Gulf Streams - a new series

The Studio Art Quilt Association (SAQA) is an organisation where you can take as much or as little as you need - quite literally. About the middle of 2010 it felt like I was on a launch pad, engines burbling and ready for lift off. These days I'm in outer space, tethered lovingly to the ground by a few people and organisations whose influence, input and encouragement  have guided my professional development as an artist. SAQA's mentoring and visioning programs have offered me the support and tools to transition from "passionate quilter" to "professional artist". Part of that professional development relates to the creation of bodies of works, and Gulf Streams is a new series that will be my focus over coming weeks... and months. The lino cut was inspired by  my time working with the Mornington Island community in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The cliffs on one part of the island meet the swirling waters of the Gulf and the debris of washed up offerings lies on the upper most tidal mark. Dugong, turtle and crocodile inhabit the fast moving waters. Exquisitely large snakes frequent the warm road shoulders in the late afternoons.  Mornington, Bentink and Sweers Islands are some of the most beautiful and unmolested places on earth and I hope the yet-to-be created series goes some way to doing that beauty justice.