Your photographs, transformed by hand

A photograph can hold an extraordinary amount – a person, a place, a relationship, an entire period of our lives. I can work with a single treasured image or help you explore a larger family archive to find photographs that might become the starting point for an artwork.

Commissions may begin with:

• family and childhood photographs
• wedding and anniversary photographs
• portraits of loved ones
• multi-generational family archives
• memorial photographs
• historical photographs, negatives and slides
• contemporary digital and smartphone images

Every commission is different. Scale, composition, material and presentation are developed in response to the image, its story and the place where the finished artwork will live.

Preserve a family story

So many meaningful photographs now live on phones, computers or inside albums that are rarely opened.

A commissioned artwork brings an image back into our everyday lives. Through cyanotype, photographs are transformed using light, water and time into tactile objects that carry the marks and subtle variations of the handmade process.

I particularly love working with family archives and vintage textiles, where the history of the photograph and the history of the material can come together in a single work. The finished artwork can commemorate someone important, mark a marriage or milestone, reconnect generations, or simply give new life to an image you have always loved.

How it works

1. Start with a conversation
Send me a photograph, a selection of images, or simply tell me the story or idea you have in mind.

2. Develop the artwork
Together we’ll consider photographs, scale, composition, materials and how you would like the finished piece to live in your home or space.

3. Making the work
I create your artwork by hand in my Montsalvat studio. Depending on the commission, this may involve preparing photographic negatives, testing compositions, hand-coating materials, exposing, washing, toning and finishing the work.

4. The finished artwork
Once completed, your artwork is prepared for collection or delivery. Framing and installation can also be discussed if required.

FAQs

Can you work from old photographs?
Yes. I work from scanned prints, negatives, slides, and digital files.

Do my photographs need to be professional quality?
No. Family snapshots are fine, smartphone photos are fine. It’s the subject that matters, the type of camera is not quite as important.

Can multiple photographs be combined into one artwork?
Yes. Composite artworks can be created from several images.

What textiles do you use?
I work primarily with new or vintage cotton and linen suitable for long-term display. The cyanotype process is archival.

Can you create memorial artworks?
Yes. Many commissions celebrate loved ones, family history, and significant life events.

Do you ship interstate?
Yes. Artwork can be shipped throughout Australia and internationally.

Commission deposit
Commission deposit: $300 (deducted from the final artwork price upon confirmation of the commission)

For me, creating a cyanotype is a way of touching history. The process makes you slow down and uncover layers of memory, much like opening an old family album. Every print is shaped by hand, making each image unique and alive. The beauty lies not only in the finished photograph, but in the act of making – a tactile experience that connects us to the past and creates something to be remembered.

Enquire about a commission

Whether you already know exactly what you’d like, have a single treasured photograph, or an entire archive and no idea where to begin, I’d love to hear the story behind it.

Send me a few details using the form below and I’ll be in touch. There’s no obligation to proceed – the first step is simply a conversation about what we might create together.