The art and artists who inspire me

I spent many years travelling to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as part of my paid employment. I learned how to be quiet, to be present and still and I learned to listen. Mr Roughsey, of Mornington Island, created this painting of wildfire using the edge of a eucalypt leaf - every single stroke. Up close it is mind blowing to see the individual marks.

I visited Lockhart River about a year after the tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of so many travelling from Seisia / Bamaga. After our official business, I wandered over to the Arts Centre and Mr Platt was still working on this one. The paint was wet and I had to wait several weeks for it to be shipped home to me.

Hermione is a commission from Melbourne based artist Sophie McKinnon. Her sheep are beyond gorgeous, and Hermione's gaze seems to follow me around the studio where she proudly hangs out with the other textiles.

A favourite is Cunningham's Gap, which we view from back entertainment area. This liquid graphite work was created by my sister, Sue George and hangs in our entry.

Lisa Call's stitched art works are exquisite. I met Lisa i Philadelphia in 2012 and we've been in touch ever since. Lisa is a life coach and created the Make Big Art community (full disclosure, I'm a member). These three pieces are visible from every aspect of the studio and hang on the opposite wall. Simply stunning.

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A river infuses it

Priority #1: Create My CBD office sits on the edge of this mighty, murky waterway - the Brisbane River. Over the next six months I'll be working on an exhibition piece as part of the Broadstrokes artists group. Starting with the obvious, I'm making preliminary sketches to determine the substrate form. I need to consider how it will perform under the visual intent of the piece. That is, " substrate " can be used to convey those things which " underly " or " sit beneath " the primary image. Infused by a river. I need to consider the political, social, economic, ethical or moral connections. I'll also explore which materials are best suited for that purpose.

Upcycled art quilts

Priority #1 Create: Making zippered bags from some of my art quilts is getting them out of storage and transformed into something useful. I'm using a technique from Design Matters TV whose re-imagined purse pattern is a delight to make. Every time. Each bag is lined with hand dyed and printed fabric. I'm enjoying saying "goodbye" and "thanks for your service" as I cut into quilts that, at the time, consumed every creative moment of my life. I'm enjoying the wooo hooo that accompanies the letting go. It's good for my (creative) soul.

It's all in the background - designing substrate

Scaling up an image of the Brisbane River to develop the substrate for a new art quilt. Each square needs to be 6cm x 6cm to make a finished size of 5 cm square. I created a "to scale" model of the finished quilt on drafting paper. I printed an image of the river (attribution below) and then scaled it up to get a fairly accurate flow across the quilt. The substrate rightly tells the background story. It is the foundation on which the main elements or features reside. So it isn't the "hero" of the piece - it needs to be recognised and visible without overwhelming the piece. I can now easily identify which squares hold a section of the river and start to experiment on piecing, applique, fusing, printing, and painting to learn which gives the best outcome for the substrate. (Brisbane River original image: Magpie Shooter; edited version Paulguard at en.wikipedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/indix.php?curid=9724127) My foundation piece might well end up bei

Ali George Artist

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