search of
relief. The work is a response to the drought and
bushfires that surrounded the Braidwood area in
the summer of 2019-20. Tracks lead to water and
survival after the devastating impacts of climate
change seen that summer, rather different from
the waterlogged environment of 2022.
Page 54: Lea Duries, Tracks 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Lee Leibrandt
Textiles | Associate Member
Biography
My art practice combines the two most
significant ways of nurturing my creativity, nature
walks and tapestry weaving. Getting outside,
going for a hike, this helps ground and inspire me.
To translate that sense of place to tapestry by way
of an age-old process –the over-under of the weft
across the warp –is an act of mindfulness. It’s
good for the soul.
Artist Statement
In Bloom is a spring-time memory, reminiscent
of ducking under the buzz of flowering gums
and winding through lush overgrown trails at
Mount Majura Reserve. It is displayed upon on a
salvaged river redgum timber block, fashioned by
my father.
Woods for Trees is a recollection of wintery walks
through Mount Majura Reserve; of blackened,
twisty woodland and muted ground cover. It is
displayed upon on a salvaged river redgum block,
fashioned by my father.
Page 56: Lee Leibrandt, In Bloom and Woods for Trees 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Luke Batten
Wood | Associate Member
Artist Statment
Swell.
A beautifully handcrafted Vide Poche.
In its design, Swell considers pattern, rhythm,
(the illusion of) additive manufacturing, and the
juxtaposition between simplicity and complexity.
Swell is a sensual display surface for small loose
items such as rings, earrings, and perhaps a
necklace. Arousing touch, its elegant design
is derived from the regular rhythm, yet subtle
variation found in the ocean.
Crafted from workshop offcuts using traditional
hand tools and machines, Swell expresses the
possibilities of both waste materials and of
low-tech manufacturing processes, creating an
object of desire, sophistication, and beauty. Swell
is batch produced, demonstrating accuracy,
precision, and efficient material use.
Designed and handmade by Luke in Canberra,
Australia.
Page 58: Luke Batten, Peaks Jewellery Dis 1, 2, 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Luna Ryan
Glass | Accredited Professional Member
Artist Statement
As a nest which lies comfortably but at the same
time precariously. so it can be with nurture, too
much, too little, too short, just right as it is.
Page 60: Luna Ryan, Nestled 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Michele Grimston
Textiles | Associate Member
Biography
Michele Grimston a visual artist and community
cultural development practitioner. She works
primarily with fabric and threads and is interested
in the cultural value of processes which are slow,
repetitive and honour the value of labour in the
creative process.
Her practice explores how these processes can
function as a vehicle for interpersonal connection
and personal reflection and the repetitive markmaking
acts as a physical trace of the time spent
in these reflective and connective practices.
Fundamental to her work is the idea that investing
time, attention and care in simple practices
creates relationships and objects of great
meaning and value, which enrich the fabric of our
lives and increase our capacity to care for others
and the world.
As the world fundamentally shifted around
us in 2020, the pressure to be all things to all
people suddenly intensified. Digital tools were
instrumental in helping us stay connected, even
as they allowed work to encroach on our personal
space, ensuring that labour is possible under any
circumstance.
Artist Statement
In a lament for a missed opportunity for
collective rest during the COVID pandemic, this
work celebrates the value of the human and the
handmade – by lovingly hand executing a single
line program of BASIC code from the 1980s. This
computer program auto-generates an infinite,
labyrinthine pattern made up of the keyboard
strokes / and \. Recreating this playful but
ultimately useless digital request by hand became
an active and embodied meditation, and a quiet
protest against the unquestioning assumption of
digitally enabled productivity amongst collective
trauma.
Page 62: Michele Grimston, An Offering to the Productivity Gods 2021. Photo Tim Bean

Minqui Gu
Mixed Media | Associate Member
Artist Statement
The series, Embossed, is one of my recent
experiments with bioplastics. The work is made
from individualised bioplastic recipe with a mould
inhibitor and colour pigments. It is heated and
whisked to achieve the desired consistency, then
poured onto a textured surface for embossing.
The work is then cured for approx 7 days. A
sterling silver brooch back with a stainless steel
pin is custom made. The piece of bioplastic is
riveted onto the brooch mechanism.
The series, Soap, is one of my recent experiments
with bioplastics. The work is made from an
individualised bio-plastic recipe with a mould
inhibitor and two types of soap. It is heated and
whisked to achieve the desired consistency, then
poured into a mold. The work is then cured for
approx. 10 days. A sterling silver brooch back with
a stainless steel pin is custom made. The piece of
bioplastic is riveted onto the brooch mechanism.
Page 64: Minqui Gu, Soap and
Embossed 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Monique Van Nieuwland
Textiles | Accredited Professional Member
Artist Statement
At Our Table – Drifting Apart, is one of a series
responding to heirloom embroidered tablecloths
addressing family dynamics symbolised by
circles as used in Venn diagrams. Togetherness,
gathering, finding common ground, drifting apart,
estranged.
My handwoven scarves, like Bubble Scarf,
embrace, warm and caress the body. Creating
scarves allows me to playfully experiment with
colour and texture.
Page 66: Monique Van Nieuwland, Bubble Scraf Red and Blue 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Nicola Knackstredt
Accredited Professional Member / Glass
Artist Statment
As someone with a part time practice, my ‘making
days’ in my studio feel like an indulgent escape
from reality: they are the days where I nurture
myself through my practice without the intrusion
of routine and the pressures of daily life.
On my studio days, I surrender to the rhythm of
making. Nothing I do is dictated by the clock;
rather, it is dictated by the nature of the materials
I work with. Time is measured by how long it
takes to saw something, to solder something,
to pickle something, to polish something. I take
breaks when my body begins to hurt, or when my
blood sugar gets too low to hold the torch or saw
blade with accuracy. I stop because I know that
if I continue, I may wreck the piece I am working
on. Eating and drinking become a necessary
inconvenience when I am in the studio. This may
sound austere, but for me, my time in the studio
is a practice in flow. I am so absorbed in creative
self-expression that I forget everything I am
conditioned to do when I am outside the studio,
including eating.
My studio is a place where I nurture my creativity
and playfulness, and it is a place where no idea is
a bad idea, because creativity and playfulness are
simply an exploration of my self-expression. This
piece is just that, another playful idea, another
form of self-expression.
Page 68: Nicola Knackstredt, Play 2022. Photo Tim Bean

NOT
Glass | Associate Member
Artist Statement
In Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein (1974), the
film’s eponymous doctor ascends, about to turn
the switch on his creation, nurturing life with a
series of lightning bolts: ‘We shall command the
thunders and penetrate into the very womb of
impervious nature herself!’ Having attended a
neon masterclass with Richard William Wheater
at Canberra Glassworks in 2016, the artist NOT
began to discern a similar and unpredictable play
of forces in this light-giving artform –thrilling,
terrifying and sometimes comic, which in his own
version of Young Frankenstein (2022) sees ionised
argon gas and neon-bombarded glass tubing
transformed by an electrical charge, pulsating with
life. Technical support by David Cooper; courtesy
the artist, and KRONENBERG MAIS WRIGHT.
Page 70: NOT, Young Frankenstein 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Rebecca Selleck
Mixed Media | Associate Member
Artist Statement
How do we stop being human? I want to know
what exists beyond the limits of my perception.
A long way from home, I slip away from routine.
The plants are the same, but different. The rocks
jut with unfamiliar strata and insects make homes
in strange symbiosis. There are moments that
feel like bliss, walking through special places,
losing myself in things I find. Leaves, bark,
seedpods, blossoms, strange growths on plants,
rocks, shells and sticks. Each one is more than
an object, its touch an exploration of biological
and geological histories stretching back further
than I can fathom and their surfaces layered
with intricate ecological interactions. Each object
opens a networked history through time in that
space that I can try to understand, but that’s
ultimately beyond my comprehension. When I
hold each one against my chest, it feels like that
beautiful complexity becomes part of me.
I want to share that: that moment of bliss. To
express their value I’ve taken the ordinary and
fleeting and made them golden. Now they speak
human, but what’s been lost in translation? The
moment has passed and the object a facsimile
formed from surface indentations, with no atoms
left of the original, becoming just a permanent
reminder of the ephemeral. In trying to escape
what feels human I ultimately do things that are
so human.
These pieces are portals into the beautiful
complexities that exist all around us and a
weighted reminder that we can’t escape being
human. We are just our perceptions. But
sometimes that can be beautiful anyway.
Page 72: Rebecca Selleck, Long Banksia Pod. Photo Tim Bean

Rene Linssen
Design | Associate Member
Biography
René loves the challenges of Industrial Design,
finding a way to improve people’s lives with
a product that satisfies a need and can be
aesthetically pleasing at the same time. He also
feels strongly about the responsibilities implicit
in a career that he believes has a big influence in
shaping the world we live in.
Critical and creative thinking are important aspects
in René’s design work. When designing any product,
René must consider manufacturing restrictions, cost,
materials, sustainability, mechanics, technology, etc.
to ensure the design functions effectively. At the
same time, he must consider form, colour, finishes,
etc. to help enhance the function and create a
connection with people.
René uses 3D modelling software extensively in
his design process which helps ensure his work is
responding to technical requirements and allows for
precise details to be specified and communicated
to manufacturers. 3D modelling is also a powerful
visual communication tool that can be used for both
the creative and technical aspects of design.
Artist Statement
Sit down. Be humble.
Humble is a solid timber stool with strong yet
playful proportions. Designed and made in
Canberra, Australia.
Humble will soon be available as part of the
Furnished Forever product range-furnishedforever.
com.au
Page 74: Rene Linssen, Humble Stool 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Robyn Campbell
Ceramics | Associate Member
Artist Statment
‘Inner world ’encloses a space where light is
trapped and reflected. I aimed with this piece
to create a meditative, serene space where the
tangible and intangible connect. There are the
extremes of light and dark in this piece with
reflection creating the sense of another space
blow the surface of the glass. ‘Inner world’ has
subtle references to the natural world, it has a
simplicity of form but a complexity of light.
‘Blaze#2’ came from the experience of walking
through burnt forest after the 2020 fires. It is a
simple work, representing red/orange sap and
blacked trees. Sap is the life blood of a tree. ‘Blaze
#2’ is about destruction but also life.
Page 76: Robyn Campbell, Inner World 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Ruth Hingston
Textiles/Associate Member
Artist Statement
The immersive activity of hand stitching is an
energising experience for me. Besides the love
of the threads and colours, the simple action of
repeatedly dipping a needle into a piece of soft
fabric is a favourite aspect of my embroidery
practice. Knitting can be the same. By simply
engaging with beautiful yarns to form stitches and
construct a fabric creates a place of stillness in
my day. Both these activities offer a basis of calm
that nurture a sense of wellbeing in my life. It is an
essential ingredient in my textiles practice.
During the Lockdowns, I continued to reflect on
my residency in Belgrade 2018 and explore new
work. This residency continues to influence my
practice. I began a series of embroidered works on
the decorative patterns based on my discoveries
while wandering through Belgrade’s old city. I had
observed many patterns constructed with stylised
motifs as a decorative element in this urban
environment. I was intrigued by the prevalence of
pattern on the city’s buildings. Often I saw motifs
used to create patterned screens as window
and door fortifications. Decorative elements are
generally not used in modern western architecture
or urban Australian environments.
‘Black and Bling’ was a strong theme for Belgrade
fashionistas Winter Street wear in 2018. Outfits
were predominantly black with decorative touches
and patterns highlighted with sequins, crystals,
mirror pieces, jewellry. Anything that sparkled
was used. The Night life on the Sava River with its
floating nightclubs teemed with special lighting.
Again, it was a theme of light sparkling against the
darkness.
Page 78: Ruth Hingston, Belgrande Patterns 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Sally Blake
Textiles/Associate Member
Artist Statement
Web
Web explores the interconnected whole, the vast
entangled web all living and non-living things are
part of. The woven language of textiles, in which
nets, meshes and webs are created, provides both
a visual and physical means for exploring ideas of
interconnection.
At a personal level my mind roams free while my
hands are busy weaving. The wire is very fine
and many, many repeated movements made this
work. The small repeated actions create a calming
affect as they slowly build into the whole.
Indra
Indra’s Net explores the interconnected whole,
the vast entangled web all living and non-living
things are part of. The woven language of textiles,
in which nets, meshes and webs are created,
provides both a visual and physical means for
exploring ideas of interconnection. I have used
the Buddhist metaphor for the interconnection
between all things—Indra’s Net—as a visual
reference point for my own investigations. Indra’s
Net is an infinite net in which a multi-faceted jewel
is hung at each node, each jewel reflecting all
the others in the net. Tibetan Buddhism teacher
and master Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche writes,
“since the net itself, the number of jewels, and the
facets of every jewel are infinite, the number of
reflections is infinite as well.”
At a personal level my mind roams free while my
hands are busy weaving little jewels for this work.
The small repeated actions create a calming
affect as they slowly build into the whole.
Page 80: Sally Blake, Indras Net. Photo Tim Bean

Sharon Peoples
Textiles/Associate Member
Artist Statement
This is a portrait of Australian artist Julie Ryder.
In recent years Julie has been researching
Victorian albums of seaweed collections. They are
much sought after by museums and specialist
collectors. Julie also collects seaweed making
intricate and delicate artworks related to these
fascinating plant structures. Her knowledge is
extensive. I have accompanied Julie collecting
along the southern coastline of New South Wales.
This work reflects the delicacy of seaweeds by
machine stitching on soluble fabric. This leaves
lace-like tracery. As well I am documenting Julie’s
thought processes that may be going through
while she is on the beach.
Page 82: Sharon Peoples, The Seaweed Collector 2022. Photo Brenton McGeachie

Sophi Suttor
Ceramics | Associate Member
Artist Statement
My work examines the loss of habitat and our
concept of identity. Replacement by the generic
diminishes who we are. I produce fragments of
Australiana as a demonstration of how easily we
lose the detail and cultural stamp of our personal
landscape. I retrieve fleeting images of travelling
in the country on endless dirt roads in the heat,
passing through small country towns.
I am researching Australiana ceramics that
produce uniquely Australian images and prosaic
generic images such as historical examples like
as Wembly Ware Works are lush to highlight how
easily we are seduced by pretty things. I work in
earthenware and low fire clear glaze. Works are
the dreams we have that transport us.
I use lots of generic items to highlight how readily
we accept the generic. This acceptance erodes
national identity and leads to the devaluation of
all things native to Australia. The devaluation of
the personal process is aided and abetted by
globalisation.
I am a classically trained artist from the National
Art School East Sydney. I have a long history of
teaching in the secondary and tertiary contexts. I
exhibit at the Canberra Potter’s Society and Craft
ACT. I am now concentrating on my personal
practice. I have a fully equipped workshop so that
I can work from home. I have a disability. I am in a
wheelchair. I pot every day.
Page 84: Sophi Suttor, Black Dromaius Nougehollandiae 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Sue Peachey
Ceramics | Associate Member
Biography
Sue Peachey is an emerging ceramic artist who hand
builds in coloured porcelain using the technique
of nerikomi. Appreciation and gratitude for all that
sustains us on planet Earth and her love of the
natural world are recurrent themes in the ceramics
she creates. Sue was awarded the CAPO - Craft ACT
Emerging Artist Award and the Canberra Potters
Society - Keane Ceramics Emerging Artist Award,
both in 2021. Based in Canberra, she is originally
from New Zealand and brings a background in
landscape design, permaculture, and poetry to the
work. Since June 2020 River’s Edge Ceramics has
been located at Studio 7 at the Canberra Potters
Society.
Artist Statement
This is the first of a series of ceramic works,
each responding creatively to one of the twelve
principles of the regenerative earth care system of
Permaculture. This piece responds to the principal
Design from patterns to details and encourages
us to step back so we can observe the patterns in
nature and consider the bigger picture.
By mapping the contours of local mountain
Majura, we can see the broader landscape and
its patterns and, while each mountain is unique,
there are universal similarities that govern the
structures of all Earth’s mountains regardless
of size, age, and origin. For example, mountain
ridges form large, branched structures resembling
a tree. The main ridge is the ‘trunk’. Side ridges
form off the ‘trunk’, the ‘first order branches’,
and from them further side ridges occur ‘second
order branches and subsequent ones off them
again and again. Water drainage pathways on
mountains follow a similar dendritic structure.
Page 86: Sue Peachy, Moonrise Mount Majura 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Tania Vrancic
Ceramics | Associate Member
Artist Statement
For some time now I have been pursuing freedom
in my work. I have found that my best work is
made when I am ‘in the zone’ having fully let
go of any inhibitions, preconceived ideas and
expectations, taking risks to push the boundaries
of my practice further. Music is crucial in taking
me to a place of freedom where I create out of
intuition rather than logic. Intuitive brushstrokes,
sgraffito and ceramic pencil mark making relate
to the long walks on Red Hill over the lockdown
season we have recently come out of. During
my walks I began picking up and photographing
leaves in their various shapes and stages of
decay, it soon became a leaf obsession. In my
work I enjoy abstracting both the distant view as
well as the details such as leaves.
Page 88: Tania Vrancic, Freedon is Gold 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Wendy Dawes
Paper | Associate Member
Artist Statement
This work explores the fallibility of individual and
collective memory. By using pages torn from
books folded into boxes, disordered, and rendered
unreadable, memory is revealed as a paradox of
order and chaos.
Page 90: Wendy Dawes, I’ll write that down 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Will Maguire
Metals | Accredited Professional Member
Artist Statment
As a blacksmith I work with hot steel as I feel
the forging process brings out the inherent
characteristics of the metal itself. More recently I
have been combining other materials and finding
it really exciting. These old bricks, commonly
known as ‘convict bricks’ are visual ecosystems.
They simply stand embraced within a hand forged
steel cradle alive with a sense of being. I wanted
to celebrate the inherent vibrance of what can
be seen as mundanely practical materials, in this
case common old bricks and regular steel bar.
I wanted to simply see them and feel good about
it.
Page 92: Will Maguire, Brick Forms2022. Photo Tim Bean

Ximena Briceno
Metals | Accredited Professional Member
Artist Statment
Since childhood I have harboured a long
fascination with filigree jewellery and its origins.
I am interested in the history, social history and
technical aspects of filigree making in objects and
jewellery. I apply laser welding process to a timehonoured
metalsmith technique creating a new
vocabulary of filaments and metals. This process
allows me to consider innovative applications
of new metals and materials. My current studio
practice is diverse, it investigates landscape and
geography as an expression of location, migration
and identity. I predominantly work with reactive
metals, ephemera, and silver casted native
botanical specimens.
Capricho Azul II, a necklace for “Ken Behrens”
in Lockdown, is a series of work developed as
consequence of lockdown while in Canberra
in 2021. In this work, I returned to the basic
technique of filigree in titanium, creating circles
as roundabouts encountered in the city, but
also served as a metaphor to contingency plans
developed and applied for a time.
Australia has always been at the vanguard even
when wearing masks. Australia began wearing
masks and respirators in the ACT early in
December 2019 as the devastating fires of what it
is now known as the Black Summer 2020 creeped
on. Later, a global pandemic hit the world, and
the face mask became ubiquitous yet required
accessory for protection. In this instance, I
recurred to the Eucalyptus leaf and started once
again roll-printing as I did it 16 years ago. I reflect
in the challenges we have ahead, and I find
inspiration from the beauty found in landscape I
am surrounded by.
Page 94: Ximena Briceno, Capricho Azul 2022. Photo Tim Bean

Harriet Schwarzrock
Metals + Glass | Associate Member
Biography
As a visual artist interested in biological systems
and connectivity, Schwarzrocks practice has
recently embraced creating neon and plasma
elements. This vibrant form of illumination has
developed in step with her material knowledge of
glass. Drawn to glass’ ability to contain and give
form to the invisible, recent explorations have
embraced interactive illumination to describe the
subtle electricity within our bodies.
Her practice draws upon cycles of respiration
and circulation, embodied yet often invisible.
Schwarzrock is magnetically drawn to the
material language and plasticity of molten glass
for its ability to give form to these intangible
cycles. Fascinated by its ability to contain the
ethereal, whilst continuing to learn about this
exacting material has become a catalyst to
explore interactive illumination.
Artist Statement
My inter-disciplinary artistic practice
predominantly traverses blowing glass and
making responsive luminous forms. Drawing
upon the traditions of glassblowing and the neon
trade has offered me a way to activate the interior
of my glass forms, encasing a mesmerising
phenomena within. Referencing cycles of
breathing and circulation within my work locates
me in the present moment. I am fascinated by
transmutation, flux, and interconnectivity, in
seeing materials, systems and matter change
in relation to energy, the atmosphere and each
other.
Page 96: Harriet Schwarzrock, Transitory 2022. Photo Brenton McGeachie