Influenced by Place

If I am going to be brutally honest, I never thought that I would be inspired by a hot and tropical place. In fact, I detest the heat and humidity. Not only does the climate affect me but it affects the process of printing. So, when I moved to Brisbane in the peak of summer this year I was certain that my business would crumble and that my inspiration and ideas would dissolve. To my surprise this did not happen!

I’ve always talked about my travels to Europe and how proud I am of my Polish heritage. I am always saying at exhibitions how my work speaks of cultural diaspora and tradition... But now I am not so certain. I think that my etchings reveal a personal history. Similarly, to this historical technique, the metal plate is honest, true and sometimes ruthless. You can’t hide what is etched in the metal. I find my artwork subconsciously and consciously reveals my connection to wherever I am, the people I meet, the food I taste, smells, thoughts and the experiences I have. It is unavoidable because there is no separation between me and my artwork.

In my short few months of living in Brisbane I have been on a roller coaster. I moved twice briefly and finally settled in a lovely Queenslander home. Then I had to figure out how my income would be viable here so I chatted to galleries, boutiques and shops to try and get my work into places. I networked and joined the printmaking committee to create connections as well as friends – as I knew no one here… But then corona virus hit. Just to make matters a little more complicated!

And just when I thought the virus was going to be the last straw for me, a complete blessing grew.

I started to relax.

Merely because I couldn’t leave the house, I had no one to see as I didn’t know anyone, I couldn’t network or really do anything. So, with nothing to actually 'do', my brain started to relax and destress from all the moving and chaos and ideas began to flourish. I started to notice all the colourful butterflies and flowers on my walks. I particularly love the blue butterflies as I had never seen them in real life. There were also jungle plants everywhere which I remember was such a novelty in Melbourne!

With so many sweet ideas and inspiration coming in, I bought some copper etching plates and got to work. I am currently working on tiny scale etchings in comparison to my large etching plates that I have made previously. My next body of work will be small scale, delicate, detailed and extensively hand painted. Although I think all my exhibitions will be closed for 2020 I will be putting new pieces up on my website gallery, Instagram and Facebook.

Scroll down to see a sneak peak of what I have been working on.