Therese Flynn-Clarke – fibre artist

Therese Flynn-Clarke

2-3 June, 2012

Studio:
Artist in residence Binna Burra Mountain Lodge,
Binna Burra Rd, Beechmont
0421 650 493
thereseflynnclarke.blogspot.com

What you’ll see:
Therese Flynn-Clarke is a primary school arts teacher who was introduced to fibre art a decade ago. She started making traditional baskets but soon branched out into more creative pieces which are as much about beauty and looks as they are about practicality.
Therese seeks inspiration from the environment and the world around her – it is not uncommon to find pieces of plant, old strands of wire and building site leftovers woven into her work.
Her relationship with the Mt Barney Lodge goes back five years, during which time she and a group of artist friends have spent two weekends a year at the Lodge sharing their love for art and craft.
Therese says she finds Mt Barney and the natural scenery inspiring and an ideal atmosphere in which to create. She will run a series of fibre art workshops over the weekend, suited to both children and adults.

Therese Flynn-Clarke says she’s always felt a connection with the Scenic Rim and can feel herself unwind as she drives out along the country roads.
“I just feel my spirit centre, I love the countryside, I love the mountains, it’s a really beautiful, peaceful place,” she says.
“There’s something about being right in the middle of all that nature with that really imposing mountain right there.
“I’ve been coming out here for the past five years with a group of about seven friends. They are our craft weekends, it’s been a twice a year ritual.”
Therese is a primary and prep school art teacher who developed an interest in fibre art about a decade ago. She initially began making traditional baskets but soon branched out into more creative, abstract pieces. She’s constantly searching for things to weave into her artwork and nothing is out of bounds.
“You develop knowledge of what you can use – day lily leaves, reeds, and Alexander palm inflorescence. I love going to new places and exploring new places because you can collect new materials and experiment with weaving them.
“Over the years my work started to become more sculptural.
“I started to incorporate texture into my work”
Therese is studying visual arts part-time and through her studies her work has really taken a new direction. A self-declared shoe addict, she has created a series of shoes using everything from palm fronds to noxious weeds. One of her miniature woven shoes is currently part of an exhibition at a Brisbane art gallery.
“Some people like practical things and I can make practical things,” she says.
“Years ago I gave my dad a little basket, he said ‘What do I do with it can I put peanuts in it?’
“I said to him, ‘It’s a work of art, put it on your shelf and look at it.’
“People often think it has to be functional but you can’t always control the fibre and it becomes a thing of interest – the way the light plays on the surface, how the colour of the dyed fabric weaves through the piece.”
Therese loves to incorporate the most unlikely things into her work. Old pieces of wire, rusty bits of tin, plastic she’s retrieved from a skip on a building site.
During Studios of the Scenic Rim Therese will lead a number of workshops, teaching a variety of fibre art skills.
One workshop will focus on traditional basket making; another will be aimed at families using recycled materials.
“I leave my workshops quite open-ended,” she says.
“I love giving people the skills and the materials and leaving it to them to decide what to create. I am really excited by that.”