Textile Art

Samantha Lee Curran (she/her) is a queer poet, writer, and award-winning artist living on Dharug and Gundungurra land. She is the author of the poetry collection 'exposure to existence' (Alien Buddha Press, 2023) and 'blue is how i know you (Illographo Press, 2025) and her work has been published in several online and in print literary magazines. Samantha was chosen as a Vessels of Love poet for the inaugural City of Sydney poetry event in 2021 and was an Artist in Residence at Chateau d’Orquevaux in 2023, and exhibited her debut solo show ‘the rot and the raw’ at Gallery NWC, September 2024. She will be attending a residency at Studio Kura Japan in July 2025.

My home on Dharug and Gundungurra country is the source of my practice; I use leaves, bark and flowers from my surrounds and the wild places I travel to dye the threads and textiles I work with, gathering extra inspiration from thrifted materials. My dyed fabrics are soaked with the memory of the place they were dyed; similarly thrifted fabric holds memory of its past use. I work wherever I find myself: at home, in wild landscapes, in cars and libraries, allowing my needle to follow the line of a branch, rock or a thought. Stitches are my words; a journal of place and time, where memories and images overlay each other to form a landscape of life. I studied art at the Tin Sheds as part of my architecture degree, and have worked as a primary school teacher. I am currently studying a Master of Art Therapy, and I'm happiest stitching with a dog on my lap and a cup of tea beside me. You can find me @pippita_bennett_art.

Fiona Davies’ art practice incorporates object, video, photography, projection, installation, performance, and curation, and is based in a trans disciplinary investigation into the power of systems, materials, and processes. A current focus is that expression of power in the patient/hospital interaction and specifically medicalised death in ICU.

Helen Shields... is an arts practitioner living and working on Gundungurra and Darhug lands in the Blue Mountains of NSW. She holds qualifications in Chemistry, Fine Arts, Education and Design. Her work encompasses Fabric Design, Drawing, Painting, Collage and Ceramics.

Textile artist and craftswoman, spinner and weaver, as well as a teacher and occasional portrait model. Creating in the Mountains. More to come, we're all a work in progress.

I work within the Arts & Cultural services of Regional NSW, providing skills in graphic design, art program administration, project management, data collection for research, facilitation and mentoring. Recent programs include: Culture Dose for Kids art program from AGNSW and The Black Dog Institute with funding from the Jibb Foundation, Intergenerational Playgroup with BANC with funding from NBMPHN and Wentworth Healthcare. As a highly skilled brand communication designer with over 25 years experience, most recently running my own business specialising in design for the Arts and Cultural sector, I manage all design projects from initiation to completion and excel in customer service forming long-lasting working relationships with clients and suppliers. Recent clients include: Blue Mountains City Art Gallery, Blue Mountains City Council Cultural Development and Place Management teams, and Regional Futures for Regional Arts NSW.

Liz Bryan was born on Dharug land in the western suburbs of Sydney and currently resides in the unceded Dharug and Gundengurra lands in the Blue Mountains. Liz is a practicing designer/ artist working with drawing, painting, textiles and digital media. Her work is heavily influenced by her interest in esoteric knowledge, mythologies and ritual. She works with themes of womanhood, place, the hidden aspects of feminine history, the interplay between art & craft and the influence of science and mysticism in art. Liz completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts with honours at the National Art School, Sydney in 2002 majoring in printmaking. She received the Stella Downer printmaking award and the Robin Gibson Gallery graduate exhibition award. After relocating to Melbourne in 2003, Liz went on to study at The Victorian College of the Arts, receiving a Post Graduate Diploma Visual Arts in 2007. She was awarded the Felicity and Stuart Carter acquisitive prize for her drawings on completion of study. In 2014 Liz began studying textile design at TAFE in Ultimo. In 2015 she completed her Diploma and received the Think+ digitial print award, the Leap Frog screen printing award and was a NSW finalist in the GOTYA award in 2016. Liz is currently a visual arts teacher at TAFE at both Nepean and Blue Mountains campuses. She also teaches sessionally at Western Sydney University in the visual communications faculty.

From Jennie's little garden studio, she creates art from Blue Mountains landscapes to quirky illustrative characters. She also runs one-off workshops and termly classes to share her knowledge and encourage others to create. Her most recent body of work encapsulates the exploration and rediscovery of the natural landscape of the Blue Mountains from the time of the pandemic lockdowns. From this came her first solo book LOOKOUT, in which she encourages you to discover lookouts, through the artists eye. Whether you appreciate differing art techniques or are looking for inspiration for your own art journey, within these pages you will find Jennie's local knowledge and artistic ramblings. Jennie's illustrative art brand is called Hiccup Art, so called as Jennie hiccups nearly every day. Her illustrations are quirky, sometimes whimsical, and often from her daydreaming imagination. Jennie has illustrated Children's books, created originals and art prints. Her love of sharing knowledge has also lead her to work with schools Artist in Residence programs, Art Camps and Children's workshops. Her LOOKOUT book, originals, prints and cards can be found in local galleries, book stores, visitor centres, boutique retail stores, online and local artisan markets. Please contact Jennie for wholesale enquiries, commissions, collaborations and creative workshops.

Born and raised in the Blue Mountains, I have always been drawn to incorporating my love of nature into my art. I create art that explores the themes of identity, our connections to nature and spirituality in this ever evolving world, with the multitude of new technologies we have available to us. My work spans the realms of painting, wool felting, digital, generative and photography. Over the past few years, I have exhibited my work in a number of galleries and shows across the world, including multiple exhibitions in both London & New York City. My work has been auctioned through a renowned Chinese auction house and has also been published in Australian Art Collector Magazine in 2021.

Kevina-Jo Smith resides in the Blue Mountains, a place which sustains and inspires her. After many years of travelling, she chose to anchor herself here. Smith collects and reuses consumer by-product materials from which her artwork emerges. Each piece is intricate, and time consuming to create: a heavy practical span of hand-knitting, knotting and weaving. Her process is a tribute to the natural world and a ritual against destruction. Kevina’s current investigation also involves responding to her recent personal changes and challenges as well as the collective environmental changes faced in the mountains and the renewal that has taken place both personally and collectively. Whether it be through a large wall hanging, a framed woven piece, or a constructed item of furniture, she is weaving the stories of her space and memory through the work whilst utilising found and recycled materials as a statement of her ideas of how we can move forward as a community, caring for our land. “These works are both typical of my previous work, but also entirely new and ordered. They are full of symbolism, meant only for myself and those who are meant to see into it. My artwork is a reflective way of meditating and processing, passing on any insight to others who might need it too”. Aesthetically, their work is complimentary in the space with a similar pastel palette, utilising blues as a tool to link in with themes of water/rain/veils/ memories. They both weave ideas visually through layers of colour. Combined their work has a strong story to tell, creating an immersive space that the viewer can weave themselves through.

Using drawing as primary research process, Wendy Tsai re-forms the information gained through observation and intuition into personal narratives that interrogate meaning and given-ness. While attracted to and nourished by the natural environment surrounding her home on Dharug and Gundungurra Country, in the Blue Mountains, Wendy also recognises the devastating impact of climate change and human interference, allowing this disquiet to inform her work, through intimate reveries that are both tangible and ethereal. Relying on an embodied knowledge of place, Wendy has a ritual of walking to experience and adapt to the idiosyncrasies of the natural world. She also photographs, collects and manipulates digitally the images that hold specific memories of place. Her drawings are an attempt to ‘be in’ place through a peaceable communion grounded in the landscape. Wendy regularly at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Gallery. She also has work in collections in Tasmania and in the Kedumba Drawing Collection.

Sky Carter is a Blue Mountains based Fibre and Textile Artist. Sky works with private and commercial clients to create bespoke woven wall hangings as well as multimedia installations using sculptural processes. Sky draws inspiration from the zeitgeist, current cultural trends and also her internal world. She is interested in the intersection of her internal narrative and how this is influenced by external pressures. Sky has created her own range of sustainable and locally made weaving looms and tools and taught over 3000 students her uninhibited free form style of weaving making it accessible to all. Sky has exhibited her works locally and internationally and attended artist residencies in Guatemala and Chicago. She has also appeared in a number if publications including Inside Out and Home Beautiful Magazines.

The Blue Mountains Cultural Centre showcases innovative, diverse, distinctive and creative cultural programs for enjoyment by residents of, and visitors to, the Blue Mountains. Located in the heart of Katoomba the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre encompasses the Blue Mountains City Art Gallery, Katoomba Library and Into the Blue, an interactive exhibition that explores the history and natural landscape of the Blue Mountains. Visitors can also enjoy the viewing platform that takes in stunning panoramic vistas of Katoomba and the Jamison Valley. Opened in 2012, the Blue Mountains City Art Gallery features major touring, curated, regional and local exhibitions. Its Altitude Exhibition Program is dedicated to showcasing artists who reside in the Blue Mountains Region. The Gallery also hosts many quality exhibition programs such as curator and artist talks, educational workshops, gallery tours and outreach programs. The Cultural Centre also hosts school holiday programs for kids, pop-up art activities, artisan markets, performances, and a wide range of community related events. The Blue Mountains Cultural Centre also features a Gallery Shop and Café, both of which aim to highlight local makers and produce. The Shop stocks a wide variety of quality Australian made gifts, books and homewares, with a focus on artisan products designed and made here in the Blue Mountains. The licensed Gallery Café has a particular focus on quality, locally produced ingredients. You can enjoy freshly roasted coffee, delicious cakes, and a seasonal menu while overlooking the magnificent Jamison Valley. Please email culturalcentre@bmcc.nsw.gov.au to get in touch!