Biography

I was born in 1972, the Year of the Rat. The youngest of five, I grew up in the leafy suburbs of Melbourne. My open minded parents always supported my yearning to be an artist since the day I put crayon to butcher paper...

At the end of our street was an amazing creek which is where I spent half of my childhood knee deep in the leech filled waters. Animals were a big part of our family (and still are). Our menagerie of pets included many beastlings such as our loyal dogs Mooch & Bill, a constant flow of canaries (all named Charlie), Turtle, lizards, yabbies, tadpoles/frogs, goldfish and my dearest little friend of all, Fergus the duck (we even featured on Simon Townsends Wonderworld, true story!)

Part tomboy with a sprinkling of girlyness, I never really enjoyed school. I relished day-dreaming, aspiring to draw like Dick Bruna, collecting swap cards and watching Ray Harryhausen's phantasmagorical movies. His portrayal of supernatural skeletons, beasts and mythological creatures paved way for my love of fantasy, parallel worlds and all things surreal. His animation was what probably lead to my love of playdoh, ceramics and malleable objects.

In the mid 80's I began hanging out with friends who were part of the Melbourne graffiti scene, consequently these adventures influenced my art greatly and I am a huge devotee of street art. In 1989 after completing Year 12 at Swinburne Tech I studied Architectural Ceramics at Monash University and graduated in 1994. I gained my Teaching degree (primary & secondary) in 2001 at Deakin University and began a Masters of Fine Arts at Monash, Caulfield.

Throughout the years I have worked as an artist in residence, gallery assistant, art technician, exhibited in numerous solo and group shows, created public and privately commissioned art works and design promo posters and CD art for the iconic band The Blackeyed Susans.

I am dead keen on all things Mexicana, natural history, skeletons, traditional folk art, vintage fabric and things that are nice to touch.

My loving husband Karl, little baby Wilhelmina Pearl and Elsie the bull terrior cross live in a big old, semi run-down, part restored Victorian house in Melbourne, Australia. I currently work part time at a Melbourne school teaching Kinder to Year 3 visual arts as well as freelance illustration and devoting time to Little Circus Design.