Finding Sanctuary, Strength, and Pure Joy in Everyday Art
For some artists, the path to a creative life is a straight line. For others, it is woven quietly through the margins of full-time work, motherhood, and life’s unexpected twists. For our latest featured artist, creativity has never been a choice—it has been a anchor, a form of mental yoga, and a lifelong companion. We sat down with her to chat about her creative origin story, how art became her sanctuary during life-changing moments, and why creating locally is the ultimate prescription for wellbeing.
The Spark: A Childhood Woven in Fabric and Thread
Her earliest creative memories are wrapped in nostalgia, sitting alongside her mum and aunty. "I remember finding square fabrics, fringing the edges, and sewing buttons on them," she recalls. "I was always drawing, and my mum was too. I loved those memories with her." By age eight, she picked up knitting needles for the first time—a daily practice she still maintains every single morning. "I had to knit and create; it grounded me. It was my mental yoga. I still knit every morning while I think about my day." Even though high school electives took her toward French rather than formal art classes, her creative spark never dimmed. In her spare time, she painted Jimi Hendrix posters and portraits. In her early 20's and a young mum, she took her first official drawing classes with a local group, eventually moving on to study fine art and ceramics at East Sydney TAFE.
Fitting Art Into the Margins of Life
Like many makers, balancing art with life's demands required resilience. As a single mum working full-time in the medical field, spare hours were rare—but creativity always found a way. She made her own clothes and took fine art units whenever she could. After moving to Perth, she continued her studies at the Claremont School of Art and Carine TAFE, always fitting classes around work and family. Later, she pivoted her career to becoming a florist and eventually running Woodlands Florist. Then came a pivotal moment. At age 51, a diagnosis of a lung tumor shifted everything." It was a life-changing moment. So I sold the florist shop and decided I had to pursue what I truly wanted to do. Paint. Art. Be devoted to it." Now, two decades post-diagnosis, she has been painting, exhibiting, and selling her work. She started with watercolours to protect her lungs, moved to acrylics, and eventually embraced oils—proving that a diagnosis couldn't stop her drive to create.
Decompressing, Pure Joy, and the Magic of Plein Air
For her, art is a way to decompress and experience moments of unclouded joy. "I like to paint from life. Having my music playing and getting lost in it decompresses me," she shares. "When you're an artist, you're constantly seeing shape, color, light, and forms all around you. I can't imagine life without creating. If you're a creative person, you're never bored, and you enjoy your own company." Her favorite approach is plein air—a French term for painting outdoors. "Painting from life is so different from painting from a photo," she explains. Whether she is capturing expansive landscapes, coastal seascapes, or intimate domestic scenes of homes and sanctuaries, turning a blank canvas into something new brings continuous delight.
Rooted in the Local Community
Her connection to our neighborhood runs deep. Having lived in Woodlands for 42 years, running a local florist, and raising two generations of children through the local school system, she is woven into the very fabric of the community. When she isn't in her studio, you’ll find her biking around Jackadder Lake and Herdsman Lake, taking inspiration from our local coastline, or traveling around Australia with her visual travel diary in hand. She sets up her easel besides a river, ocean, or rural setting painting in oil, water colours, arcylic or pastels.
"Fellow artists are commonly alone in their creativity, but the friendships made along the way support you in your pursuits," she says. "There’s very little competitiveness in our local network—you need people backing and supporting you to keep the creative life going."
When traveling around Australia, she keeps a visual travel diary using pen and water colours to capture the journey as it unfolds.
The Reality of the "Business" Side of Art
While painting brings pure joy, managing an art business requires serious discipline. Leveraging her administrative background, she carefully schedules and time-manages her painting days, exhibition entries, and planning.
“The business side can take a quiet bit of time. Just entering an exhibition can take half a day if you’re lucky,” she notes.
She is candid about the current climate for independent creatives:
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Exhibition Costs: Entering community art competitions now costs around $30 to $50 per entry, plus the cost of materials, framing, and time—with no guarantee of a sale.
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The Current Market: Selling art in today’s economy is tough and unpredictable compared to a decade ago. “If you depended strictly on art sales for survival right now, you would be very stressed,” she admits.
To adapt, she is opening up her home studio for an Open Studio event on September 6th (weather dependent)—a brave move encouraged by fellow artists to bypass expensive entry fees and connect directly with art lovers in a warm, personal setting. She also specialises in custom artwork commissions, helping locals capture scenes or homes of special personal significance.
How We Can Support Our Local Artists
Her passion aligns seamlessly with The Locals’ mission: creating a space where people can come together, share knowledge, and make art accessible.
“Art is great therapy, and the community benefits immensely when offered creative outlets,” she reflects. “We all need strategies to deal with the day-to-day. Creativity is a tool to decompress, build something, and complete it.”
How you can support her creative journey:
Commission a Piece: Have a scene, home, or memory brought to life on canvas through a custom artwork commission.
Visit the Open Studio: Save the date for September 6th to drop by her studio, view her collection, and chat in person.
Join Her Workshop: Attend her upcoming Ladies Art Club session at the Stirling Women’s Shed!
Catch Her at the Ladies Art Club!
We are so excited that she will be hosting an upcoming Ladies Art Club night with us at the Stirling Women's Shed! She’ll be sharing pages from her visual travel diaries and teaching participants pen-and-paint techniques to help everyone capture their own everyday moments. Whether you’re a seasoned painter or haven't picked up a brush since school, come pull up a chair, learn from a local, and discover the grounding joy of creative play.
