Early Etchings

Having graduated from the SA School of Art and Western Teachers College in 1968, I developed a particular interest in Printmaking. Appointed to Eyre High School, Whyalla, in 1969 as an art teacher, I started to specialize in teaching in the discipline of Printmaking including etching, relief and screen printing. Though lacking time to make my own work, I continued to prepare and teach my students. I often made demonstration prints for the classes, some of which I have retained.

By 1974 I was a Senior Art Teacher at Stuart High School, Whyalla. The Education Department offered me a scholarship to further my studies for a year, so in 1975 I returned to Adelaide to complete an Advanced Dip Art at the SA School of Art in Printmaking. I was lucky at the time to have Barbara Hanrahan, Geoff Wilson, Geoff Brown and Franz Kempf as lecturers. It was a wonderful year of experimentation and learning.

During this period I also found time to complete my Unrestricted Pilots License at the Royal Aero Club and learnt to fly aerobatics in a Pitts Special. That experience led to some interesting prints based on aerial landscapes, airfields, hangers and flying paraphernalia. So, the early prints depicted the general activities and subjects of that period in my life. I was trying to find my own artistic language, but I did respond to the graphic mediums of etching.

The following year, 1976, I was again teaching art at Underdale High School and supervising art teacher training through Torrens CAE at the Underdale Campus. But after the first term I made a life changing decision to try to become a full-time artist and Printmaker and resigned my job. The first thing was to travel to the UK and Europe to see some of the original art I have come to know and admire. Travelling alone as a young woman, I found the experience daunting, exhilarating and challenging. After several months of daily excitement overseas, I returned to my home in Adelaide with a determined resolve to become an artist and to support myself with my work.

Upon my return, I was invited to have a solo exhibition of etchings at Adelaide Fine Art and Graphics in Melbourne Street, North Adelaide in 1977. I continued with the etchings, setting up a small studio in a room of the house, purchased a small etching press and made a new body of prints for exhibition. ‘Pelican’, along with another etching, ‘Oysters’ were acquired by the The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) in 1977 from a solo exhibition at Adelaide Fine Art and Graphics. 

In 2019 The AGSA acquired two more etchings for their collection, Mop (1977) and Feathers (1977). 
 

Oysters 1977 Etching 76 x 56cm

Oysters 1977 Etching 76 x 56cm



Baloon FLight in the Morning

Balloon Flight in the morning (photograph) 

Ballon Flight in the Morning 1975 Photo Etching 76 x 56

Balloon Flight in the Morning 1975 Photo Etching 76 x 56

1. Mop 1977 76 x 56cm Etching
1. Mop 1977 76 x 56cm Etching
Banksia On A Plate 1978 Etching Image 25 x 20cm
Banksia On A Plate 1978 Etching Image 25 x 20cm
Beer Can 1977 76 x 56cm Silk Screen Print
Beer Can 1977 76 x 56cm Silk Screen Print
Carnival Tent 1978 56 x 76cm Etching
Carnival Tent 1978 56 x 76cm Etching
Coorong Bones 1977 Etching Image 30 x 25cm
Coorong Bones 1977 Etching Image 30 x 25cm
Coorong Feathers 1977 Etching Image 30 x 25cm
Coorong Feathers 1977 Etching Image 30 x 25cm
Coorong Rock 1977 Etching Image 50 x 76cm
Coorong Rock 1977 Etching Image 50 x 76cm
Crows on the Stockyard 1977 56 x 76 Etching
Crows on the Stockyard 1977 56 x 76 Etching
Dark Lake 1976 76 x 56 Etching (Possibly make to no 9)
Dark Lake 1976 76 x 56 Etching (Possibly make to no 9)
Drink Tent 1978 56 x 76cm Ink and Gouache
Drink Tent 1978 56 x 76cm Ink and Gouache
Feathers 1977 Etching Image 38x51cm
Feathers 1977 Etching Image 38x51cm
Insect Sketches 1975 Etching Image 41x33
Insect Sketches 1975 Etching Image 41x33
Water Rat 1977 Etching Image 51x38cm
Water Rat 1977 Etching Image 51x38cm
Early Etchings Exhibition

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