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Meet Luanne

Thanks for taking the time to look at my web site and getting to know a bit about me. I hope you enjoy your visit.

I live in Traralgon, in country Victoria, about 1¾ hours drive east of Melbourne, with my husband David, children Louise and Alexander, and our four footed furry family members Toby, Sam and Lily, my painting “helpers”. I grew up in Bairnsdale, further east again. I’ll always be a country girl at heart, even though these days, Traralgon is far more urban than country, it’s nice to have the bush right on the back door step.

I have a spacious home studio where I work, designing and painting, and from time to time “playing” with my dolls. I run weekly classes and occasional workshops from here for small groups. I travel teach on weekends in and around Melbourne and in country areas too, I had a lovely teaching trip to Tasmania last year. As a regular contributor to many magazines, publishing has become an important part of my life. My first book is due for release in April this year. I hope to do more publishing and more traveling in the future. I love to put myself back in the students seat too, and participate in workshops with my favourite teachers whenever possible. If you visit my Gallery, you can see some of these.

As long as I can remember I’ve had the creative urge, you could say I’m a bit obsessive! It started with doll clothes, and has progressed through knitting, crochet, lace making, embroidery of all types, to making clothes for my children when they were youngsters. Then I turned my hand to decoupage, patchwork and quilting, stumpwork, beading and making teddy bears.

It seems when life throws me a crisis; it often turns out to be a true turning point. About 11 years ago after a serious personal health crisis, I was looking for some “therapy” and decided to give ceramics a go. I hadn’t done that! It soon became apparent to me that using decals was too restrictive. I wanted to design and paint my own decorative motifs. So… I enrolled in folk art classes with the expectation of doing a beginner’s course and then going back to ceramics. Everything else I had tackled I picked up quickly, usually teaching myself from books. I thought about 6 classes should do the job. Little did I know!!!!! I have SO much more to learn. I doubt that I will get back to ceramics in this lifetime!

About 6 months after I began classes, I was “encouraged” to start teaching by the owner of the shop where I was learning. I said, “No, I can’t do that!” she said, “Of course you can!” With a lot of self doubt, I did agree to give it a go, and started teaching one class a week at a for pocket money, if nothing else I thought it could feed my habit.

The rest of it is a very long story, but my hobby has snow balled into a full time career. It’s been wonderful, because it’s grown with my children and allowed me to be home for them and choose my own hours. Along the way I’ve become a teacher, published artist, travel teacher, an author and developed a style all of my own, my signature textured work. I have met so many wonderful people that I otherwise would not have known, and made truly treasured friends. Painting gives me refuge when I need to get away from the world. I have found my purpose!

There are not too many days go by now that I don’t have a brush in my hand. If it’s not decorative art, it’s doll art. Another passion that developed as a result of a medical crisis. At 8 years of age, my daughter Louise was diagnosed with Type 1 (insulin dependent) Diabetes. I threw myself into learning about and making cloth dolls, as a way of coping when things got tough. I made a LOT of dolls in a short space of time, and we are all coping pretty well now. I hope to have time in the future for many, many more dolls, they are such fun and a great excuse to have to paint a face, or a pair or shoes, or fairy wings or whatever!

If you would like information about pattern packets, classes, or decorative art or doll making workshops etc., please E-mail me. I would love to hear from you