Unmasked Art

27/07/2026

Yesterday I held the first weekly art-making sessions of my PhD creative arts project (online and at the Old Ambo) with a group of Autistic women - and it was fabulous!

I can’t share their amazing work yet, but here is a pic of some joomchi Korean papermaking that I did alongside them. It’s such a fascinating medium - it looks so fragile, but as you soak and layer it and let it dry, it becomes a very strong fabric. I love seeing it suspended, casting shadows.

I’m looking forward to next week’s session!

26/07/2026

Reminder that the Australian Government will be sending a national emergency alert (a test) to compatible devices (including compatible mobile phones, tablets and smartwatches) today at 2pm.

It will make a loud siren sound and vibration, even if it is on ‘silent’ or 'do not disturb'. If this may startle or unsettle you, you may wish to turn off your phone or switch to airplane mode before the alert (and leave off for an hour after). And if you are in DV situation with a hidden safety phone, you should take precautions.

12/07/2026

So grateful to Amber Rose for generously sharing my PhD research at the end of her amazing conference presentation. It means a lot when Autistic researchers and creatives support one another and help amplify each other’s work. ✨

21/06/2026

My week in pictures ...

1. Every ring represents another season survived. A wood chip cut from a branch of a tree in my backyard, ready to be marked with the rune, Laguz.
2. Even waiting in the car can reveal a gift if you pay attention.
3. Shaggy Archie is getting a haircut this week.
4. Virginia Woolf's prose in The Waves is pure magic: "I see nothing. We may sink and settle on the waves. The sea will drum in my ears. The white petals will be darkened with sea water. They will float for a moment and then sink. Rolling over the waves will shoulder me under. Everything falls in a tremendous shower, dissolving me."
5. A glimpse of Cooloola Stories, a fantastic youth-led art exhibition currently showing at The Old Ambo.
6. Dermatographia, or 'skin writing'. A simple circle traced on the arm caused this welt. Aren't bodies miraculous and ridiculous at the same time?
7. Kyanite, lapis lazuli and pyrite in my studio. Was such a busy week as I continue to sort through the huge response to my PhD research recruitment, and I was incredibly sick that day to boot.

12/06/2026

If you need a sensory pause today, enjoy this moment with ‘Beauty’ that I had at Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson’s exhibition, Presence, currently showing at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art.

06/06/2026

🎨 Calling late-diagnosed Autistic women!

For too long, research about Autistic women has been limited — and arts-based research with us, or by us, has been almost non-existent. That's what this project is here to change.

I'm a late-diagnosed Autistic researcher, and I'm inviting you to join a seven-week creative arts program where you can explore your story and lived experience, make art, and connect with other late-diagnosed Autistic women in a space designed around your needs.

And here's something special: participants will have the opportunity to publicly exhibit their work at the CAVE2 — an amazing immersive virtual environment, and one of only four of its kind in the world.

What makes this different:

- Autistic-led research, by an Autistic researcher
- No art skills needed — all welcome
- This isn’t research done to you – you help shape what the project becomes
- You decide what to create, what to share, and when – with ongoing consent built in at every stage
- Flexible participation: in-person at my studio at the Old Ambulance Station, Nambour, OR online via Zoom
- Come as you are — participation is flexible and you'll be supported every step of the way

What's involved:

- Online orientation session (60 min)
- Six weeks of creative arts sessions (3 hrs/week, in-person or online)
- Exhibit your work in a public gallery exhibition at the CAVE2 and participate in a post-exhibition reflection gathering (optional)

This is a research project, not a therapy program — but it offers a genuinely safe, flexible, and creative space to be seen.

Questions? Reach me at [email protected]

To express your interest or learn more - follow the QR code on the flyer, or this link: https://forms.gle/cXjupgQ7r8yFjNjk6

University of the Sunshine Coast research project | Ethics approval: S262212

19/03/2026

✨Milestone unlocked: My PhD research project now has ethics approval! 🎨 Next phase: a participatory arts-based project with late-diagnosed Autistic women, exploring identity, voice, and self-advocacy through creative practice. 🌿More details to come soon! ~Image: Original artwork by me. Image description in Alt Text.

02/03/2026

Worth the long drive over the weekend for the vivid shimmering blue of Cape Byron, the hills covered in mist, and the magic of ✨🌊🏞️💕

09/03/2024

Such a powerful post by Chloé Hayden about International Womens Day and the need for change and to support all women.



We celebrate International Women’s Day
But my first day in the film industry the first article that was made was ‘how much does Chloe Hayden weigh’
International Women’s Day
But I’m sexually harassed online after every event I go to, comments of ‘someone angle the camera lower’ and ‘I wish her skirt was shorter’ littering comment threads
International Women’s Day
But it took me 12 years to be diagnosed with endometriosis, all doctors telling me ‘you’re being dramatic, take a Panadol and go home’
International Women’s Day
But my first time doing children’s television there was online threads envisioning me as a ‘naughty teacher’
International Women’s Day
But when I show up as an autistic woman, I’m abused for it. Every. Single. Day.
International Women’s Day
But I’ll be harassed in public if I’m by myself or with another woman, but if my husband is with me; suddenly, silence.
International Women’s Day
But 78% of autistic women will be sexually abused in their life time
But our prisons are overwhelmed with women and children being punished for acts of survival
But rates of domestic and sexual violence are still rising
But Indigenous women are ten times more likely to die of violent assault, have a lower life expectancy, have higher rates in infant loss, are being imprisoned at significantly higher rates.
But intimate partner violence has the highest death and disability rate of all preventable risk factors in Australia
But there is still a significant gender pay gap.

But globally we have more rights as an embryo than we do as women.

International Women’s Day
We don’t need cupcakes. We need you to listen.
We need change.
~Chloe Hayden

04/02/2024

This! Pay artists!

Imagine if there was a world with no paintings, no movies, no photographs, no books, or any of the other creative things artists make. These things enrich our lives, and the people that pour their time and energy into making them deserve to be paid.

Neurodivergent Rebel

I’ve seen a lot of “art should be free” (or almost free) circulating online recently - in relation to both intellectual creations (like books) and handmade goods (which can take hours, even years to complete).

Why are artists and creatives seen as less valuable trades to take on?

Maybe it’s because we choose to do a job we love, people don’t feel we should be paid to create or that artists time has value.

Art supplies are also NOT cheap!

Unfortunately, artists are often asked to work for free… maybe it’s because we choose to do a job we love, people don’t feel we should be paid to create or that artists time has value (when many artists have to take on full time jobs to fund their art… which burns them out and makes them too tired to do art).

In an ideal world EVERYTHING would be free.

Why are you singling out artists?