CHERYLMcCOY

Cheryl, a printmaker of Aboriginal and convict heritage, lives on the Central Coast. Her artistic journey was inspired by the poem ‘The Patience or Ordinary Things’ by Pat Schneider that led her to explore the imaged moments following the arrival of the colonialists at Warrane.

Through her work, Cheryl attempts to visualise the memories and emotions of those who faced the turmoil and unforeseen changes brought by this event – the disruption & destruction of what was familiar. She reflects on the deep yearning of both the Indigenous and convict peoples for the return to the ordinary and the known, capturing their reflections and fleeting moments in her prints, alongside a profound longing for an end to the nightmare.

MICHAELA JAMES

Michaela is inspired by the beauty that can be found in the most prosaic domesticity. Inspired by the beauty in the everyday, challenges her customary more formalist approach to painting still lives. As a result, she believes her work has morphed into something intentionally more abstractly complex, no longer what a still life might be expected to be ‘still’.

Michaela believes committing to her discipline of painting is the way to push boundaries. Working through this commitment, she is challenged to move away from too much harmony between each object. Instead of picking up on the default of figuration such as form, shadow, and weight Michaela finds instead what the painting itself needs. So rather than applying the ‘logic of the form’ instilled from formal training, she looks at the work as a transition from one state to another.

TRUDIE ROCKOFF

Trudie is drawn to painting as a vehicle from which to explore and express herself and for the pure enjoyment of her materials. She enjoys the thrill of discovery, the back and forth of finding the right pathway design for the immediate work and her present state of being.  Adding and subtracting, relating differing elements to each other, building a history of time in paint, charcoal, collage and canvas.  Work often begins by a flash of inspiration used to get things going, this inspiration could come from any object, space, thought or feeling.

Trudie works in an expressive manner combining her intuitive energies with her understanding and consideration of more formal design properties.

TRUDI NISBET

Trudi describes herself as an Environmental artist, with her artwork falling into 2 distinct categories: artworks made with waste and recycled material, and artworks made with plant material.

She is fascinated by the challenge of recreating forms with the manipulation of the unconventional, the unexpected and somewhat ordinary day to day items that are discarded in our society. Her sculptures will often include an element of cheekiness too.

At the same time Trudi is captivated by the striking giant spear like lily with the long slender leaves, Doryanthes Excelsa, more commonly known as Gymea Lily. This plant grows prolifically around her home on the Hawkesbury River, and as a consequence is used frequently in her basketry. The grandeur of this plant alone inspires her to create beautiful utilitarian and decorative baskets that would aspire to receive the same accolades.