Clare Walton

Artist's Statement

"As a child I was always interested in painting, design, drawing, basically any form of creative expression."

"After leaving school at age 17 I kind of let my artwork go until I enrolled at age 22 at the Sydney Institute of Technology (TAFE) and undertook a 1 year course in Custom Clothing from there I went on to study millinery at East Sydney Tafe and upon completing the course I created headwear for various small designer outlets in Sydney."

"Within six months I relocated to Melbourne and started to establish myself a bit more with the millinery work by doing market stalls and setting up a studio warehouse space in Fitzroy with artists of various mediums. Once living in Melbourne though I was inspired to turn back to painting and drawing, taking up pavement art for a while though still keeping the millinery going. I entered the Melbourne Fringe Fashion Awards and my work was then selected to be used for an ABC Television Series, Raw FM. It was whilst I was living in Melbourne I also became interested in putting together events that incorporated, music, dance, fashion and art. The first event I staged was The Friends of the Earth 1st Annual Ball and Exhibition."

"After 12 months of residing in Melbourne I took off overseas and travelled around England, Scotland, India, Israel and various other parts of the Globe. During my travels I became involved with various Humanitarian and Environmental organisations. I was invited to exhibit and curate an art exhibition for World Voices UK Conference and Festival Awakenings 1999 held at the Royal Festival Hall London. This was an event that featured speakers as varied as Anita Rodderick, The Body Shop Founder, Vandana Shiva, Indian physicist, feminist and ecologist, Pierre Sane director General of Amnesty International and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jose Ramos Horta."

"After travelling for a few more months I returned to Australia and was then invited to exhibit and work as an Artists Assistant for Construction in Progress VII 2001, held in Bydgosx, Poland by the International Artists Museum. From there I travelled to Ireland where for 14 months I based myself in Cork city and re-emersed myself in my painting. Whilst living in Cork I was invited to be the Artistic Director for the Mallow International Homes and Garden Festival. This involved converting a disused and rubbished filled trainer and jockeys change room into a 1st class gallery space, selecting artists to exhibit and all promotion for this particular part of the festival. I invited artists from across Australia, Ireland and Europe culminating in an eclectic and vibrant exhibition."

"In 2002 I returned to Australia and since then I have been painting fairly steadily. I have also ventured into wearable arts and was a finalist in the Shearwater Wearable Arts Competition in 2003. My work is very much influenced by my various travels and of course I have not finished travelling yet. I mostly work in acrylics and at present I am experimenting with 3d effects within my work using various objects from feathers through to glass and sliver wire."

"I base myself between Sydney and Northern New South Wales and plan to travel back to India again within the next 2 years and set up a studio there for 12 months to concentrate fully on my painting and spiritual development. For me they are linked together and you can not have one without the other. I am also venturing further with my wearable art and I am also creating a collection of hand crafted wire jewellery. I currently work from my Sydney based home/studio and shall be travelling north again soon to also set up a studio space in Burringbar. I am also looking to become involved with public art works but at present I am working on building up a stronger portfolio and establishing myself more fully in my home country."
Clare Walton