Women's Salon 2010: Place and Belonging Exhibition A sense of place is an evolving process, which involves the passage of time, the revisiting of places and the developing of emotional relationships, through which meaningful stories are born. The head is where our sense of place is constructed, where we get our bearings and where we create our associations which give that place its meaning. My identity in relationship to the place is conveyed through the placement of the head within this environment, that is depicted as an abstracted, aerial map. The landscape is transformed from merely a space into a place, through multiple associations and connections which is depicted through the etching of my daily journeys.

I had the great privilege to have worked at Dacou Gallery for the duration of the exhibition of Emily K Kngwarreye retrospective. Here is a painting I did many years ago as a tribute and response to Emily Kngwarreye. Her work opened my heart and painters eye to a way of seeing that still to this day resonates with my approach to painting. More and more I find myself drawn to expressing my story and connection through the flattening of the plane and the placement of colour to create a resonance of feeling and tension on the canvas. I love her individuality, her resilience and her many varied hats. I hope to have the opportunity soon to work alongside some of our most innovative and inspirational desert artists.

It is with some delight that i can add an entry to my blog and this time with an accompanying artwork. This work, "A Gentle Reminder" is interesting for me because I am integrating a couple of different or evolving techniques into a single work. The idea of ones heart and mind being separate at times of stress or anger or disappointment and to protect oneself, the walls go up and soon one loses that essential connection we need to function truly. When the head and heart are in sync or at least "talking" to each other. Then one needs a gentle reminder from that voice in ones head and maybe a small gesture to connect back to the heart, a step ladder that links them again. The surrounding landscape is bright but fragmented and the space within which the body/mind inhabits is unreal but evocative of a place. I enjoyed working on this piece, and I hope it will serve as a gentle reminder to me and anyone who resonates with the work, that it is important to stay connected to one's true self. #Vacation #AGentleReminder