A few days ago I was on a train ride back from Katoomba's Winter Magic Festival and magic really did happen. I was standing in a packed cart, not an inch to spare, when a woman caught my eye. I couldn't stop looking at her, I was completely drawn to her energy. And then, the seat next to her magically became available and I sat right beside her. There was small talk about a cloth doll she was sewing for a friend, and then she reached inside her bag and pulled out a small point and shoot camera to show me a picture of when she was a baby. She recently acquired it from a friend and took a snapshot, so she was really proud of her photography skills. Taking a picture of a photograph is not easy. I sat quietly as she exchanged memory cards and started to flip through some seemingly uninteresting people shots. When I asked her if I could see some of them, she slowed down her review and photographs of her and Leonard Cohen appeared. I voiced my surprise and she just smiled, continuing her review. She said that night she felt pretty and showed me a picture of her with fake, long, PINK eyelashes. I was more and more intrigued by her and finally asked her if i could take her photograph, as I thought she was one of the most striking people I've ever met. Literally, her energy just kept on drawing me closer and closer. She graciously agreed, and I took about 5 frames, talking to her as I would a long lost friend. She then proceeded to show me some photographs of her "drawings" and that's when I just about blew a fuse. Her artwork is simply STUNNING, completely alive, colorful and full of emotion. You can see the motion, the love, the passion in each stroke. I finally asked her what her name was and she wrote her name and address on my train ticket to keep in touch. Maree Faulkner.
I will be contacting her again, and hopefully will spend more time with this amazing woman.
She is the current Artist in Residence at Wollongong City Gallery.
ReplyDeleteThank you Celeste! If you do happen to see her, please give her my love...
ReplyDeleteI just read this beautiful blog and photographs of an amazing woman I went to art school with many years ago. Sadly Maree has passed away. Her funeral will be held next week in Wollongong.
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