42cm x 31cm x 1cm

Found objects on platter

This piece is worked in Jacobean embroidery, surrounded by beautiful objects from my personal collection. The Jacobean era holds a special place in my heart — a rich and beautiful period of history, spanning 1603 to 1625, following the reign of Elizabeth I and marking the start of King James I reign.

I come from the fashion world, where I've always had a love for beautiful things in fashion, art and history. As a designer, I was lucky enough to create beautiful pieces of clothing with amazing fabrics, specialising in corsetry and tailoring. One of my favourite designers from that era is John Galliano.

My love for collecting goes back to childhood, growing up with my grandparents. I remember being taken to the local tip or wrecker's yard for a scrummage, or led into an op shop hunting for a forgotten treasure. That instinct has stayed with me ever since.

I later worked as a makeup artist, where colour came into play in everything I did and I loved creating beautiful images.

After a career built on beauty and creativity, I arrived at creating visual masterpieces through the art of embroidery. Today, as a textile artist with an Australian Heritage background, I collect beautiful vintage objects to use in my work. History is a large part of my oeuvre — in a world that so easily throws things away, I want to keep history alive. Obsessed with colour and fabrics, I use hand embroidery to transform collected objects that were once loved into loved-again visual masterpieces.