Giselle Penn
Giselle has been making and exhibiting her work since the early 1990’s. Her practice began with the hand skills passed onto her by a family of makers and menders. Her strongest passions grew in the area of Textile Processes which led her to do a Bachelor Degree in Education / Art majoring in Fibre/Textiles followed by a Post Graduate Diploma 1991 at the University of Newcastle.
This overriding compulsive passion of creating led to a production based practice, simultaneous to the challenge of an art practice and fulltime work as a Technical Officer at the University of Newcastle in what is now the Creative Industries.
Giselle has exhibited locally and interstate, at artist run galleries, Regional Galleries and invited to exhibit overseas at ‘Fibreart International’ North America.
Continually pushing the boundaries, her own Lampworked Glass Beads and hand formed Felt wearables are another aspect of Giselle’s creative outlet.
The dominant medium for her art making is hand-formed wet felt which she pairs with the many varied collected items in her studio to produce small scale assemblages. Themes in her art practice include fragmented memory, the dissolving of the ego and the potency of the present moment.