Garden: A place where plants are grown for pleasure and purpose.
Curator: from the latin, curare - to care for.
Photography by Em Wollen
Grown and nurtured by artist, horticulturist and former garden designer, Colleen Southwell, The Garden Curator is a creative nod to all things found, inspired by, and cultivated in the garden and landscape beyond.
A professional paper sculpture artist and garden maker, Colleen creates from a tin cottage studio hugged by her country garden, just a hop and skip from Orange in the picturesque Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia.
Her home is shared with her farmer husband, two sons and a bundle of four legged and feathered companions. She can often be found wandering the garden at daybreak in pyjamas and work boots, dogs in tow, secateurs and camera in hand, seeking the light.
Always seeking the light.
“Contemporary life has us on a quest seeking elusive contentment in manufactured perfection. My work challenges this pursuit, inviting the onlooker to slow, look closely, engage the imagination and connect with the cycle of life around us, whether it be in our own backyard or the great wide open. In doing so we rediscover perfection in its purest form - emerging buds, the veins of a leaf, the wings of an insect.
As an artist and garden maker, my creative process requires me to do just that. The more my artwork develops and garden path unfurls, the more I find myself marveling over the smallest details. The daily walk through the paddocks has become a study in plant forms and insects and the garden provides endless inspiration. Even the ‘imperfections’ are beautiful when observed closely and with an open mind.
Only through slow and mindful attention to detail can I create and grow. The fragility of my artwork requires a gentle and respectful hand – the fragility of our environment requires the same.
Pause, look, see. What a lovely relief from these crazy days.”
Images by Em Wollen