Christopher A Collins
Born in Kilcoy in 1966 I
spent the first 18 years in various country towns ranging in population
from 400 to 4000. As country towns had less services then, than they do
now, these years encouraged the development of my manual skills.
My love of art re-ignited
when I moved to Brisbane in 1984 to complete my trade as a panel beater.
I moved into a "groovy" household and was exposed to galleries, Music,
plays and alternative nightspots. Medieval and renaissance social
history and re-enactment started at this time and has been an influence
ever since.
In 1989 I started to work
for John Underwood with a company called Art Busters and explored the
use of casting with bronze and aluminium, making glass, mosaics,
rubbers, fibreglass, steel and installations.
1991 saw My Marriage to
Anna-Margot Millton and by joining her in her business, discovered
jewellery and enamelling. Over the years we have beep actively promoting
an awareness of the art of enamelling in Australia through exhibitions
and symposiums involving both national and international Artists. I
have, through the workshops run with the symposium, had the privilege to
learn from Debbie Sheezel Edwards and Tom Ellis.
Visions of my youth in the
bush, the aforementioned history and modern Gothic are my main
influences as I struggle with that demon called TIME.
