about me
I have worked as an artist for over three decades. I went to art school in Brisbane and my early practice was based there. In 2009, I relocated to rural Tasmania, initially running a native flower farm on turrakana/Tasman Peninsula. I found a new engagement and fascination with the complex Tasmanian environment, discovering that the natural world was much more present, potent and commanding than it had been in suburban Brisbane - Tasmania is a place where you don’t just see the landscape, its vastness demands attention. I was drawn to my new surroundings and, in an inevitable way, the landscape became my principle subject matter, moving through a transitional stage that combined my early investigations of feminism and gender with the new attraction of my immediate surroundings.
A dramatic change in my practice came with the birth of my youngest child, who has complex health needs and requires a high level of support and care. I shifted my art practice to printmaking, a method of creation that can be easily separated into distinct stages and processes. Specifically, I took up relief printing, carving images into lino. This process proved to be one that I could pick up and put down as commitments permitted, allowing me to work arounds the demands of life. The process of cutting also proved meditative, allowing me to refine my skills and produce striking, complex images of the Tasmanian bush. I print in my home studio, and individually colour each print with watercolour.
A move five years ago from turrakana to the foothills of kunanyi above Hobart found me discovering new subject matter: the alpine environment of the mountain. This unique place, filled with alpine flora and dramatic geology of lichen encrusted boulders, has given me near-endless inspiration as I investigate and explore the region I now reside in.
I am recognised as a skilled printmaker by the broader printmaking community in nipaluna/Hobart. I have taught and shared skills through Hunter Island Press and am a member of the Print Council of Australia. I exhibit regularly, having work included in recent exhibitions at the Rosny Farm complex, The Derwent Valley Arts Association, Wild Island Gallery in Salamanca and Cuckoo in Cygnet. I have been the winner of the Material Girl Premiers Award (Regional Arts Tasmania) and the Highly Commended award at the 2024 Bay of Fires Art Prize. I have been a finalist in state and national juried art prizes. I hold a degree in Visual Arts (Hons) from Queensland University of Technology.
Contact me gracegladdish@live.com
