Colour in Digital Print

We’ve been having a brilliant time through the Digital Print Design subject Torrens University Australia. Recently we took on colour. I live for colour.

Mastering colour is a non-negotiable tool for surface design. It’s more than just trend research and finding the colours your audience will gravitate to. The true power comes when you can apply them to a design and guarantee they’ll print they way you intended them, through strike offs and Colour matching systems like Pantone.

I am looking forward to seeing the designs these students create over the next couple of weeks.

ID: a table set up with all things colour, swatches, lab dips, strike offs and inkS

The Spot on the Track

So we are here at the end game and it feels good. My aim in creating the works on board was to break through a block in my practice. I was struggling to show the Heath in all its complexity so over and over I drew and experimented and learnt. And it took a while, over a year in fact, but we’re back here at the point where I can put everything I’ve learnt back into a surface patter
n
. It feels big. Well, the drawing itself is literally big, but the learning curve feels even bigger.

Digital Print Design at Torrens University

At the end of 2021 I was honoured with the task of rewriting the subject Digital Print Design for Torrens University Australia where I lecture. This subject was the first one I wrote for Torrens, way back in 2014 and it has been a sheer delight to teach over the years.

I’ve written five subjects since then, with my sixth currently in progress, so I was keen to bring that knowledge into this rewrite. My goal was to give the subject the depth and context in a way that explores kinaesthetic and reflective leaning practices. I aimed to give my students the feeling of being inside an artists’ studio whether they’re online or on campus.

A Year in Bloom

In the spirit of Kathleen McArthur’s Bush in Bloom, the project Year in Bloom celebrated a year full of wildflowering and the flowers that bloom each month. The works are created on reclaimed board. The idea was to help evolve the practice through a new media. I believe in using low value materials to aid risk taking through these exploration phases of a practice. The works slowly evolved from single species to capturing the layered twisted canopies of the heath.

Golden Shells, National Gallery of Victoria

It was a delight to write fo the National Gallery of Victoria publication Golden Shells and Elegant Games of Japan.

This publication documents the exhibition Golden Shells and the Gentle Mastery of Japanese Lacquer, held at the National Gallery of Victoria in 2021. The exhibition features two large lacquer Kai-oke (shell boxes) containing the only known complete kai-awase set of 720 decorated shells, separated into 360 pairs. Each pair is depicted an Australian or Japanese flower using lacquer painting. The artwork was commissioned by Pauline Gandel AC. (National Gallery of Victoria, 2021)

 Seeds for survival; how botanical art nurtures nature explores the relationship between art and ecological conservation through the lens of the Golden Shells and the Gentle Mastery of Japanese Lacquer exhibition. The chapter details a collection of Australian wildflowers depicted within the collection including boronias, hibiscus and wattles, exploring the symbolism of flowers depicted on a collection of the shells, as displayed in both Japanese and Australian culture.  This act works to diminish the dualist divide between nature and culture to counter plant blindness (Wandersee and Schussler, 1999); said to be our inability to see plants that we don’t already know.

Wildflowering by Design, Bundaberg Regional Gallery

The Wildflowering by Design exhibition opened at Bundaberg Regional Gallery on November 13 and will run through to January 30 2022. Curated by Dr Susan Davis, the show features works by a collection of incredible women including Julie Appo & the WildCrafters, Nicole Jakins, Marlies Oakley, Shelley Pisani, Edith Rewa, Cara Ann Simpson, Marni Stuart, Emma Thorp, Annette Tyson & Cate Verney. One of my works, The Paths. The women. was included in the show and used for the promotional images.

Thank you to Thom Stuart for these beautiful images. 


Fabric printed in Brisbane by Applik Digital Printing.

Print & Pattern Blog Profile

For the last few weeks, I've had the pleasure of rewriting a subject on digital print design (patterning) for the Torrens University Bachelor of Branded fashion. Some of the resources I have been integrating into the subject are the Print & Pattern volumes by Bowie Style. So, it was a great surprise when I stumbled across Bowie's post documenting my own designs that I had missed when it was posted back in September. Bowie has a fantastic eye for pattern and prolific output. The Print & Pattern volumes and blog are a treasure trove of amazing designers that I would highly recommend to all designers.

Wildflowers, Kinship and Creativity Artist in Residence

Over the last week I’ve had the pleasure of being part of the Wildflower, Kinship and Create Artist Residency organized by Dr Sue Davis. The residency hosted artists Marvene Ash, Anne HarrIs and Chony Bowden and photographed by Ketakii Jewson-Brown. The residency was funded through the Regional Arts Development Fund and held in the Maroochydore Botanical gardens Arts & Ecology Centre. It was a sheer delight to be part of this beautiful group of artists and work in such a visually beautiful space within the gardens. Thank you to Dr Sue Davis and the team at RADF and the Arts & Ecology Centre for organising this amazing event.

Swan Coastal Press Stationery

I am excited to be part of the launch of Swan Coastal Press. An amazing brand who aims to support the work of Australian Artists.

The newest venture for Studio Nikulinsky owner Angela Nikulinsky, the brand is supported by Angela’s desire to create quality products that are created to the highest ethical and environmental standards.

In this first collection you will find my iconic Wallum Banksia and Coastal Wattle designs, alongside fresh sketches of a Swamp Banksia and Cardwell Tea Tree. These are available as greeting cards and some designs will also be used for note books.

Future Folk Designs

Future Folk Interiors is brought to you by the Nerida Hansen team. They sell prints, decals and name stickers for the little folk in our lives.

I have created a collection of Australian Native Flower art prints for their range, including a swamp bloodwood gum, a wallum banksia design and a very rainbow coloured banksia.

These prints are now available on their site:

Interview with Nerida Hansen

I am delighted to announce that my range for Nerida Hansen Fabrics is now available. To celebrate, I chatted with the team on my practice.

We discussed my approach to surface pattern design, my love of Australian Native wildflowers, how I balance my teaching and my advice to new surface pattern designers.

Good Stuff Awards Finalist

I am incredibly honoured to be shortlisted as a finalist for the Frankie Magazine Good Stuff Awards 2021!

The piece I entered is ‘The Banksias’ or Honeysuckle and Mountain Banksias to you, a surface repeat pattern or fabric I designed featuring some beautiful Australian native plants. This pattern has received so much love. It's currently available as a cosy sweater with Sole Mio Designs or is by the meter at Nerida Hansen Fabrics. It's previously been featured with Rattamatt and Next State Printing and has been shown in the Pattern Pulse book. I'm in the design category judged by the incredible Beci Orpin.

Nerida Hansen Fabrics

A collection of my fabric designs feauturing Australian Native florals have been added to the Nerida Hansen fabrics catalogue, available for wholesale and retail orders.

They include surface pattern designs of Australian wildflowers; Red Honeysuckle and Mountain Banksias (The Banksias), Paperbark, Mirbelia Twigs and Wallum Banksia.

Nerida’s team prins on a range of fabric types, like cotton linen blends, cotton sateens and french terry’s. The fabrics are of an exceptional standard and an affordable price.

Translating Nature-Based Art into Design Workshop

I presented a workshop in the Unversity of Central Queensland, Bundaberg Campus as part of the Wild/flower Women IV exhibition that will be held at Bundaberg Regional Gallery later this year, organized by Dr Sue Davis. The workshop was attended by some fabulous local artists, and explored botanical inspiration for repeat patterning, so we got to play with lots of beautiful materials for fun. Goreng Goreng Fashion Designer, Julie Appo shared with us her design processes, and alongside Butchulla artist Karen Hall we learnt about how to best interact with country.

See and Seaing Exhibition

This exhibition is held as part of Melbourne Design Week 2021, within which, Fashion brand S!X have curate a series of works by artists and designers from Melbourne and Brazil working together to transform our attitudes towards the use of Plastic. Unsuitable replacement: Spinifex, Pigface, and Snake Vine. The plastic bag dances in the wind on the sand dune. It is patterned with plants endemic to these sand dunes spinifex, pigweed, and snake vine. The plastic bag takes space where once wildflowers flourished. It’s form imitates what once was, but it’s not the same. It’s distracting us from our reckless destruction in the name of progress. We once fought to protect these sand dunes. We now fight to protect our convenience.

The Complete Pattern Directory

I’m honoured to be included in The Complete Pattern Directory. A trove of every major pattern designer in recent western history including William Morris, Enid Marx, Orla Kiely  and Eley Kishimoto. The work is from long long ago, so the style is a little different to what you'd be used to. There’s a few different works included, this is my favourite. The BEST bit is that on the next page is a bio of Vanessa Bell (sister to Virginia Wolf), a Bloomsbury Group artist who I wrote my Masters project. She's incredible!

The Pocket

The Coastal Banksia print from the Angourie collection was developed in black, white, grey, pink and orange for a full-wall mural at the Pocket Espresso Bar in Moffat Beach, Sunshine Coast.

Thousand Dancers

Between 2009 and 2013 Marni Stuart created the lingerie line Thousand Dancers, stocked internationally.

Thousand Dancers Season 1, Forget About Today, Until Tomorrow was Inspired by Bob Dylan and Patti Smith. The Nadia (floral) print is a layered collage of stencils and watercolours.

Thousand Dancers Season 2, It’s Only Rock n Roll was inspired by The Rolling Stones, Annie Lennox and a touch of Chrissy Amphlett from The Divinyls.

Thousand Dancers Season 3, Moons + Junes was inspired by inspired by the 60s folk anthem Both Sides, Now by Joni Mitchell. Joni is a wild rose painting in oil on canvas. The collection is about embracing the light and dark of life and love.