In 2011, while both working at the Corban Estate Arts Centre in Henderson, I began a collaboration with fellow artist Jolie Hutchings. Over the course of a year, we developed a series of mixed-media works that combined our distinct artistic voices into unified visual compositions. The collaboration culminated in an exhibition at the Lake House Arts Centre in May 2012.

Each piece was a true co-creation: I painted the backgrounds, working with acrylics and oils to build expressive, emotionally resonant environments. Jolie then responded to these backgrounds with her signature fine-detail work, layering silhouetted birds, branches, and other natural forms with a refined hand. This interplay of bold abstraction and delicate figuration created a dynamic tension between the intuitive and the precise, the internal and the observational.

With over 15 years of experience in sculpture and painting, my practice at the time was grounded in material exploration and a deep interest in the unconscious. Jolie, a self-taught ceramicist known for her 1950s-inspired wall hangings and brooches, brought a sharp eye for detail and narrative to the collaboration. Though we no longer work together, this body of work remains a significant part of my creative history—a reflection of artistic exchange, shared sensibility, and the power of two distinct visions coming together in conversation.