I love to take the road less travelled
Biography
Conceived Lake Victoria, Tanganyika. Born Lincolnshire, England. Brought up in Canada. Based in Fremantle, Australia. My wanderlust has taken me around the world and through several careers.
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I create paintings, installations, and sculptures inspired by my travels. My art focuses on the natural world. I engage in research about place, memory and community to create responsive works. I studied Natural History illustration at the University of Newcastle, Australia. My passion for wildlife environments has led me study of creatures of the sea, land and air in my artworks, featured in several exhibitions. My botanical work extends into installations for the York Botanic Art Prize, Crown Casino Resorts, FORM, the City of Claremont, and a community art-making project in Myanmar. My work tells stories, stirs the senses, and makes people smile.
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I began as an Interior architect in Canada and the UK. I moved to Australia to establish the interior architecture department at Curtin University. My research focused on placemaking, community building and indigenous spatial meaning. This led to consulting to FORM, facilitating workshops for clusters of artist-makers in developing, exhibiting, and marketing new products.​
I have exhibited in Australia, Italy and Myanmar. I have curated exhibitions and written books on social sustainability and community engagement. I am part of a network of collaborators who initiate artist-led, community-engaged projects for activating public spaces and connecting people.
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My award-winning creative work won funding from the Australian ASEAN Council (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Australia Council for the Arts, Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries, Government of Western Australia, the City of Fremantle, the Shire of Collie and Curtin University. I hold a Master of Design and a Bachelor of Interior Architecture.
Publications
​Yangon Alley Garden: A trail of paper flowers between Myanmar and Fremantle VIEW
Meet the Artists: Spring Floral Installation at Crown Perth VIEW
Femme Rebelle Magazine October 2025 VIEW
Riches of Isolation: unearthing the Creative potential of Western Australia VIEW
An Interior Affair VIEW
Facilitating Cultural Transformation: Redefining Indigenous identity through architecture VIEW
M² Models and Methodologies for Community Engagement
Editors: R. Tiwari, M. Lommerse & D. Smith, Springer, Singapore, 2014 VIEW
Perspectives on Social Sustainability and Interior Architecture
Editors: D. Smith, M. Lommerse & Priya Metcalfe, Springer, Singapore, 2014 VIEW
Exhibitions
Artwalk Freo 24
Fremantle, Australia, 2024
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York Botanic Art Prize 23
Gallery 152, York, Australia, 2023
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Yangon Alley Garden
Curator: Leonie Mathews, Old Mariner’s Gallery, Fremantle, Australia, 2021
Riches of Isolation: traversing Western Australia’s Treasures
Found and Sorted Gallery, Fremantle, Australia, 2022
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Botanica Art Exhibition: Symbiosis
Curator: J. Dunstan, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney, Australia, 2018
Beauty from the Bush: Botanical art of Western Australian Flora
Curator: Susan Radford, Avocado Gallery, Perth, Australia, 2018
Leech-Partington Botanical Art Prize Exhibition
Denmark y Gallery, Denmark, Australia, 2021
Sea Circus: A magical mystery tour of the underwater world
Kidogo Gallery, Fremantle, 2014
Off the Page
Curator: Katrina Longo. Claremont Town Centre, Perth, Australia, 2019
Public2016 Platform
Curator: FORM Curatorial Team, FORM Gallery, Perth, Australia, 2016
Public2016 Platform
Urban Art Festival, Curator: FORM Curatorial Team, FORM Gallery, Perth, Australia, 2016
Public2015
Urban Art Festival, Curator: FORM Curatorial Team, FORM Gallery, Perth, Australia, 2015
An Interior Affair
Curator: IDEA Curatorial Team, FORM Gallery, Perth, Australia, 2012
Works in collections
Language of Flowers: Spring Flower Gallop \ Installation
Crown Perth, Crown Towers, Perth, Australia, 2018 VIEW
Language of Flowers: Fashion Meets Flowers \ Installation
Lakeside Joondalup, Joondalup, Australia, 2016
The Language of Flowers: Chandelier \ Installation
Perth Royal Flower Show. Shenton Park, Australia, 2016
Carnaby’s Food Forest \ Placemaking Mural
City of Fremantle. Florence Community Park, South Fremantle, Australia, 2016
Emus Fleeing \ Mural
Terra Rosa Consulting. South Fremantle, Australia, 2015
Collie Mural Trail \ Three Separate Murals
Collie Shire, Collie, Australia, 2020 VIEW
Collie Mural Trail
Awards
People’s Choice Award, York Botanic Art Prize 23
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Finalist, York Botanic Art Prize 23
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Finalist, Australian Awards for University Teaching
Yangon Alley Garden – A Community Based Art Project
Association of Southeast Asian Nations Council Grants (ASEAN)
Australian Department of Finance and Trade, 2019-20
The Language of Flowers \ Placemaking Installation
FORM PUBLIC2016 PLATFORM. Claremont, Australia, 2016
Nest: New Nomads \ Placemaking Installation
FORM PUBLIC2016 PLATFORM. Claremont, Australia, 2016
Residencies
Yangon Alley Garden AIR | Making Place Through Craft and Community in Yangon
Yangon, Myanmar & Fremantle, Australia 2020 & 2021
Australian Fellow, Domain de Boisbuchet
2014 – 2020 (Lessac, France)
Boisbuchet runs art and design workshops and traveling exhibitions in cooperation with the Pompidou Centre (Paris).
My role was to facilitate partnerships in the Australian arts and culture community.
Bramley National Park Arts Residency \ Flora & Fauna of Bramley National Park
Bramley National Park, Australia, 2016 & 2017
RSPCA Artist-in-Residence \ Animals Promenading \ Placemaking Mural
RSPCA WA, Malaga, Australia, 2020/21
Mountain Seas Arts Residency
Flinders Island, Tasmania, Australia, 2017
EMPLOYMENT
Associate Professor, Curtin University, School of the Built Environment
1993 – 2013 (Perth, Australia)
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Managing Director, Marshall Cummings Associates (now MC/IBI)
1986 – 1993 (Calgary, Canada)
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Studio Manager and Staff Training Consultant, Marshall Cummings Marsh
1992 – 1993 Secondment (London, England)