ARTISTS

This design is based around my love of the bush, the trees, and the flowers. The different blends of the backgrounds represent the amazing variety and beauty of my country.

This design represents how all of our actions & words in life affect not only ourselves but other people.

This design represents a waterhole and meeting places. Throughout Australia, Indigenous people have used waterholes & rivers as meeting places whether they are just family groups or for ceremonies involving several clan groups.

This new design is available in blue or yellow backgrounds.

When I was a young girl, I was always fascinated with sea turtles. I loved it when we would go to the beach. We would play for hours on the beach and in the water hoping to see these marvellous creatures. The brown and blue represent the colours of sand and water.

At low tide on the beach at Corindi we kids would ramble all over the rock platforms and explore the pools to see what was in them. I especially loved the star fish because of their colours and shapes. The circles on the design are the rock pools and the black lines and dots represent the star fish. The symbols also represent the coming together of the different members of my family to camp at Corindi Beach.

Susan Island is situated in the middle of the Clarence River separating Grafton and South Grafton. This is also the traditional boundary of the Bundjalung and Gumbayngirr nations. The Island is an important area for the local Aboriginal women. This design depicts Aboriginal women, the rainforest of the Island and the spirits that watch over and guide us.

This design represents nature. The background colours of blue and brown are the earth and sky. The female figure represents fertility and growth. The green dots along the tree branches represent flora and fauna. The blue along the roots represents water which sustains all life.

This design is in interpretation of memories I have of my mother’s garden. The Australian summer heat would smother us. I can remember watching the dragon fly’s amongst the flowers. There would be a hazy feel in the air and you were often to hot to do anything but look at the dragon fly’s buzzing around the garden.

This design is based on part of a legend about the beginning of life. When the rainbow serpent had travelled all the earth, she returned to the place where she had first appeared and called out to the frogs to come out. The frogs where very slow to come out for their bellies where heavy with water which they stored in their sleep. The rainbow serpent tickled their stomachs and when the frogs laughed the water ran all over the earth to fill the tracks of the rainbow serpent. That is how the lakes and rivers where formed.

This design is about journeys. The many types we take through our lives that shape who and what we are. Some are long, some are short, some have a huge impact on us, while some have none at all. The circle represents where we are centred both emotionally and physically. The dot work is the journey between each of these constants in our lives.

This design depicts Debby’s interpretation of Susan Island and what it represents as a women’s site on the Clarence River in Northern NSW. The circles represent meeting places for the women, sheltered by the greens of the rainforest.

This fish trap is located on the southern end of the Arrawarra Beach in northern NSW. Arrawarra means ‘meeting place’ in Gumbayngirri. ...In the old days, people say that the fish would come in when there was two tides in the same night during the mid winters full moon...The blues in the design depict the swirling high tide; the yellow represents the sand ripples left at low tide; the green represents the bush and sand dunes.

Debby was born and raised in Grafton, home of the mighty Clarence River – which is commonly referred to at times as the “Big River”. The colours in this design represent the water and the rainforest that has in the past, covered the riverbanks and Islands of the Clarence. The red circles represent Elizabeth Island and Susan Island. Both are situated in the centre of the river at opposite ends near Grafton. These two Islands have special significance to the local Aboriginal women.

This design reflects on my childhood memories growing up in Grafton in Northern NSW, and visiting my two favourite places - Red Rock and Corindi Beaches.

When I was a child and teenager, we would take our holidays at Minnie Waters National Park in northern NSW. One memory that I particularly have is of the goannas coming out from the bush to explore our campsites and to climb the trees.

As a child, I used to go on fishing trips around the northern rivers area, especially to local beach areas with my family. When fishing with my Grandfather, I remember we were not allowed to make a noise and run around—as all children love to do. The dots in the design represent the earth, water and sun. The white dots represent my Grandfather and I fishing.

This design reminds me of a story my mother told me about the Geckos she spotted while on holidays in Townsville. She seemed to have a great fascination of these creatures.

Story to come

Story to come

The Clarence River is the life blood of the Clarence Valley, located in northern NSW. The Clarence is a beautiful river that stretches from the mountains in the north west, to the sea at Yamba. It is a symbol of sustainability, supporting all life forms across the Clarence Valley. Aboriginal people have worked with the Clarence for many thousands of years. Swimming, fishing, catching turtles... these are just some of the ways in which Aboriginal people from this area have continued this very important connection to this mighty river.

This design is my interpretation of a story my mother told to me. The design reflects memories my mother has of her father and when he used to work in the bush as a timber cutter, cutting sleepers and logs around the Nymboida and Clouds Creek areas in northern NSW and when he used to bring her jubras home to eat. Jubras are found in logs and trees and have been a fabulous food source for Aboriginal people for centuries.

Story to come

“Dungguuny Yandarra” in the Gumbayngirr language. During the fire season, snakes leave their homes in search of shelter from the burning flames. Black represents the burnt country; and Brown represents the earth. When the fire is over and the land returns to normal, the snakes travel back.

Playing at the beach as a little girl with my brothers and sisters, we would try to catch the small goannas living on the edge of the sand, back in the bush. One day after a heavy shower of rain, the colours in the air were so clear and clean that all of the world looked as if it had taken on the colours of the rainbow. The goannas came out and were running through the colours of the rainbow. It was as if these animals came out to enjoy the moment with us children.

When I was young, my family & I would always go to the beach on the weekends. Coming home one weekend we spotted two Kangaroos in a paddock fighting. We sat in the car for ages watching these two animals up on their tails kicking at each other. It has always amazed me how strong and powerful these animals are. As the sun set over the scene, the colours left an indelible impression that I have recreated in this design.

Biguurri in the Gumbaynggirr language. This design depicts the journey of the tribes when they go hunting. The men of the tribe, in charge of getting food, are carrying their spears and boomerangs to kill their food. The footsteps symbolise the path they take. The animal tracks, fish, goanna’s and turtles are the food they hunt for their mob.

Biguurri in the Gumbaynggirr language. This design depicts the journey of the tribes when they go hunting. The men of the tribe, in charge of getting food, are carrying their spears and boomerangs to kill their food. The footsteps symbolise the path they take. The animal tracks, fish, goanna’s and turtles are the food they hunt for their mob.

Story to come

This is the story told to me of how the planets and the milky way were formed. After the Rainbow Serpent made the rivers and the Mountains, wayback in the dreamtime when the land was dark, she thought that her great work was too good not be seen by all. So she quickly shot into the sky to create light. Whilst in the sky, she laid hundreds of eggs which became the sun and the planets, and as she hissed with the pain of creation, her saliva drifted throughout space to create the milky way. This is what we see when we look to the night sky.

This design is my interpretation of fish coming together to spawn. The blue and yellow dots symbolise fish eggs. The green and blue colours represent warmer waters and fertility.