Artists Down Under - Australia and New Zealand - May 2024

Pam Henderson

Sebastian

by DENISE HUNTER LOGAN - Pink Succulent

Rosa Perry - North Pole Express

DOWN UNDERartists

Australia and New Zealand

Welcome to the May edition of Artists Down Under.

Well there is snow on the hills and the winter fires have been stoked up for those that live in the southern states, winter is now upon us. What a better excuse for our artists to stay inside in the warmth, creating art.

Andrew Haysom delights us with another of his Photoshop tutorials. This month on ”Texturelabs”. A very interesting tutorial, I hope you all enjoy it.

Another image is shared from the Redlands Digital Art Group’s “Chinese Whispers” series.

Maureen Maxwell has conducted an interview with one of our New Zealand Artists, Kevin Sims. What an extraordinary interview, a must read for all and Kevin has shared some of his amazing art also.

This month saw some of our artists very successful in a few competitions, well done to all involved.

Lastly, the monthly artists challenge for May was set as “African Animals”. Some amazing images were put together by our artists, a lot of them from their worldly travels. but wait for next months challenge, its going to be a fun one.

Well, that’s it from me. Stay safe on the roads, take care of each other and look out for those less fortunate around you.

Pam Henderson

Hemant Kogekar - Going Home

ROSA PERRY ( AUSTRALIA )

HARVEST MOUSE

https://rosa-perry.myportfolio.com/artwork

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-4/rosa-perry/

FLOSSIE

UNDERWORLD I

https://colincampbell.myportfolio.com

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artists-1/colin-campbell/

UNDERWORLD II

PAM HENDERSON ( AUSTRALIA )

https://www.facebook.com/snapnshootdesigns/

http://www.artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-4/pam-henderson/

HELEN MCLEOD ( NEW ZEALAND )

DOWN THE GURGLER

ISOLATION

ANDREW HAYSOM ( AUSTRALIA )

OPENING UP

https://andrewhaysom.myportfolio.com/

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artists-1/andrew-haysom/

PUCKER UP

https://www.sandradimagery.com/

PERCY PENGUIN

PENNY DE JONG ( AUSTRALIA )

DAZZLING DANCERS

http://www.artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-4/penny-de-jong/

SELENA STROLLS AT SUNSET

ROBYN MCLAUCHLAN ( AUSTRALIA )

artists Achievements monthly down under

artists down under facebook page

The Artists Down Under Public Facebook page has been set up to allow the artists in the group to showcase their work and to enable them to share promotional information about themselves, e.g. exhibitions, awards etc...

You can find the Artists Down Under Public Facebook page at this address; https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtistsDownUnder/

So, if you are an artist in the group, don’t forget to regularly share your work and information here, and to let your friends and family know about the page if they are interested in viewing the latest art and news from the group.

If you are a reader of the magazine who does not have access to the page, please click the link above and request to join. When you request to join you will be asked to answer three simple questions that will allow us to determine if you are an eligible artist who may wish to join the group and therefore be able to post on the page, or a member of the public who can view, comment and like the work on the page. It’s a great place to see some great art from this vibrant group every day!

Three ADU members receive a special gift

Our very good Awake friends Katherine Zdonczyk of MagicalReality Designs and Diane Stafford from WhiteLaneStudio continue to give gifts as a reward for members of the Artists Down Under group who contribute to the ADU Facebook page by regularly posting their artworks and supporting other members with their comments.

Katherine, is well known for her fantastic sets of digital designer backgrounds, masks and all kinds of wonderful elements ready for designers to add to or build a wondrous creation.

Katherine Zdonczyk can be found at @ Oscraps http://bit.ly/3tTMUfM @ Etsy https://etsy.me/3RWjmpU

Diane Stafford from Chester, UK, designs Photoshop textures and overlays for photo artists and photographers to use in their digital artworks. Diane has created another special kit just for Artists Down Under for the month of MAY.

Two artists will receive a Diane kit each. Diane Stafford can be found at https://whitelanestudio.co.uk/biolinks

The MAY lucky winners are

Magical Reality Designs Gift Voucher

- Rosa Perry

Diane Stafford (WhiteLaneStudio) Texture & Overlay Kit

- Colin Campbell

- Deborah Martin

shift art

April 2024 Theme “Heroes”

https://shiftart.com/shift-art-photoshop-challenge-results-april-2024/

Congratulations goes to

Being Noticed

Denise Hunter Logan

Penny De Jong Bev Terawskyj

Penny De Jong

Courageous Firefront Heros

Bev Terawskyj

Denise Hunter Logan - Bernie’s Rescue

LIVING THE PHOTO ARTISTIC LIFE

https://issuu.com/thephotoartisticlife/docs/issue110-final?fr=xKAE9_zU1NQ

Ilona Abou-Zolof - Waiting

Abou-Zolof - Pretty Girl

De Jong - Be Who You Want To Be

Congratulations to the following artists for having their images chosen to appear in the International magazine “Living The Photo Artistic Life”.

Rosa Perry

- Mauro The Wizard

Elenor Gill - Memories

Christina Brunton

- Veronika Watercolour

Penny De Jong

- Be Who You Want To Be

Helen McLeod

- Down The Gurgler

- Unwinding

Denise Hunter Logan

- Family Loss

Sonia Pusey

- End Of The Road

Sandra Dann

- Escape

Louise Smith

- Lucinda

Kim Ricci

- Galliot

CatBeagle Creations

- Putting My Face On

Ilona Abou-Zolof

- Pretty Girl

- Waiting

Maureen Maxwell

- Tango Dancers

Sonia Pusey - End Of The Road

Denise Hunter Logan - Family Loss

Helen McLeod -Unwinding

Elenor Gill - Memories

Penny

Christina Brunton - Veronika Watercolour

Rosa Perry - Mauro The Wizard

Kim Ricci - Galliot

Maureen Maxwell - Tango Dancers

Helen McLeod - Down The Gurgler

Ilona

Louise Smith - Lucinda

light space and time

“Abstracts”

https://lightspacetime.art/abstracts-art-exhibition-april-2024

Congratulations to Ilona Abou-Zolof for her special achievements in the “Abstracts” Light Space & Time competition.

Overall Photography & Digital

7th Place - “Watching”

Special Recognition

“Balancing”

4th Place - “Watching”

Ilona Abou-Zolof - Watching

Ilona Abou-Zolof - Balancing

fusion art Black & White Art Exhibition

https://www.fusionartps.com/8th-annual-black-white-art-exhibition-april-2024/

Congratulations to Ilona Abou-Zolof for being chosen as a Finalist in the April 2024 Fusion Arts “Black & White” Art Exhibition.

Ilona Abou-Zolof - I Am Still Waiting

Ilona Abou-Zolof - The Singer

GEORGE KONCZ ( AUSTRALIA )

http://www.artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-2/george-koncz/ http://georgekonczphotography.com/

LYN DARLINGTON ( AUSTRALIA )

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-3/lyn-darlington/

KIM RICCI ( AUSTRALIA )

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-3/kim-ricci/

LIDIA

SEEKING SANCTUARY

TRISH HOSKIN

( AUSTRALIA )

TEAL SURPRISE

https://trish-hoskin.myportfolio.com/

http://www.artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-4/trish-hoskin/

MR RABBIT

christina brunton ( AUSTRALIA )

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artists-1/christina-brunton/ https://chrisbrunton.com/

RAINFOREST MAIDEN

MARINA HOBBS ( AUSTRALIA )

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artists-1/al-bamass/

RUSTY

artists

DOWN UNDER

Australia and New Zealand

SOME PHOTOSHOP INSPIRATION

TEXTURELABS

By Andrew Haysom

This month’s article is not so much a Photoshop tip from me, but rather a recommendation as to where you can go to get many Photoshop tips and resources, and that is to one of my favourite Photoshop resources on the web, Texturelabs.

Texturelabs is the brain-child of Brady Erickson who is an artist and designer for the TV and movie industry. In 2018 Brady decided to make his accumulated library of textures and image resources available for the benefit of the creative community for free, and Texturelabs was born. Since then, Brady has been adding to the site frequently and has amassed a huge collection of valuable resources.

You can find the Texturelabs website at https://texturelabs.org/ I think it is easily the best selection of textures available on the web for free. There are a wide range of texture files, all nicely categorised and easy to find, preview and download. There is also a search feature for the textures.

[Fig 1 – Texturelabs Textures screen]

The textures are extremely high quality, most are 16-bit files, all are available in a range of sizes, many are nearly 8k pixels on the long-edge when downloaded in the largest size.

They are well categorised into categories like Atmosphere, Brick, Concrete, Details, Fabric, Film, Glass, Grunge, Ink/Paint and many more.

In addition to this amazing collection of free textures, Brady also creates some of the best Photo shop (and After Effects) video tutorials on the net. These are also nicely presented on the Texturelabs website with a categorised and searchable interface.

To say that I love Brady’s tutorials is a huge understatement. They are amongst the best I watch, and I always look forward to a new one.

They are usually aimed at creating a particular result but always contain the most wonderful tricks and tips, often with the hidden little features of Photoshop that can be quite buried, and often making you rethink the way you should be doing things in Photoshop. There is always something new, and something to learn in one of Brady’s tutorials for me, and I classify myself as a fairly advanced Photoshop user.

As with the Textures, Brady’s tutorials are free to watch on Youtube (but indexed on, and launchable from the website).

The third section of the Texturelabs site is the Tools section, here Brady makes available a range of tools like plugins, brush sets, actions, gradient map presets, and pattern presets. Many of these are free, but some come at a very small cost.

[Fig 2 – Texturelabs Video Tutorials]

Up until recently Brady had the Texturelabs site attached to Patreon, and you could support the site via Patreon. I had been a Patreon supporter for a while. Now however he has disconnected from Patreon and the site is supported via sales in the Tools section. There is also an option in the Tools section to buy a Bulk/Lossless Pass for the textures available on the site, this pass allows a bulk download option and also for the individual download of a lossless PNG format of each texture should you want ultimate detail and quality (the default format is JPG).

I can’t recommend Texturelabs highly enough, there are so many wonderful free resources and tutorials, you really need to check it out and have a good look around the Texturelabs site. Should you make good use of some of the resources you find I also recommend supporting Brady keeping the Texturelabs site going and growing by purchasing something from his tools collection.

[Fig 3 – Texturelabs Tools]

Andrew Haysom

LOUISE SMITH ( AUSTRALIA )

https://www.facebook.com/lksmithphotography/ https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-3/louise-smith/

LUCINDA II

DENNIS RICKARD ( AUSTRALIA )

CACTUS

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-2/dennis-rickard/

kevin sims ( new zealand )

NIGHT OWL

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-3/kevin-sims/

KAREN WAALWYK ( AUSTRALIA )

https://www.flickr.com/photos/88165766@N05

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-3/karen-waalwyk/

LION PORTRAIT

CATBEAGLE CREATIONS ( AUSTRALIA )

ONE’S DEMONS REVEALED

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-3/lynsey-stirland-mitchell/

SHARON RANKMORE ( AUSTRALIA )

https://www.artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-4/sharon-rankmore/

9

DOWN artistsUNDER

Australia and New Zealand

DIGITAL ARTISTS GROUP

A COLLABORATIVE GROUP OF PHOTO ARTISTS

CHINESE WHISPERS #78

“THE FAIRY PARTY”

STAGE 1

STAGE 2

The little fairies decided to have a party and invite some of their friends. Their Angel Fairy made sure they were safe and happy.

Pam and I hope you enjoy!

Maureen Maxwell

Pam Henderson

Maureen Maxwell

DENISE HUNTER LOGAN

VIOLETS

VIOLA

DRAGONFLY

SPIDER

CORELLA

REFLECTION

BUDGIES

Meet your artist

DENISE HUNTER LOGAN

1. Tell us a little about yourself and where you live?

I live in a retirement resort in Brisbane. My past experience of art has been the occasional visit to a gallery. For a number of years I enjoyed working with colours and patterns making fabric pieces – patchwork, quilting and embroidery – although at the time I viewed this as making something practical to use, not as art. Gardening, with its design and colour challenges, has always been a wonderful pastime and it has allowed me to pursue my current interest in photographing flowers, insects, spiders and birds.

2. How did you become interested/get started in Photo Artistry?

Realising I had a great interest in but no great talent in various needlecrafts, I took up photography using my son’s pocket Panasonic that had interesting inbuilt creative features. Joining in the weekly challenges in Facebook photography groups I loved the process of transforming my often mundane photos into something more artistic. At this stage I was also using Photoshop Elements 9 without fully understanding the process of using layers until I heard about Denise Love and Two Little Owls. That opened a new door for me and led to Sebastian Michaels and his Photo Artistry courses. I finally purchased my own camera, a DSLR with its telephoto and macro lenses. Now I have a monthly subscription to Photoshop and Lightroom.

3. What inspires you or gives you inspiration to create your art?

I enjoy the challenge of creating a story with the subject of my piece in a way that makes it feel and look different. Viewing the artistry of so many talented people in the artistry Facebook groups I feel humbled to be part of it all.

4. Do you have a certain approach to creating your art?

If I begin with a plan, my art process usually goes off in a different direction. The piece just evolves as I dabble. There are usually lots of duds.

5. What does your art mean to you?

I really enjoy the process of learning and creating – remembering techniques is the tricky bit.

6. Do you think since starting in photo artistry it has changed you and if so, how?

Photography and photo art have both made me more observant of and more intrigued by the little things in my environment – noticing the interplay of light and shadow on different shapes and colours is so interesting.

7. Is there anyone that you draw inspiration from?

I love impressionism and have enjoyed Eva Polak’s courses. The Photo Artistry courses do open doors to a wide range of inspirational art forms. I also currently subscribe to Ivy Newport’s StudioWorks Journals with her interesting focus on art and artists from many eras.

8. Where do you see (or hope to see) your art taking you in the future? What are your next steps?

I create art just for fun and will continue to play using both my photos and the many assets from the artistry courses.

ELENOR GILL ( NEW ZEALAND )

ILONA ABOU-ZOLOF ( AUSTRALIA )

SNAKE WHISPERER

YELLOW BRICK ROAD

https://www.zolof.net/

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-2/ilona-abou-zolof/

MARIE HELYAR ( AUSTRALIA )

https://www.mariehelyarartist.com.au

LITTLE BALLERINA

HEMANT KOGEKAR ( AUSTRALIA )

REACHING OUT

https://photos.kogekar.com/

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-2/hemant-kogekar/

ROCK MAN

MICK ROONEY ( AUSTRALIA )

https://www.artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-3/mick-rooney/

ANGEL DRAGON 2024

ANGEL OF THE GODS

JULIE POWELL ( AUSTRALIA )

MOONLIGHT SIREN

https://www.juliepowellphoto.com/

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-2/julie-powell/

deborah martin ( new zealand )

THEN

MARGARET KALMS ( AUSTRALIA )

LIGHT THE CATHEDRAL

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-3/margaret-kalms/ http://artofwoman.com.au

DOWN UNDER artists

Australia and New Zealand

INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN SIMS

By Maureen Maxwell

Thank you for doing this interview.

From the time you joined Artists Down Under we’ve seen many of your artistic creations in our ‘Artists Down Under’ Magazine, and on our Facebook page.

One of the reasons for doing a series of interviews for our magazine is to enable our members to get to know each other a little better. I also think our general readers will be interested to hear more about your creative journey. These are your websites for our viewers to look at https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-3/kevin-sims/ or https://www.kevinsims.co.nz.

HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN ARTISTIC, AND HOW DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND PHOTO ARTISTRY?

Thank you, Maureen, for the interview as it has challenged me to reassess my motivation for creating art. I have always had an interest in art however I do not consider that I am artistic or naturally talented. I have taught myself by trial and error and by accepting criticism.

My interest in photography stemmed from the time I purchased a small pocket camera to record the countries that I visited as part of my military career. The limitations of that camera saw me investing in a Canon A1 complete with a zoom lens. This resulted in having to learn a new set of skills from reference manuals, magazines and an expensive trial and error practice as each exposure incurred a financial cost. I was fortunate to be offered the opportunity to shoot several portraits and weddings however this proved difficult and stressful to coordinate while working a career that comprised of irregular shifts. My focus then shifted to trying to make photographs using various lighting and camera tricks.

I constructed a small colour darkroom to experiment with photo composition and light manipulation. Limited success - however it showed me a path that I wanted to follow. Computers were in their early development and when “Photoshop” was in its infancy I purchased a copy along with a Canon DSLR. Another huge learning curve – keeping up with learning new features as photoshop developed – building computers to cope with the increase in data handling and management – learning to take photos that would composite without excessive manipulation. Slow and time consuming however I fortunately stumbled across Sebastian Michaels’ fantastic ‘Photo Artistry’ course which pulled all my learning together.

INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN SIMS (CONT....)

YOU CREATE A WIDE VARIETY OF IMAGES WITH YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY & PHOTO ARTISTRY. MANY ARE IN A MYSTERIOUS STORY BOOK STYLE; OTHERS ARE A MORE SURE AL STYLE. THEY ALL TELL A DIFFERENT STORY. CAN YOU PLEASE TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR FAVOURITE GENRES, AND WHY?

“Dare to be different” is how I approach both my photography and photo artistry. My favourite subject for photography is Landscape. I enjoy the challenge of finding interesting light and given its rapid variability requires forward planning, luck, and quick thinking. I have a tremendous respect for the patience and perseverance of the dedicated landscape photographer. In conjunction with landscape photography, I like to incorporate the environment by putting people in places doing things naturally. Once again it requires some forward planning, luck, and quick thinking.

DIY and problem solving give me great satisfaction. To that end I have now returned to exploring Still Life and in particular liquids and optical tricks. The reason for this is due to wanting to create specific images for my art. Stock images although plentiful seldom fit my purpose and along with artificial intelligence I am always concerned about the issue of copyright.

Surrealism is how I would categorize my art. It is an extension of my photography in as much as it takes my images beyond what I have been able to achieve through the lens. I like the image to tell its own story and for the viewer to draw their own interpretation.

WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION AND IDEAS FOR YOUR CREATIVE COMPOSITIONS?

I am not sure that there are any specific triggers for my creative compositions. My brain is always active, and I must consciously switch from the analytical process to the creative process by creating a distraction through having music playing in the background. Once the creative transition takes place either an image or word in the music will allow an idea to take shape. The same occurred when I used to paint with oils and time became irrelevant.

Natures Nectar II

Despair Of Saviour

Dinner For Two

INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN SIMS (CONT....)

CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THE TECHNIQUES YOU USE TO CREATE YOUR ART WORKS?

I put the music on as a distraction for my brain and I hate the white canvas so I often start with a solid colour that I feel will set the mood for the image. I will then look through my photo catalogue and select 1 or 2 images that have some interesting elements that may be useful. These images often require preparation to make useful (for which I use a Topaz software workflow to clean and resize) then mask each selection. From here I just make several quick finger exercises to practice any photoshop technique that I wish to learn or refresh. This exercise forms the basic concept for development. With that as a base I then try to build a story using hero – villain - supporting cast. The result is often complicated and requires simplification.

The next step is to edit using photoshop to enhance detail and create atmosphere. I am still an amateur at this and have resorted to using the Blake Rudis ZSE and PE photoshop plugins.

THE PHOTO ARTISTRY ENVIRONMENT WE ARE INVOLVED WITH IS A NEVER-ENDING JOURNEY WITH COUNTLESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNING. DO YOU ENJOY THE LEARNING?

Learning with a purpose keeps me exploring and expanding my creative journey. Photoshop is endless and AI is being embodied into all the creative tools. The challenge for me is to control the process and not allow photoshop and the AI to drive my creative decision making. I am currently using ‘mid journey’ to show me ideas created from my prompts. From these suggestions I may use an element to enhance my creation or to set up a photo session.

INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN SIMS (CONT....)

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY TAKING YOU IN THE FUTURE?

I always planned for my art and photography to keep me active as part of my retirement and not as a business. I have always created art for my own pleasure and now I am ready to share it further. My website requires updating with a more fit for purpose focus. I have an Epson P906 printer and need to learn how to make exceptional prints for display.

WHAT DOES BELONGING TO ADU MEAN TO YOU?

I am not a social media fan as I see little benefit in its negativity. I am grateful to be able to show my art in the ‘Artists Down Under’ Magazine and it is my intent to submit my art for the Awake magazine as well. Seeing the work of many talented artists stimulates my creativity

PLEASE TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF, WHERE YOU LIVE, YOUR BACKGROUND AND YOUR OTHER INTERESTS.

I was born at the bottom of the South Island and grew up on a sheep farm set up in the green rolling hills of Southland. Later we moved to Central Otago where we lived amongst some of the most spectacularly rugged scenery. Schooling at this time was streamed academic or practical. I expressed an interest in music and art however I was told that having no natural talent for those fields the academic path was the only option for me. At this time, the “deer industry” was in its infancy. Light aircraft and helicopters were being purchased specifically for this growing industry. I was fortunate to get the opportunity to go flying when a spare seat was available. I was hooked. Given no choice with my education I then set my sights firmly on becoming a pilot. At 17 ½ years I joined the New Zealand Airforce and commenced an aircrew career. In tandem to this I commenced my personal path to gaining my airline transport pilot licence and have enjoyed a wonderful flying career. Having recently retired I am looking forward to enjoying my art and photography along with learning to play my guitar. Life is just as busy now however I now dictate how I choose to live it.

MAUREEN MAXWELL ( AUSTRALIA )

READY TO TAKE ON THE WORLD

http://www.artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-3/maureen-maxwell/

DEAN HOHN ( AUSTRALIA )

https://www.facebook.com/dean.hohn/photos

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artist-2/dean-hohn/

BEV TERAWSKYJ ( AUSTRALIA )

THE RED ROOM

https://artistsdownunder.com.au/artists-1/bev-terawskyj/

OFF THE WALL

ALISON MEIER ( NEW ZEALAND )

BELT AND BRACES

PRUE WRIGHT ( AUSTRALIA )

COMING OUT

artists african animals photographic challenge theme: monthly artistic down under

Pam Henderson - Smile For The Camera

CatBeagle Creations

Penny De Jong - Strangely Surreal Serengeti

Prue Wright - Watercolour Giraffe

Marina Hobbs - Elephant King

Marie Helyar - Majestic Charge

Bev Terawyskj - He’s Soooo Tall

Karen Waalwyk - The African Mismatch

Andrew Haysom - Kanzi

Sandy McCleary - Watching Over You

Rosa Perry - Safari Serenity

Denise Hunter Logan - Intrepid Explorer

Christina Brunton - Regan The Rhino

artists

DOWN UNDER

Australia and New Zealand

adu artists business advertisements

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c h e r i s h e d p h o t o s t h e g i f t o f r e s t o r a t i o n bridhie@yahoo.com.au mariehelyarartist.com.au

Helping Women with Endometriosis

50% of profit donated to endometriosis research

When I first heard about endometriosis I felt a deep compassion and need to do what I could to help. Women with endometriosis suffer debilitating pain, disruptive symptoms and often endure multiple operations simply to function normally. Few people are patient when listening to descriptions of pain, symptoms or illness. This can have the effect of silencing people who are ill.

My compassion inspires my photoart which I show in presentations to raise awareness. I joined Awake to teach me advanced Photoshop skills, specifically to expand my photoartistic skills to create imaginative and dramatic images.

My photoart opens dialogue enabling freer expression of hidden feelings, experiences too private to mention in ordinary conversation. I create photoart inspired by the concerns of women with endometriosis. Several women have said that the process of imaging their suffering has helped them to face their pain and illness. There is immense strength in being heard. I want my photoart to become visual screams!!

26 women with endometriosis have told me about their experiences. They spoke to me about their concerns and collaborated during the photo session. We explored meanings of body, ideas of self and impacts of illness together, agreeing which ideas we would explore photographically. My photos are often carefully arranged, but that doesn’t mean they are fake. They represent the personal truth and experiences of 26 women with endometriosis. These women are remembering and acting out their OWN experiences. They choose their own stance and facial expression. Women with endometriosis are the only people who truly know what endometriosis FEELS like.

Unfortunately endometriosis is relatively common; an estimated 1 in 10 women living with endometriosis, being over 175,000,000 women worldwide! And an estimated 500,000 women in Australia! Their experiences are heart-breaking. Regular illness and debilitating pain result in missed education and poor career opportunities leaving them women vulnerable to poverty.

Women with endometriosis need real medical progress to reduce their suffering. I passionately desire to raise money for endometriosis research so that faster diagnoses are made and more effective treatments are found. To raise money for endometriosis research, I host events and sell products on Redbubble. Recently I gave $3,000 to Canberra Endometriosis Centre!

Art by Margaret Kalms

Share ‘EndoWomanArt’ with your friends on social media to raise awareness and money for women’s health!

We all need clothes & household goods. Buy yourself a treat or buy a special gift for your friends. Make your shopping count!

Remember 50% of profit goes to endometriosis research!

https://www.redbubble.com/ people/EndoWomanArt/shop

Follow ‘Life with Endometriosis’: https://www.facebook.com/ LifeWithEndometriosis

See Margaret Kalms photoart, ‘Life with Endometriosis’: http://www.endowomanart.com

Margaret Kalms

Bunch Of Butterflies On Grevillea Sweatshirt

Butterflies False Colour Grey Stripes

Bunch Of Butterflies On Grevillea Pencil Case

WEBSITE:

http://artistsdownunder.com.au/

http://tinyurl.com/artisitsdownunderpublic