Gwenda Branjerdporn

"My work is driven by my desire to care for and honour the environment, especially the trees.  I live in the western suburbs which is heavily forested and people choose to live here because of the environmental aspect of the trees and the benefits and beauty that the trees provide in one’s life, especially within individual allotments. Native trees were left in the allotments when they were prepared for sale.  Most of the trees are very large now providing a haven for bird and wild life.  My allotment has beautiful large gum trees plus numerous other native trees, which we have planted since living here."

"I base these works on my backyard trees, especially the gums, and the elements of the tree, the leaf, the pod in flower and the seedpod."

Shibori influence:

"I was greatly influenced by the Inca women in Southern America who dye their own wool and weave their own brightly coloured fabrics.  I choose this journey for my art this semester by taking the branches of gum trees and embellishing cloth, canvas, cotton, rayon, hessian and silk in the Shibori technique by shaping the cloth and securing it before dyeing it.  The special characteristic of Shibori is a soft or blurry edged pattern."

Influences:

"My work has been influenced by Sonia and Robert Delaunay and by many Australian artists, especially Fred Williams, John Olsen, John Coburn, Arthur Boyd, and William Robinson as well as Georgia O’Keeffe and Modern Japanese artists, Tatsuo Takayama, Takeuchi Seiho and Shimomura Kanzan."

"William Robinson would be the main contemporary artist dealing with the theme of honouring the local and dealing with issues of trees and the environment."

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