Nicole Alexander

Nicole Alexander

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Nicole is an internationally published author - novels, poetry, travel, creative writing and genealogy articles.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I write primarily historical fiction to better understand the present and the future through the lens of the past. In writing I celebrate the craft of storytelling which has developed from the ancient practice of indigenous rock art, interpretive dance and stories shared around campfires to the written word. Historical fiction has a wonderous time-travel element. It introduces and illuminates a particular period from the past exposing lives and untold stories whether based on real events or highly imagined. It allows the reader to engage with and ponder worlds that we can never fully comprehend. And it is that step back in time, into the unknown that is so enticing.

BIO

Master of Letters in creative writing

Shortlisted - 2011 Australian Book Industry Awards Debut Author - The Bark Cutters

Awarded: The NSW 2012 Barwon Woman of the Year – part of the 2012 NSW Woman of the Year

Awards – recognised for literary talent and promoting Australia’s pastoral history

Chair of Judging - 2021 ARA Historical Novel Prize Australasia

Judge - Inaugural 2019 Colleen McCullough Residency Award for historical fiction authors

Past judge - Elyne Mitchell Writing Awards

Nicole’s novels, poetry, travel, creative writing and genealogy articles have been published in Australia, America, Singapore, Ukraine, Germany, New Zealand & Canada. She is the author of ten historical fiction novels. Non-fiction works include Divertissements: Love. War. Society (2008). She was a contributor to the National Breast cancer Foundation anthology (2013) Dear Mum & The Great Australian Writers Collection 2013

CONTACT

westmurki@bigpond.com

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Mona Fernando

Mona Fernando

CREATIVE PRACTICE

• Creative weaving practice using locally sourced materials incorporating contemporary Ganularoi Art

• Using rope, grasses and other materials

• Evolving weaving practice as a way to connect elders, materials and community together

• Carrying down storylines and knowledge from my elders past and present for future generations.

  
  ARTIST STATEMENT

Mona is an Indigenous Gomeroi artist born in Mungindi and living in Moree. She has always had a love of culture, arts and crafts. Her practice is split between creative weaving, including woven wall art, hanging baskets and coolamons incorporating native grasses and dyes, and painting. Mona’s art is an evolving practice that connects her spiritually with her family, carrying storylines and knowledge from her elders past and present for future generations. She often incorporates locally sourced materials including grasses, gum nuts and feathers. ‘This art form of documentation is very important to me, especially now that I am a proud mother and grandmother and have my own descendants to show and teach.’

Mona’s artworks are on sale through Yaama Ganu Moree, including available workshops for groups (local and visiting) and community.

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CONTACT

Email: munrofernandomona@gmail.com

Instagram: @mona.artandcrafts

Mark Washington

Mark Washington

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Kamilaroi/Gomeroi visual artist

ARTIST STATEMENT

I was born in November, 1975 in Moree. I am from the Kamilaroi tribe. There are six in my family. Now I have three kids of my own and two beautiful grannies.

I have been doing art for a while now before coming to TAFE. I used to go to Yurrandaali here in Moree to do art and screen printing. The printed fabric then went overseas. It was here I met Ken Done and he sponsored us to do our screen printing which was made into fashion. We had all the technology. The fashion was even sold in Club Meds.

I have been studying Certificate Ill Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural art at TAFE this year but it feels like longer. I am really enjoying it. We have done so much this year.

I have enjoyed learning about painting, improving my dot art and landscaping. I have also loved doing carving and sculptures. Carving has been a big part of our culture here on the Mehi River over the generations. I have also used the carvings designs I have done on bark on lino prints which have come up really good. They have sold well with tourists. I have also carved designs into emu eggs and then paint them too.

I have also had a go at jewellery making using echidna quills and quandong seed to make necklace.

I love art. It makes me feel calm.

CONTACT

Via Moree TAFE (Mehi Gallery and Studio)

David Allan

David Allan

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Drawing and painting.
I am an artist and illustrator, interested in myth, fantasy and landscape. From fine art oil paintings to delicate watercolours, I love to work in any medium.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am inspired first and foremost by the natural world and have a great love of all things flora and fauna. Exploring and recreating specimens visually, I believe, opens up a new level of understanding and appreciation for form and function in the natural environment and creates a strong foundation from which new ideas can develop. In this way, I enjoy producing work which blurs the boundaries between apparently disparate objects and concepts, examines familiar objects from unexpected angles, and allows for the creation of new worlds, objects and anatomically plausible, if fantastical, creatures.

I work in a range of areas including natural history illustration, children’s illustration and commissions, and in a variety of mediums including digital, however, my preferred medium is graphite. Increasingly, I am exploring the many possibilities of combining digital and traditional mediums.

BIO

David Allan is an illustrator and artist whose first picture book, Two Trickster Tales from Russia (retold by Sophie Masson) was published by Christmas Press in 2013. Since then, he has illustrated three other acclaimed picture books for Christmas Press: Two Tales of Twins from Ancient Greece and Rome (retold by Ursula Dubosarsky, 2014); Two Tengu Tales from Japan (retold by Duncan Ball, 2015) and Two Enchanted Tales from Old China (retold by Gabrielle Wang, 2017). He has also illustrated short story anthologies, including The Stuff of Tales, published by Arts North West in 2018, and several Christmas Press anthologies, as well as storybooks for reading programs. His work is in private and public collections, and he has participated in solo and group exhibitions.

CONTACT

0421 721 117
davidallancreative@gmail.com

Susan McMullen

Susan McMullen

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Knitting, sewing and original designs.
I use premium quality natural fibres to create fashion accessories for men and women, and children, hats shawls, gloves and mittens.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Susan uses natural fibres including silk, wool, cashmere, alpaca, possum, camel hair, linen, angora and cotton, to create a wide selection of practical and sustainable fashion accessories for all ages. Susan creates items that are designed to last a lifetime, with classic and original designs.

BIO

Susan's inspiration and greatest teacher was her mother, who passed along a generational legacy and creative ethic, workmanship and quality and an appreciation of creating something that will last. Susan is committed to creating beautiful and long lasting items that are made in Australia. Innovation and versatility in wearable designs.

CONTACT

0400 280 352
susanmcmullen54@gmail.com

Anna Henderson

Anna Henderson

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Mixed media and ceramics.
Mixed media, semi abstract landscapes & ceramics.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I live in a quiet, isolated part of the New England Tablelands. I am surrounded by a landscape that is forever changing. My work is therefore forever changing. My mixed media work is semi-abstract and abstract. It sometimes deals with the extremely complex relationship between humans and the land and our environment. We are in awe of it, we destroy it, we idealise it, we alter it, we buy and sell it, we use its resources, and we create new environments. My paintings are silent and lonely, the many layers of paint creating a history and strength to these portraits of the land.

BIO

2018 “Artist’s Story” An exhibition of paintings and ceramics. Weswal Gallery, Tamworth. NSW.

2016 “Crash Pads” spirituality, relationships, spiritual practice, architecture, Gallery 126, Armidale NSW.

2015 “Caravan” Paintings and Ceramics, Haydon Hall, Murrurundi

2014 “Interconnect” Paintings and Ceramics, New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale.

2013 “22 Journeys” Paintings and Ceramics, Gallery 126, Armidale

2012 “Changing Moods” Paintings and Ceramics, Haydon Hall, Murrurundi

2011 “Still” Ceramics and Paintings, New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale

GROUP EXHIBITIONS....more recent

2021 New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale NSW. New England Landscapes

2020 Christmas Exhibition, Gallery 126, Armidale. NSW

2018 Ceramics and Paintings. Gallery 126, Armidale. NSW

2017 Parallax Art Fair, London UK

2017 Christmas Exhibition, Gallery 126, Armidale.

AWARDS

2021 Armidale Art Prize, Armidale Art Gallery, Armidale NSW Sculpture Section 1st Prize

2019 Armidale Art Prize, Armidale NSW – Painting Section - 1st Prize.

2018 Pro Hart Art Prize, Broken Hill - Finalist

2018 The Armidale Art Prize, Painting Section – First Prize

2017 The Armidale Art Prize, Sculpture Section – First Prize.

2015 Frost over Barraba, Packing Room Prize, Ceramics, Highly Commended Sculpture, Highly Commended

Pro art Art Prize, Broken Hill - Finalist

Muswellbrook Art Prize Finalist

2014 Norvill Art Prize – Winner. Murrurundi NSW

Norvill Art Prize - Finalist

Frost over Barraba – Winner - Open Art Section.

Frost over Barraba – Winner – Hand built Pottery

2013 Artavita 4th Contest (On line 759 entries) Santa Barbara CA Honorable Mention

Calleen Art Award, Cowra NSW – selected finalist

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CONTACT

(02) 6779 7534
annaghenderson@gmail.com

Fiona McDonald

Fiona McDonald

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Mixed media in two and three dimensions.
Drawing predominately in graphite or pen, painting in acrylic and sculpture in mixed media

ARTIST STATEMENT

Fiona draws inspiration for her work from stories. The process of drawing forms the story, and the end product will form yet another story. Fiona is intrigued by multiple layers of meaning in a work which artist and audience will build between them from their individual knowledge and experience.

BIO

Trained at Julian Ashton Art School (Sydney), where she studied painting, drawing and etching. She also studied painting and composition with Sydney-based artist Nigel Thomson.

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CONTACT

grannyfi1@hotmail.com

Sandy Flett

Sandy Flett

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Drawing and painting/ Children’s illustrator

ARTIST STATEMENT

I have loved cartooning, painting and drawing books and comics since I was a very young child, very much enraptured by cartoonists and illustrators like Charles Shultz, Quentin Blake and Sandra Boynton. It was a natural progression for me become a children’s book illustrator and author, creating my own world of characters.

I have had thrill of illustrating two middle grade children’s book series, Juno Jones by Kate Gordon, published by Yellow Brick Books, and the Edie’s Experiments series by Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Australia. I also have a short story published in the Spooktacular Anthology, edited by Michelle Worthington, and am working on other books as an ‘authorstrator’ (author and illustrator).

I love all kinds of media, including gouache and pastels but by far, my favourite media are Indian ink, water colour and digital art (using my iPad Pro and Procreate). I really love messing around with loose lines and vivid colours both with the paint and ink, and digitally, often combing all three media. As I love illustrating for children and have strong memories of always wanting to “be a better artist”, I decided to create my own a children’s drawing channel on Youtube - Sandy Flett Kids Art School, to encourage children (and their parents or carers!) have a go at drawing and learn to draw new things, as well as showcase their own artworks.

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CONTACT

0408 932 120
flettsandy28@gmail.com

Kristin Devine

Kristin Devine

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Drawing and painting.
Works predominately in soft pastels on paper, and on occasion, watercolours and oils.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am inspired first and foremost by the natural world and have a great love of all things flora and fauna. Exploring and recreating specimens visually, I believe, opens up a new level of understanding and appreciation for form and function in the natural environment and creates a strong foundation from which new ideas can develop. In this way, I enjoy producing work which blurs the boundaries between apparently disparate objects and concepts, examines familiar objects from unexpected angles, and allows for the creation of new worlds, objects and anatomically plausible, if fantastical, creatures.

I work in a range of areas including natural history illustration, children’s illustration and commissions, and in a variety of mediums including digital, however, my preferred medium is graphite. Increasingly, I am exploring the many possibilities of combining digital and traditional mediums.

BIO

Kristin Devine is an emerging artist and illustrator who lives in Armidale NSW, where she enjoys the region’s many spectacular national parks and unique ecosystems as sources of inspiration and subject matter for her work. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Graduate Diploma in Local, Family and Applied History from the University of New England and has a particular interest in the use of images as historical sources. Kristin is the illustrator of Jenny Blackford’s junior novel Fil and Harry (Christmas Press 2021), and winner of the 2019 NEWC Illustration Prize.

Education and training:

Bachelor of Arts, UNE, 2018

Graduate Diploma in Local, Family and Applied History, UNE 2019

Drawing Nature, Science and Culture: Natural History Illustration, University of Newcastle 2020

CONTACT

0434 611 269
kadevineillustration@gmail.com

Lucy Munro

Lucy Munro

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Writer, weaver, designer, digital media creator

ARTIST STATEMENT

Lucy Munro lives amongst the poplars and the pear trees in the rural highlands of Northern NSW; a pen in hand, and a cowboy and sausage dog by her side. She is deeply affected by the patterns, colours and changing faces of the landscape across the seasons, and her office is in a hilltop paddock with the cows. Lucy has an Honours in Graphic and Textile Design from UNSW and is currently studying a masters of writing.

BIO

Lucy graduated with Honours in Design (Graphics and Textiles) from UNSW in 2018, specialising in pattern creation and fibre weaving. She spent six months studying at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, India during this time, and was exposed to the incredible world of colour and pattern that exists there. Her rug and fabric designs were selected by Master block printer, Sufiyan Khatri to be commissioned and printed at his studio in Bhuj. Lucy also interned with fibre artist Harriet Goodall in Robertson, learning intricate weaving techniques. Lucy worked at the online publication The Planthunter from 2017-2020, editing, creating digital content and penning essays, interviews and feature articles about the complexity of interactions between plants and people. In this role, she interviewed some of the best garden designers, creatives and thinkers from across Australia and the world, including Kate Cullity, Juan Grimm, Carolyn Robinson, Charles Massey, Lalage Snow and Alice Fox. She has also spoken on Radio National with David Astle and Casey Bennetto about some of these works. Lucy’s writing has appeared in Belle Magazine, The Planthunter, Smith Journal, New England Magazine, Art:Place exhibition, and most recently, amongst garden writer and historian Trisha Dixon’s book Spirit of the Garden, published by the National Library of Australia. Lucy is currently completing her Masters in Art (Writing) from the University of New England.

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CONTACT

lcmunro@gmail.com

Rosalie Rigby

Rosalie Rigby

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Visual Arts

I am a visual artist working as a painter. I also work with printmaking and ceramics.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My current work is abstract painting. These are non-objective, relating more to concepts than subjects in the world. I use geometric forms and linear elements. My work is process based. The work is the work. In terms of technique, I use paint on canvas or board. I am interested in layering and eliciting an ambiguity in reading the painting. My current work started with reflections from a trip to Ireland. There I was fascinated by the archaeology and more “modern” history as shown by remaining structures and images / written languages. I looked at the burial mounds, round forts and burial chambers. From this came reflections on the past as still being in the present and the strength of people’s belief systems. Layering became a device to reflect this.

BIO

Solo exhibitions

2021 Tamworth Regional Gallery, Tamworth

2019 Weswal Gallery, Tamworth

2017 Gallery 126, Armidale

2016 New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale

2009 Doggett Street Gallery, Brisbane

2009 Dubbo Regional Gallery, Dubbo

2007 Doggett Street Gallery, Brisbane

2001 New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale

1998 Focus Gallery, Tamworth

Two-person & three-person exhibitions

2015 Walcha Gallery of Art, Walcha

2014 Walcha Gallery of Art, Walcha

2012 Walcha Gallery of Art, Walcha

2009 GIG Gallery, Sydney

2006 Moree Gallery, Moree

2006 GIG Gallery, Sydney

2001 Moree Plains Regional Gallery, Moree

2000 Weswal Gallery, Tamworth

1996 New England Regional Art Gallery, Armidale

Group exhibitions

2019 Gallery 126, Armidale

2019 Gallery 126, Armidale

CONTACT

0427 608 332
rosrigby@gmail.com

Sophie Masson

Sophie Masson

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Literature

Award-winning and internationally-published author of over 70 books for children, young adults and adults. Also co-director of small locally-based publisher, Christmas Press.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I was born to be a writer, to tell stories. Born in Indonesia of French parents who are themselves of mixed ethnicity—Basque, Spanish, Portuguese and French-Canadian as well as French-- and brought up in France and Australia, all my childhood was a story of travelling between cultures, languages(I am still bilingual) and worlds. Stories have been vitally important to me for as long as I can remember, helping d me make sense of the world but also escape its confusions into a magical, immersive experience from which I’d emerge refreshed and inspired. I started to write my own from a very young age, and never really stopped! The magic, freedom and clarity of Story is still something I love and which I always put at the centre of my own work. I write across genres, often mixing them, and across age ranges, from picture books for the youngest listener through to middle grade fiction, young adult fiction and adult fiction. I’ve also written non-fiction on literary and publishing topics, as well as academic research papers around elements of creative practice. As co-director of small locally-based children’s books publisher Christmas Press, I bring my love of Story and industry experience into helping to bring to readers quality, beautiful and wide-ranging books by other authors and illustrators, and I love nurturing new talent through my work with the New England Writers’ Centre.
I’m available for talks, workshops, festivals and conferences, both in person and online: for details see www.sophiemassonpresents.com

BIO

Education:

B.A, M.Litt and PhD from the University of New England.

Awards:

AM award in the Order of Australia Honours list for significant service to literature, 2019

Patricia Wrightson Prize in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, 2011

Winner, Young Adult category, Aurealis Awards for Science Fiction and Fantasy, 2003

Numerous books shortlisted for major awards over the years..

Asia-Pacific Fellowship, Australia Council, 1995

Residencies:

Visiting Scholar, Children’s Literature Research Centre, University of Cambridge(UK) 2017

Keesing Studio Fellowship, Paris (Australia Council) 2010

Service in cultural organisations:

Current Chair of the New England Writers’ Centre

Current President of the Small Press Network

Current President of the New England and North West sub-branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia, NSW branch.

Former Chair of the Australian Society of Authors.

CONTACT

https://firebirdfeathers.com/contact/
www.sophiemasson.org

Pastor & Purcell

Pastor & Purcell

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Music

Helena Pastor and Chris Purcell are a songwriting duo from Armidale and Uralla who love to create emotionally engaging songs that illuminate sensitive aspects of human life. The pair have been performing and writing together for the past six years and have an eclectic collection of songs. Before COVID-19, they regularly performed in Armidale, but they are now sharing their songs through online platforms to develop new audiences and broaden community engagement with the arts. Helena and Chris each bring specialised skills to their songwriting partnership. Helena’s background as a published author and postgraduate Creative Nonfiction scholar enables her to create quality lyrics that highlight the diversity and complexity of Regional lives; Chris’s experience in writing symphonic music (ballet scores/operas) and incidental music for theatre productions enables him to score for a variety of instrumental textures and voices. They are currently recording their catalogue of songs for an Arts project called ‘Stories in Song’ (funded by Arts North West and Regional Arts NSW).

CONTACT

0447 334 665
helenapastor2@gmail.com
chris.purcell@outlook.com
https://soundcloud.com/pastor_purcell

Michael Evans

Michael Evans

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Crafts, Visual Arts

Michael is a ceramic artist making wash basins, bowls, dishes, water features, vases and mugs. He specializes in crystalline glazes. He also holds classes for pottery students at Chaucer on Bridge Street gallery in Uralla.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Michael Evans is a ceramic artist with a passion for crystalline glazes which began when he lived near John Payne, a renowned thrower, in Robertson in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales.  With some advice from Evan Davis on firing cycles, and the refinement of glaze formulation, both Michael and John have achieved some spectacular results. Michael moved to Invergowrie in 2015 and has developed his studio at the family gallery, Chaucer on Bridge Street, in Uralla where his ceramic pieces are displayed and sold. He conducts popular pottery classes on Saturdays. He currently fires with electric kilns but has been building a gas kiln and has plans for a wood fired kiln as well.

BIO

Michael Evans grew up and was educated in Armidale. He became interested in ceramics while attending Duval High School. His interest developed further when he took a college night class under Mark Loving in Texas USA, where he had gone on a tennis scholarship.

Michael returned to Armidale to complete a B.A. Dip Ed. at the University of New England. He began his teaching career at Airds High School in Western Sydney and later was Head Teacher of the History Faculty at Kiera High School in Wollongong for a number of years.

While teaching he was also able to study with Cameron Williams at the National Art School in Sydney. With assistance from Neil Boughton, he became enthusiastic about the Raku process. With a Raku urn, he won the 2001 Open Ceramics Section at the Fisher’s Ghost Festival in Campbelltown. He has participated in a number of joint exhibitions at Chaucer on Bridge Street Gallery. In 2015 he returned to Armidale and is currently teaching at Guyra Central School. Michael and his wife Farzana, have one daughter.

CONTACT

0410 101 266
mevans29702@hotmail.com
www.evansgalleryuralla.com

Helen Evans

Helen Evans

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Crafts, Visual Arts

Helen makes textile pictures and tactile books for
children from a variety of fabrics

ARTIST STATEMENT

Helen Evans worked for many years as Director of Minimbah Preschool in Armidale and then as a teacher at Armidale campus of TAFE in the Early Childhood sector. During her time at TAFE, she became very interested in the power of storytelling in education. As a storyteller, she became well known and was beloved by children at many early childhood centres in Armidale and nearby areas where she told stories every week for 24 years. Helen used toys, puppets, natural materials, music and drama and involved the children actively in the storytelling. After completing a writing course from the Australian College of Journalism, she also began to write stories for children and to make tactile books to illustrate her works. In retirement, Helen continues to make tactile books for babies and busy books for preschoolers. Many of her books can be seen at the family gallery, Chaucer on Bridge Street, in Uralla.

CONTACT

0458 783 806
mhevans@tpg.com.au
www.helenevanswriter.com.au www.evansgalleryuralla.com
www.helenevans-storyteller.com

Fovndlings

Fovndlings

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Music

ARTIST STATEMENT

Fovndlings—who first formed in the gorge country east of Walcha NSW—have been working on their own lyrical form of cowpunk for the past five years. The band consists of Hugh Cook (drums), Steve Tafra (guitar and piano accordion), Tom Walsh (bass), Brendan Passey (guitar) and Adrian Walsh (guitar and vocals). Fovndlings write original music that explores themes of friendship, loss, landscape as lived on the ragged edges of our cities and provincial towns – reminiscent of the Australia evoked by bands like the Triffids. Their debut album, which was released late in 2019 and was produced in Norway by the Australian musician and producer Mark Axiak, showcases nine songs that merge poetry with driving beats. The album highlights the diverse influences on their musicianship and songwriting and includes anthemic songs such as Bitumen Roads, Old Mate, Hank Williams’ Funeral Sonnet and The Quiet Room, as well as the song with which they began their journey Going Home (The Great Dividing Range). They are currently working on new material with the songs One Road In, Her Son the Arsonist, The Epic and Talking Like a Coin. A video for The Arsonist is currently being finished by Sydney film-maker and musician Matt Syres. Look out for it when it hits the waves.

BIO

Fovndlings have been playing as a live band for over four years. We have played live in Melbourne, Sydney, festivals and, of course locally in Armidale, Uralla and Walcha. At the beginning of 2020—before the onset of the restrictions imposed by COVID—we played extensively, including a successful tour of Melbourne in which we played in the heart of the city at a range of venues., During that time, our album was featured on RRR and we were interviewed by Neil Rogers on his Australian Mood program. Songs from the debut album have been on rotation in various radio stations, most notably in Melbourne and Canberra. We are currently working on a new album which will build on the body of work created so far.

CONTACT

0429 686 285
fovndlings@gmail.com
https://fovndlings.bandcamp.com/

Dave Robinson

Dave Robinson

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Digital Media/Visual Arts

Photography of all kinds; landscape, the natural world, close ups, fine art, people and portraiture, families, weddings and functions. Just about anything and always happy to try something new.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I love photography. I love capturing moments in time, whether it be landscapes and nature or people just where they are at, right here right now. I love using my camera and lenses to isolate, to focus on, to highlight, to hone in on something from a scene or person that may not be evident to a casual observer. I love capturing people in candid moments where some of their true self can be glimpsed. I love trying to capture the real essence of someone, their moods, their feelings, who they really are and how they interact with those around them, their connections and connectivity. I love trying to create an image that allows the viewer to feel as if they are there, in that place, in that moment or part of what the people pictured are experiencing. I love capturing live music and often do so to help promote the artists performing and music in general. Always looking to see what catches my eye and how can I capture something that will mean something, appeal to someone, to move them in a world swamped and bombarded in billions of images everywhere. I love creative problem solving, “How can I capture this scene/person/occasion in this light, in this situation?” And then there is also, “What can I learn from this? How can I do it better? What’s next?”

BIO

I have a trades and engineering background, being an automotive mechanic running my own workshop in a small country town last century, where I learnt a lot about people and dealing with and connecting with them. I have a tendency towards perfectionism, doing whatever I do properly and to the best of my ability. I have been called ‘meticulous’. I have worked on the land and in shearing sheds, in offices and in customer service. Construction, carpentry and other skills I have also collected along the way. I am a father to five with the associated life experience that brings. I am self-taught in numerous skills, being fortunate to be able to turn my hands and eyes to just about anything. I came to photography 17 years ago as an outlet, then a hobby that became more serious, devouring just about anything I could read on the subject and trying a vast range of techniques to see what worked and didn’t work. Early on, I was mentored by a full-time professional who specialised in weddings and then branched out on my own. I have covered just about every genre of photography to some degree and learnt much along the way. My trades and technical background has enabled me to gain a good grasp of the technical aspects of photography and my life experience and being willing to experiment and learn has me more latterly trying to capture images that move or touch people or at least get them to take a second look. I continue to learn and hone the skills of my artform guided by my own curiosity and also my subjects and the world around me.

CONTACT

0435 171 509
dave@daverobinsonphotography.com
www.daverobinsonphotography.com

Brigitte Brummell

Brigitte Brummell

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Pottery and ceramics

ARTIST STATEMENT

For as long as I can remember I have craved and explored creative outlets in many forms and mediums. My most recent love affair and favourite so far is with pottery. I love the process of creating pieces for the home and garden that can be practical or purely decorative. I love how raw and organic pottery is in every aspect, from beginning to end. I love how deeply satisfying it is to share the creative practice and the finished pieces with others. Late nights at pottery have become a regular part of my life now and have allowed me to play, learn and truly enjoy the time I have with my hands in the clay..

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CONTACT

brig.spencer@hotmail.com
0431 056 177

Trudie Gough

Trudie Gough

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Chainmailling

Using fencing wire, craft wire, & a pair of pliers, I create a range of dark age inspired garments and jewellery. Out of the 19 different chaining practices I find Byzantine Weave and Sweetpea are fun to do, 4-1 is more versatile. I create and perfect my craft into pieces that I love. I welcome commissions.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am Welsh with Anglo-Indian origins, raised in a gypsy inspired lifestyle. Origins alone should explain my passion for chaining, plus it was an easy to cart around. My inspiration is my historical link with my heritage. From the heaviest chain shirt, the neck chain, your trouser chain, to the piece on your finger, I find focus, passion and a creative mediative quality associated with the practice of chain mailing.
I sometimes believe I was born in the wrong century!

CONTACT

shantitru@hotmail.com
0413 032 353

Tony Grant

Tony Grant

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Digital media

When taking photos I strive to include elements which are relevant to the premise of the picture so that, as much as is possible, the picture speaks for itself. By careful choice of location, lens and composition, I try to only include what is desirable while excluding what is not. I always consider my subject in relation to its background and the quality of light that falls onto it.

For ambient light portraiture, I first look for the best light and then the background, only then do I place the subject. When shooting Landscapes I like a strong foreground element. Using a very wide lens and getting in close achieves this. I photograph many other subjects.

ARTIST STATEMENT

It was 1983 when I first peered through the lens of an SLR. I loved the way you could selectively focus on an object and isolate it from its surroundings. I fell in love with photography in that very first moment.

In 1986, employed as a Lab Technician and Printer in a photolab. I had access to a full colour lab as well as my own B&W darkroom. During this period, I devoured and inhaled photography, teaching myself the art of taking and producing pictures. By 1988 I was working as a press photographer. In the 1990s I went freelance. I am still learning the art.

BIO

I am self-taught. I have had over 30 years of photographic experience firstly as a Lab Technician and Printer, then a press photographer, and now a freelance photographer.

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CONTACT

tonygrantpix@gmail.com