Mourning Room Painting

Brenda's work explores our relationship with existence, beckoning contemplation of life's ephemeral nature. Inspired by Victorian memento mori aesthetic, Brenda's imagery navigates themes of loss and mourning. Brenda works across a variety of mediums with a focus on glass as a vehicle for her storytelling. She works with cast, fused, and blown glass forms, using them as a substrate for her painting and screen-printed elements. Incorporating elements like hand-sewn components and sculpted waxes for lost wax casting underscore her methodical approach. She occasionally uses unconventional materials such as found objects and human hair to enhance the narrative. Brenda graduated from Monash University in 1992 with a BA in Ceramic Design majoring in Glass. Initially she was drawn to the hot glass studio, its immediate and dynamically interactive nature appealed to her, however she soon realised that for her the hand of the maker need to be much more evident on her work. So, she focused on kiln formed glass, print making and mark making. Her professional practice has included numerous workshops with local and international artists, acting as a studio assistant and running a dedicated community access studio. Her work is represented in collections in Australia and internationally.