I am a feminist artist, who believes in equality, social justice and creativity.  I’ve started a journey to find ways to integrate my life, background, experiences, ethnicity, culture, passions with creativity.

I would like to create art that comes from deep within. I'd love to be able to create art that initiates a dialogue about structural inequalities, perhaps strengthen empathy and solidarity. I create mostly studio art, but hope to move towards stronger solidarities and collaborative art making. 

I've spent most of my working life as a humanitarian aid worker, and lived and worked in Asia, Africa, Middle East, Europe and North America, working with refugees and internally displaced people.  Some years I specialised on programmes addressing violence against women but other years served in senior management or as an independent consultant.  I am a self- taught artist with a Master’s Degree in Development Studies. 

I am  inspired by progressive friendships and readings.  I am especially inspired by friends and organisations working on economic justice, environmental justice, land rights, and social justice and those working to end violence against women. I endeavour to share some of those inspirations here.

My art was not always like this. There were many years when I was focused on learning value, colour, form, shape, line, texture, composition (I am still experimenting with all these) but together with subject, often non-didactic, I see these as the means to start a conversation. I usually start intuitively, often gravitate towards abstract expressionism and only in the later stages of creation do I bring a more analytical eye.

Though self-taught, I have been mentored by various creative practitioners in the different countries where I have lived.  I started creating art in 2006, to counter stress and burn out, initially taught by exiled refugee artists.  In the course of life and work in different places I developed an appreciation for a multitude of art styles and artistic expressions. 

Although my work has brought me to many countries, I see myself very much a part of the local community where I live close to the woods and lake. I am supremely conscious of this privilege, along with the privilege of education, travel, loving relationships, safe home, food on the table, roof over my head, health care, and identity documents.  All these are human rights but these days, they feel like privileges.

I feel a long way from knowing that what I create comes from the soul, from my deeper experience, representing who I am.  But the fire has been kindled.  And a fire, once started, needs to get bigger or die.

Thank you for joining me in this journey.