WOODEN ART
Sherry prides herself on her custom art. She works closely with the client to be guided on the content they wish to see portrayed and represented in the piece, capturing moments or memories.This could entail themes such as family, travels, history, experiences, or any other preferences.The process begins with a conversation, an estimation of price, followed by initial concept sketches, then the final approval to go ahead to create the piece. The pricing and timeframe will be determined as per the size and Sherry's availability.Sherry only takes on several pieces a year due to her workload, so if you are interested in having a commissioned work painted, please contact Sherry. Preferably giving her as much notice as possible.Please see below commissioned works that Sherry has completed over the past several years.
BIRTHING STICKS
Southwest Healthcare approached me to design and create some Birthing Sticks that could be given to Aboriginal children born at the Hospital as a keepsake. These Birthing Sticks will be given to families with the story about what the design on the sticks mean as well as acknowledging the Peek Whoorrong country they have been born on.
MESSAGE STICKS
I was asked by The First People’s Assembly of Victoria to create a message stick that the new Treaty Authority members would use when speaking during negotiations towards Treaty. I asked Uncle Rob Lowe to create the wooden message stick for me and I burnt the design onto it that has the same elements from the ‘Drivers of our own Destiny’ artwork which the First People’s Assembly commissioned me to create for the Treaty Negotiation Framework document that went to the Government. Dr Petah Atkinson, Thelma Austin, Jidah Clark, Andrew Jackomos PSM, and Duean White will be the inaugural members of the Treaty Authority. They will serve as the independent ‘umpires’ and oversee the historic Treaty negotiations expected to begin in Victoria shortly and will help negotiating parties navigate the conversations required to realise Treaty in Victoria.
FEATURE POLES
Commissioned for a private home in South West Victoria.
THE STORY BEHIND THE FOUR POLES
I was contacted by a couple that wanted to commission a local person to do four wooden feature poles for the entrance way for their new home.
Being something I hadn’t done before, I was up for the challenge. I had an overwhelming feeling that I needed to try wood burning so I could combine both wood burnt designs and paint on the poles.
After a practice and a cup of courage, I thought I would be able to pull this off. And I exceeded all my own expectations. Each pole is organic wood, having its own beautiful natural curves and characteristics.The first pole I did was a Protection pole with 10 different shields around it to represent protection of their house.The second pole I did was a Welcome pole, with the word welcome in our local language burnt into it. My design had gathering places on it to represent people coming to their house and the journey lines represented the journeys people made to get there. The boomerangs represented people coming back like a boomerang.The third pole had a vet theme to represent her husband’s work as a vet. This had a mixture of native animals, domestic animals and farm animals as well as their tracks. The hands represented the hands-on approach as well as his healing hands he uses to help animals. The fourth pole has a Nature Dreaming theme. It has a woman in the tree, who is grounded by her roots and connection to country. When she gives herself permission to be spiritual and set her spirit free, she morphs into a bird and fly’s for the light. Her spirit guides are watching over her around the sun.
On the back it is a night time theme, acknowledging the connection between the moon and the tides and the majestic whale breaching in the moonlight. I have also included nocturnal animals swinging from the stars.
"The poles themselves are stunning! Each tells a story of welcome and us. Not only are they beautifully crafted and painted, they represent a unique piece of local indigenous culture. We feel the poles are pieces to be honoured and cherished of which we are grateful custodians. We could not think of a better feature to welcome people to our home."