Since childhood Julia has loved anything to do with paint, pencils, ink, chalk and paper. Throughout her career as an educator she carved out room for a parallel passion in the creative sphere, honing her skills in many artistic avenues at evening classes in Hornsby TAFE, Workshop Arts Centre in Willoughby and Ku-ring-gai Art Centre in Roseville. Now retired, and with Roslyn Kean, a highly regarded Japanese woodblock artist as her mentor, she is free to refine her artistic expression in printmaking.

For me, jewellery is a unique form of artistic expression. The vast array of possibilities that springs from marrying materials and techniques means there is always new ground to explore. As something portable and wearable it travels through our daily lives and can be a simple adornment or a piece of art that hints at both the designer’s vision and the wearer’s self-expression.
I had originally intended to be a fashion designer and was fortunate to be able to train at East Sydney Technical College’s Dress Design Studio in the early 80s – a course that taught a myriad of practical skills but also had a very strong emphasis on design for it’s own sake. But whilst my fashion designer ambition did not endure, the design principles I learned during my time there have influenced me to this day.