I am a ceramic artist exploring ongoing dialogues about the patriarchal systems and institutions that perpetuate gender inequalities.
 
I use clay as my medium because for centuries clay has been transformed into domestic objects for use in daily rituals – the sharing of food and drink, memorializing of the dead, and the sharing of stories. These objects are intrinsically linked to the experiences of women, being emptied and refilled, as extensions of their user’s body.  I explore similarities between these domestic vessels and the bodies of women - both seen as ‘objects’ traditionally fashioned and defined by men in terms of their aesthetics and their usefulness.
 
My understanding of domestic artefacts began wandering through museum collections as a child.  In my imagination, each object in these collections carried the magic of the hands of the maker, however museum text detailing the skill of the master craftsman always had me inferring that these hands belonged to a man.
 
When in 2018 it was announced that the remains of a woman found in Eleutherna in 2009 with unusual signs of wear in her bones, were the remains of a female expert ceramicist working in Ancient Greece sometime between 900-650BC, I was compelled to explore further why I was so quick to assume that anything masterful in a Museum collection must have been made by a man. I am interested in exploring the language and ideas of historians, philosophers, theologists, anthropologists and scientists who have all sought to define civilisations through these domestic objects, analysing their decoration, form and implied function through a patriarchal lens. This patriarchal lens is still very much applied to the systems of thought, institutions and societal definitions that govern the way we live today, and through my work I seek to encourage discussion about why this is so.
 
My current body of work focuses on the form and space within the jug, as I create and transform these domestic objects into sculptural metaphors for the role and stereotypes of women and our bodies throughout history and now. 

I currently work with Campbelltown Arts Centre to deliver their adult's ceramics courses and school education programs, and between this and my role as President of the Macarthur Ceramics Group, I am incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to share my love of all things clay and art with my community.

My educational qualifications include a Bachelor Degree in Creative Arts and Arts, majoring in Sculpture and Literature from the University of Wollongong, as well as a Bachelor of Teaching in Secondary teaching, for both English and Visual Arts.

If you are looking to purchase my artwork, or you are looking for someone to collaborate with for your next exhibition, facilitate your next ceramic workshop, or work with on your next arts based community engagement activity, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.

If you would like more information on how and where you can obtain some of my unique functional ware, head on over to www.tinaw.com.au.