Russell and Carol Monson Photography and Textiles Window on the World November 2021

This is not the first time we have combined our interest in photography and textiles to produce a shared body of work.

This new exhibition, ‘Windows on the World’, combines Carol’s interest in photography and textiles, with Russell’s shared interest in photography and printing.

Carol has used many new and some old photographs from a range of trips to stimulate the creation of varied textiles. We both have qualifications from the ‘Photography Studies College’ in Melbourne and Carol completed ‘Embroidery for Design’ at Burwood Teachers’ College, now Deakin University. Formal qualifications are a great starting point for artistic growth but continual workshops and practice add to these.

We enjoy the process of photography from identifying suitable subjects, framing and composition of images through to printing all work at home. Similarly Carol’s textiles are often created from hand dyed fabric and many have photographic images printed directly onto fabric.

Collaboration comes in many forms; critiquing each others’ work, juggling images to balance with textiles but specifically this year using the design elements of line, texture and colour to draw some fairly disparate works together.

Our photographic inspiration comes from a variety of sources, travel in Australia and overseas, the natural environment and colours in the environment, as well as participation in camera club competitions and challenges. In this current exhibition, because of Covid restrictions, we have had to draw on past experiences and photographs taken in between lockdowns.

We hope you enjoy the way in which the various works speak to each other, through the echoes of colour, line, shape and texture and various interpretations of viewing through windows or frames.

Should you wish to purchase these works in other sizes, or want to discuss other work, please contact us … our contact details are on the business cards.

We are both active members of the Baw Baw Arts Alliance and the Warragul Camera Club.

Carol Monson, carol@monson.net.au
Russell Monson, russell@monson.net.au