Alexandra Harwood

I enjoyed so many of the prompts in the Craft ACT Creative Journaling Challenge, so it’s difficult to choose just one. I suppose my favorites' would have to be the ones where I feel that I pushed myself and created something beyond what I initially imagined, in particular Bird Song, and Brutalist. It was also fun to experiment with images with Bush, Traces, Wrinkle, and Alchemy.

The prompt, 1927, gave me the best opportunity to learn something new and interesting about Canberra. I tried to choose materials that I felt fit with the prompt—such as the reused face masks for Sustainable; I went through quite a few of these, needing to wear them every day for work. Due to the pandemic, masks became both important for safety, but also a threat to the environment, so I enjoyed having the opportunity to find a new use for them.

As a number of these works were created when I was away from home—either visiting family or interstate— I had to choose portable materials in advance, and then respond to the prompts with the small selection I had.

Alexandra Harwood is a Canberra-based artist and art therapist. Having studied painting at the School of Art and Design at the Australian National University, she tends to work in expanded field painting, with her practice also including collage, embroidery, and drawing.

Alexandra Harwood finds inspiration from several sources, including internal process, colour palettes, composition, and pattern.