Sydney based visual artist Desiree Martin works from her home studio. Born to a Polish mother and an Australian father with European, English and Aboriginal heritage, the mixture of these cultures, those patterns and stories
imprinted on her childhood form, the origins of her creations. In later years this
merging of cultures matured into a strong commitment in Unity and Equality in her ethos.
When only a few years old her entire family moved to Indonesia for 2 years when her Father was transferred for work. Although very young, the colour and pattern from local clothing, sculpture and architecture made a lasting impression. When her family returned to Australia, she lived in the Western suburbs of Sydney where she observed and grew up in what would be termed an ‘Australian suburban’ culture.
Desiree studied visual merchandising when she left high school only to find herself having trouble getting employment due to the recession. Then turning to office work, very much lacking in creative satisfaction, she pursued her creativity through studies in fashion production at Hornsby TAFE and later fashion Design at The Whitehouse School of Fashion
Desiree’s Mother and Grandmother both worked as dressmakers throughout Desiree’s childhood. They shared with
her their love of beautiful fabrics, embellishments and design. Admiring the dresses they created she was encouraged to express her creative freedom by playing and sewing items from the scraps from their work and reading all of her Mother’s dressmaking magazines and books. All this was to lead on to her progression into fashion design. Through her love of fashion, fabric and family, Desiree developed her passion for colour, movement and texture. These elements are driving force behind much of Desiree’s creations.
From TAFE, Desiree went on to study at that prestigious private college The Whitehouse School of Fashion. After she qualified Desiree entered the workforce in Australia’s fashion industry. She enjoyed the challenges and the work and continued working in this industry until she married and had her first child. Pressures of motherhood prevented her from the rigorous long hours the fashion industry demanded and she dedicated herself to the duties a full time mother required while raising four sons.
After the birth of her first two children Desiree began to refuel her passion for visual art. Attending many art classes and art workshops she found her way back to a creative existence. Always an artist, she would seek out artistic forms of income. Using her design skills she would go on to be employed as a character illustrator and face painter. The link between story telling and the visual arts was now united by her developing self awareness of family connection and history. The study of heightened self awareness through Meditation and NLP Training also opened up a gap to unite self awareness and art making as a valuable tool for connection and community. This need to unite the two areas of creative expression and the creative self expression through the mind has greatly influenced the subjects and styles in Desiree’s artworks. Mentoring those struggling with anxiety and issues of self worth she couldn’t help thinking that the unity of expression and awareness could be an asset for many.
This realisation lead Desiree on a pathway to deeper understanding about her own self expression and emotions. Her desire to launch into the ‘professional’ art world and provide a unique combination of art and awareness has driven her learnings in art skills and mindfulness techniques. Excited by the possibilities of bringing to the community a program that can help others understand themselves better through the visual arts and display her own creative journey. Desiree can’t wait to carve creative pathways with the combination of fine arts and mindfulness. Connecting to your art, understanding where you come from, where you are going, and how you feel about it, are the amazing rewards she gains through her art making. She looks forward to offering these benefits to her community in the future so that others can benefit from a life lived more creatively.
An emerging artist, Desiree currently is on Instagram @desiree.m.martin and
Facebook @Desiree Martin _Artist