Biography
After training as a weaver in the USA, I returned to Australia in 1977 and subsequently established a production weaving workshop in Sydney in 1979 where I trained apprentices in my studio. In the early 80's, I established the Barr Street Weavers in Sydney and also worked as a community artist training rural and urban educators working in out of school centres, travelling extensively around NSW.
From 1983 – 2003 I taught visual arts in the Faculty of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong.
2003 - onwards Studio based practice including printmaking, producing artist books, sculpting, teaching workshops, curating and travelling.
For a list of exhibitions please visit the exhibitions page HERE
Collections
State Library of NSW; National Library of Australia, ACT.; National Gallery of Australia ACT; Power House Museum, Sydney, New South Wales; Queensland Art Gallery; Aralu-an Art Gallery, Alice Springs Northern Territory: University of Southern Queensland; Uni-versity of Wollongong New South Wales; Wollongong City Art Gallery, New South Wales; Goulburn Regional Gallery, New South Wales; NERAM Armidale NSW, Mackay Region-al Gallery Queensland, Australia; Flinders University Collection, South Australia; Art Gal-lery of NSW, Sydney Australia, Carleton College, Minnesota USA; Washington State University, USA; Can Serrat Spain; private collections in Australia and overseas.
Professional Experience
University Fellow Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Wollongong, NSW Australia, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer & Co-ordinator of Visual Arts in the Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Wollongong, NSW Australia, since 1984; Director of the Faculty Art Gallery for six years.
Recent curation experience: ‘Prelude’ Exhibition 2023 followed by “Crescendo’ Artist Book Award 2025 at Clifton School of Arts.
2023 Printmaking Residency in Aviario Studios, Portugal
| 2017 | Residency - March - Vermont Studio Centre, USA |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Residency - October - Xochi Quetzal, Chapala Mexico |
| 2015 | Residency - La Muse France, Documentary-Art, France |
| 2014 | Artist residency in Milazzo Sicily Co-curated Collected Connected & Cut - an exhibition of Artist Books |
| 2013 | Artist residency, Can Serrat, Spain Attended Codex Book Fair, San Francisco one of three judges the East Gippsland Art Gallery artist book prize |
| 2012 | Artist in Residence for Julia and David Foundation, Costa Rica |
| 2011 | Workshop tutor - Fibre Arts at Ballarat Artist Residency Vermont Studio Center, Vermont USA Invited artist - V1 International Textile Biennial Mexico |
| 2010/11 | Workshop tutor artist books - Stuart Town summer School |
| 2009 | Workshop tutor artist books - Stuart Town summer School Particiapnt in CODEX artist book Fair, San Francisco USA Artist Residency at Vermont Studio Center, Vermont USA |
| 2008 | workshop tutor Fibres Ballarat - Victoria workshop tutor Fibres West - Western Australia workshop tutor in conjunction with Momentum, Tamworth Textile Biennial |
| 2007 | Artist in Residence NERAM, Armidale NSW Artist in Residence Skopelos, Greece Curator Milestones 1 & 11 for Art, Heritage & Place Project Wollongong Workshop tutor Sturt summer School |
| 2006 | Workshop tutor in artist books in New Zealand and Geelong Victoria |
| 2005 | Artist in Residence Quark Polar Expeditions, Antarctic Expedition Lecturer Paper & Book Intensive Colorado USA |
| 2004 | Visiting Artist Residency at NERAM, Armidale NSW Artist in Residence Quark Polar Expeditions, Arctic Expedition |
| 2003 | Visiting Artist Skopelos Art Foundation, Greece |
| 2002 | Curator of an exibition of Australian paper artists to show in Japan |
| 1999 | Selected as a participant in Northern Fibre 111 held in Jutland Denmark Selected as 1 of 3 Australian artists to exhibit in the International Tapestry Triennale in Lodz, Poland |
| 1994 | Cite Internationale Studio Paris, Art gallery of New South Wales studio 3 month residency. Visiting Lecturer Marmara University Istanbul, Turkey Healthy Cities Award for Contribution Towards Community Arts in the Wollongong Area |
| 1993-4 | Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade grant for travelling Student Exhibition to Turkey |
| 1983-4 | Australia Council Trainee Grants for training in weaving workshop |
| 1979-83 | Established production weaving workshop in Sydney Australia working with apprenticeship training program; also worked as a community artist with Community Activities Network from 1978, training rural and urban educators working in out of school centres. |
Publications
2025 Between the Sheets-Artist books - catalogue
RSVP Print exchange between Firestation & SHP catalogue
2023 Redefining the Basket - catalogue, A Distant Presence - catalogue, Belonging - catalogue
2021 I see you See - catalogue
2020 On the Edge catalogue
2017 Continuum - catalogue, Out of the Illawarra SHP, NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting prize - catalogue
2016 Nonesuch Art on Paper/Nova Scotia - catalogue
2011 Australian Contemporary Artists in Afghanistan catalogue, V1 Bienal Internacional de Arte Textil catalogue
2010 Recycled Library: Altered books - catalogue
2009 Shapes of Longing - catalogue
2008 Searching for Asphodels - catalogue, Momentum - catalogue
2007 Imprint – Spring ’07 review of Wanderlust by Virginia Jay, Textile Fibre Forum, issue 4, # 88 Wanderlust review by Kathryn Orton
IAPMA Journal Nov ‘07 – Journeys Article Liz Jeneid
Milestones – curator, catalogue foreword
2006/7 Wanderlust - Artist book catalogue
2004 Undercover - Artist Book Catalogue
2002 Departures & Paperworks 2002 Ino, Japan. catalogues
2000/1 Lake Mungo Revisited – catalogue
Common Ground - catalogue
1999 Northern Fibre - Hidden Treasures - catalogue
1998 9th Internationale Tapestry Triennale - catalogue
1996 Below the Surface catalogue essay.P54,56 Derivations - catalogue essay
Second Look- catalogue essay Prospect Gallery S.A.
TAASA Review - The Turkish Connection
1995 Crossing Borders catalogue essay Sue Rowley p. 28-29
Intersection Catalogue, Wollongong City Gallery Publication
Periphery, catalogue essay by Diana Wood Conroy Issue no.22 Feb'95 p30-31
1994 Discerning Textiles catalogue essay Jennifer Lamb
Anthology of the Illawarra edit by Ron Pretty
1992 Imprint- Reflections on the Artist Book Summer 1992 Vol 27 #4 NSW
Textile Fibre Forum #33 Artists of the Illawarra p.27
Grace Cochrane, The Crafts Movement in Australia- a History p.11,215,358,363, pub NSW Univ Press '92
1991 The Covering - catalogue, The Book and Print Show - catalogue
Residencies, Study & Research Overseas
2018 Residency Document-Art, Peyriac-de-Mer France
2017 Residency - March - Vermont Studio Centre, USA
2016 Residency - October - Xochi Quetzal, Chapala Mexico
2015 Residency - La Muse France, Documentary-Art, France
2010-2014 Residencies and travel in Sicily, Spain, Peru & Costa Rica, New Mexico USA
2005-2009 Residencies and travel in San Francisco, Vermont & New York USA, Paris, Istanbul
Vietnam & Laos, Cyprus, Greece, Spain - Mallorca, Menorca, Mallaga Regions, Israel, Paris, Antarctica
2000-2004 Iceland, Greenland, Canada, Italy, Skopelos Foundation Greece, Cambodia & Japan
1989-1999 Northern Fibre 111 Denmark, India, Europe for lecturing in France, Finland & Estonia
Marmara Turkey for textile lecturer in residence, Istanbul to mount UOW Student Exhibition, Residency at Cite Paris
Japan, Hungary for Paper & Book Conference, France, UK, Artist Book Fair Washington USA, Yemen, Switzerland, Japan