I have been involved in arts practice for forty years. Chronologically speaking my first passion was for dance and movement. I have performed, choreographed, taught and directed both as a soloist, as part of a company and in many community based projects. My dance interest morphed from classical ballet, to contemporary dance, to animal based movement, trapeze and improvisational movement theatre. I have also been involved in performance art and multi media events.
This work has been wonderfully varied, stimulating and fun. I was the dance specialist at the Melbourne Zoo for fifteen years, have performed on trapezes in California, as a roast chicken at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, performed as a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo with Dance Works, amongst Rodin sculptures at the National Gallery, with Theatre of the Ordinary in many improvised productions and festivals. My teaching has included two decades of lecturing at the University of Melbourne at both the undergraduate and post graduate levels and at both the TAFE and Higher Education divisions of the Arts Academy of the University of Ballarat.
Presently I am interested in collaborating with others in performance projects. I was part of the Creswick contribution to Regional Arts Victoria’s Illuminated By Fire project in 2011 and am the choreographer for a Steam Punk performance project with Ken Evans and Rebecca Russell in 2012.
My extensive background in and passion for movement has led me on to my current absorption in photography. Dance has given me an eye for composition and the interplay of space and light. I have always been engaged by the natural world. In dance this led me to the development of Animotions, my animal based movement style and technique. In my photography a love of nature reveals itself in images of shapes, textures and forms along rivers and waterways.
I am interested in process and developing new approaches toward photography. My recent photos frame the beauty and ambiguity of river beds seen through moving water. They are often printed on paper made from vegetation collected at the photographic site, thus physically connecting with the source. This layered approach of technique and process creates complex artworks that evoke a multitude of imagery. I am fascinated by the interplay of natural forms and processes and am forever intrigued by my role within the perception and creation of the final product.
In both my theatre and photographic work I have received many grants. Mostly though I have persisted because I can’t help myself. My creative juices continue to bubble away. I love discovering weird coincidences, beautiful juxtapositions, quirky activities and relationships between people and things. I am for ever curious about my surroundings and love sharing that creatively. ….. Always up for a project!