From a very young age I knitted and made my own clothes. I loved new balls of wool and rolls of fabric, both of these materials restricted me without a pattern……..so I thought.
I wanted to create my own designer knitwear; I made up a design on a graph only to discover that a single stitch was wider than it’s length, so I had to create a new graph.
I had always been a traditional knitter, working with knitting techniques didn’t faze me and I worked with minimal colour combination, I felt under control but I also wanted to create something different.
I sketched, painted and experimented with new knitting techniques which I incorporated into my designs and to knit one jumper as a sample piece. It took me a month and every minute of my busy schedule to realize that my dream of becoming a designer in textiles was either going to take a very long time or would never happen at all. The cost of wool for me was expensive as I only worked with pure wool. I entered a competition in the early 1980's organized by the Wool Corporation, being so long ago I truly can't remember the result, I didn't win but this did not deter me from continuing with my passion.
[entry for Wool Corporation competition and a jumper commissioned for overseas]
As a result of the competition a company based in Melbourne asked me to design a range of ‘Australiana’ knitwear for a fashion exhibition to be held overseas with the aim of future exports.
I grabbed the assignment to design ten adult and four junior jumper designs. Looking for inspirations I jumped into books about our native animals, insects, and plants, Aboriginal dream times and of course childrens books like 'Possum Magic' for my inspiration. My theme was obviously going to be 'Australiana'.
I searched for beautiful fibers of wool and was amazed with the range of gorgeous colours that were available.
[sample collections]
The exhibition was successful and traveled from Japan and America and then onto the United Kingdom.
Later I created fabric designs but only on paper. Now I am ready and eager to have a go at print making.
This experience gave me a thirst for learning but life experiences were not enough and I needed qualifications.
I successfully completed an Advance Diploma of Arts (Electronic Design & Multimedia) at Swinburne University. I found I had developed knowledge and skills in areas that I had never thought to look.
I became an ‘Electronic & Interactive Designer’ and won the AGDA Award for 1989 (Australian Graphic Design Association) for an educational CD Rom for pre-school and primary school age children. I am now teaching in art and design.
For the past 12 years I have attended AGideas, a three-day art & design conference event held in Melbourne.
Forty or more designers, artists, writers, sculptures, actors, musicians etc from around the world gather to present their works, experiences and innovations to students, teachers and industry folk.
I find the conference exhilarating, inspirational, sometimes confronting but always exhausting.
I leave there with new ideas some of which I implement into my own creative designs and as a teacher.
I am also a student once again, attending a course in Diploma of Arts in Textiles, at Box Hill Institute. This is a three year part time course which I fit around my full time teaching duties and I love it.
I have met wonderful creative people and educators who are willing to share their ideas and skills. There is such a burst of energy and colour when entering the classroom.
I believe I am on a journey, learning new techniques, observing, experimenting and at this stage allowing my emotions to be visual communicated with tactile objects. Exhausting yes!, but I love it.
One day, I will call myself an Artist but I don’t think I can ever fit into any one category in this creative field.
