Studio Work ABOUT my art & others

COLLAGE   It usually begins with collecting.   A collage creates a new whole by bringing together disparate elements. Familiar connections is disrupted and spaces to play are created from existing materials and remnants collected.   That wrapping paper you kept, cards, a painting by a relative or friend, newspaper headlines, fragments from daily life, magazine arms, legs, lips.   Then, from a new perspective a new life, a special appreciation beyond its own inherent meaning contributes to the overall message of a new work. Viewers search for meaning in the arrangement, and at the same time, their attention is drawn to the technicalities. Collage gives form to the diverse worlds of everyday life in often peculiar fragments emblematic of the chaos of realities and connection, for structure where meaning is individually invented and discovered. Here a few words from Geoff Dobson on my collage exhibition, a few years back. I am currently running a #giveaway of a small fr...

  Dear Reader WELCOME TO SUMMER !   In Tasmania we seemed to have skipped Spring with many cold nights and rainy days, low temperatures.  Finally it seems Summer has turned up. As subscribers to my site has grown this year, I am taking this moment to re-introduce myself and to wish you and your loved ones a MERRY CHRISTMAS - may you enjoy good health, joy and creativity in the forthcoming year Thanks so much for being here and for the support shown to me in word, studio visits and purchases.  Studio visits are most welcome - message me to arrange. As  a small thank you I am sending a small original collage to the first 50 requests - if you wish to receive one, send me your snail mail address and I will post them all out right after Christmas.  numbers are limited. What you may not know about me .   I have, over the last 10 years, been a finalist in 20 curated exhibitions, received awards and commendations in some, held 4 solo exhibitions, been a part o...

With Christmas just a few weeks away, consider supporting a local artist and gift one-of-a-kind artworks to a friend, family member or yourself. I have been working on my site and various blogs this year, with artworks going up recently, so this site is under construction (continually).  let me know what you think. A few artworks are up on blackfisharts tasmania site -  there are paintings across media such as acrylic, oil, pastel featuring abstracts, pears and landscape. and  prints , most being one of a kind monoprints or digital.  Textiles are new to the site - years of slow stitching at night culminate in wall hangings such as these.  The section  Collage includes the textiles due to the way they are worked - a few analogue collages are loaded on the site. .   .  .         

  I love them - not only to eat, to cook but to draw and paint. Love the shapes and stance their presence bring to 'the table'.  :)  I have been doing them for years, for the reasons above but also by way of exploring colour, texture, design and to play with paint/mark making. A few here from over the years (below).  ink, pastel, oil and acrylic as well as ipad drawings, hockney & warhol inspiration.  Over at the art gallery under the heading PEARS you can find some for sale . let me know what you think .... more pears (available) to be uploaded here  

When i began this piece I didnt know what the story was. It evolved overtime and with each decision made, it became. As many of you know I am in the studio every day and it is at night, when I go up to the house, I do slow stitching.  This piece was set aside many times over many months, where each stage brought with it a 'what now?' or a 'what if'. Slowly it became 'Under a Big Sky'.   This is how it went.  I began by creating little squares from my shibori scraps, brought in white and eco printed cotton, silk and linen, ironing the little squares around a template i created. One evening, from the box of 'little squares', i began to lay them out in what was a pleasing arrangment to me.  Sewed the squares together into a single cloth and then i tacked it to a calico cloth backing, extending the borders. After it being set aside for many months, i came to the orange stitching idea - a stacking stitch created within a circle. This image shows the stitched ...

these little pieces on Japanese papers are trials/play in the studio this week - enjoying switching to oils after months of monoprints using acrylic on the gel plate.  see previous posts here and the 'what if' premise, here   

On a recent trip to Hobart and i ducked into TMAG (Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery) to find an exhibition of Oliffe Richmond (1919-77) - a Tasmanian born artist who built a distinguished career in Britain as a sculptor and educator. I particularly loved the sketchbook drawings. and i loved this vehicle in the pottery & ceramics room

I wrote  here  about delivering 4 works to the Out of Hand Exhibition held by Stitching and Beyond.    This year, I have exhibited, for the first time, in the exhibition held by Stitching and Beyond, Hobart.  I have been a member of the group for a few years and have been stitching for many many years; decided for the first time to exhibit.  With over 200 entries in the exhibition I am honoured to have received the Curators Choice Award for this piece 'Conversations by the Creek (Winter) the other 3 pieces are Conversations by the Creek (Summer) and Conversations by the Creek (Early Spring) and Under a Big Sky .

UPDATE:  an article in Art Guide Australia 2 October 2025. It wraps up with this thought " “Wright’s works are not easily reduced; they draw you in with beauty, then unsettle and provoke with layered meanings.” Shapeshifting: The Art of Helen Wright Queen Victoria Museum and Gallery: Art Gallery  at Royal Park Until 1 February 2026 This article was originally published in the September/October 2025 print edition of Art Guide Australia." Helen Wright - I  have loved this artist's work for years. And how fortunate we are to have an exhibition of her works showing in Launceston at the QVMAG Royal Park .  Do yourself a favour ! a few of my favourites here that are representative of the diversity.   and i love the titles she comes up 

I took a few photos of the exhibition at the opening and after all the excitement of winning the Curator's Prize I never got back to it. This is the Out of Hand exhibition organised by Stitching and Beyond Hobart. I love these baskets ...   As well as hunting down my own pieces, these are some of the entries that took my eye at the time.  My apologies to those whose names i did not get - if you know please let me know to update my images.   my blog post does not do the exhibition justice - do get along to see it if you are in Hobart.  a few more links here to explore about the 2025 Out of Hand Exhibition - Christie Lange  Salamanca Arts Centre Stitching and Beyond

 click the image to see all Collage at Blackfisharts Gallery

  Swiss Miss (Implosure) 40″x34″; collage on a print of a collage on rag paper; 2015 published  KOLAJ February 2018 On a trip to Switzerland to visit my lovely daughter and future son-in-law in 2013 I was creating collages in between sight seeing.  The final piece above started with this original that came together from Swiss magazines in my collage journal.  Stage1. Stage2. - once i was home again i scanned the original collage and added the red background, smoothed around the image and heightened the contrast in areas.  The image (above) was printed on 40x34" rag paper and I went to work on it - adding more collage elements, stencilling and pastel accents. The final piece, framed in a lovely hardwood, was exhibited in Tasmania in 2017.  See a short (silent) video here  exploring the details.