Welcome!

My life has always had art in it somewhere as my mother is a painter and printmaker and even my father who is a dentist has dabbled in painting and sculpture. Oddly enough, a lot of jewellery making tools are the same as in Dentistry.

Ventures into artistic expression for me started when my art teacher at Teachers Training college (I was going to be a Special Ed Teacher) gave me some Batik stuff to take home and play over the Easter holidays. I was hooked and quit teaching. I have dabbled in silk painting, hand-painted manchester and recycling clothes to give them a new life, semi-seriously for the last 19 years (with a big gap while my children were little). I have also had a go at ceramics, silver-smithing and beading.

A frustration with being unable to find beads locally, that I could afford to put in my jewellery, as I was particularly keen on big focals, made me look at the possibility of making them myself. I had heard of classes at the McGregor Summer School in bead making. I hadn't even heard of "lampworking" until I enrolled for the course (may not have needed to had I found the lampworking sites first ... but everything happens for a reason ... right?). I began to look at websites, saw the possibilities and became very excited. The 9 day course was everything I had hoped and more. I have found a medium which challenges and excites me more than anything I have tried before. The possibilities seem endless. I have also included Precious Metal Clay (PMC) in my work, which brings with it even more possibilities…don’t think I could ever be bored.

Apart from my artistic endeavours I am a home educating mother of two girls who are incredible little teachers and bring me back to earth when needed. I have a very supportive and clever partner who is an environmental horticulturist and a motorcycle nut. If I’m mentioning my family, I also have to include our 2 dogs, 3 horses, lunatic magpie, 20 odd chickens, with 3 very happy roosters, 4 rats, and a fish. We live on 18 acres, surrounded by farms, that requires some serious tree planting, but it is very peaceful and allows the girls heaps of freedom to be kids. Bliss.

I love good food, music and friends, walking, gardening, Op shopping, singing (loudly and badly) and just hanging out with my family.

I began this neck of my journey in January 2006 and believe I have truly found an artistic field that feeds my soul. Through this website you can travel with me on this wonderful path and I hope it will bring a little sunshine into your life, as it does mine.

 Susan.