Papermaker Wins University Art Award

A love of paper as an art form has seen a 21-year-old graduate secure Southern Cross University’s top art award, the 2005 Kaske Fellowship.

Natalya Garden-Thompson will use the $5,000 Fellowship to learn hand papermaking at the Creative Paper Mill in Burnie, Tasmania.

The annual Fellowship, now in its fourth year, is designed to help artists make the transition from study to professional practice.

“I love the medium of paper for its versatility. The Burnie mill appeals because of their development of an ecologically sound product," Ms Garden-Thompson said.

“Paper can be made from cotton as well as other natural fibres. Paper can be the surface upon which art is created or it can be made into art”.

Ms Garden-Thompson’s ambition is to establish a hand papermaking studio and workshop in Lismore.

The Kaske bequest provides nine annual awards to Visual Arts students. The late John and Sheilagh Kaske were prominent Lismore residents in the arts and business community who made a significant bequest to the University in the late 1990s.

The winners of this year’s Kaske Awards were announced at the opening of Next art gallery on February 22.

The gallery’s first exhibition for 2005 is “insights”, exhibiting the works from the private collections of staff from the University’s School of Arts.

For further information, contact Helen Hughes, Communications Manager, Southern Cross University, 66203039 mobile 0418 431484.