A Return to Place

Life has a way of tugging us in many directions. These past months have been filled with repairs and renovations at Bank House, preparing the new Atelier SWC for its opening in November, tending to unruly gardens and chasing after wayward labradors who prefer to make their own rules. In all of it, the rhythm of writing Sketches slipped quietly into the background.

But perhaps that pause has been part of the story. The truth is, our environments — the rooms we live and work in, the windows we look out from, the scents we burn through the day — shape our creativity more than we sometimes realise. Here at Bank House, we are surrounded by history and by the details that keep us inspired: vintage furniture collected over time, walls lined with block-printed posters and black-and-white photographs, the familiar glow of a candle and the view across the road to the bush. Each of these elements makes its mark, weaving together the fabric of our days.

As we bring Sketches back, it feels right to begin here: with the tangled, imperfect, but deeply inspiring story of place. Over the coming months, we’ll share more of what’s unfolding — the Atelier, soon ready to welcome you on the weekend of the Rockley Garden & Arts Show (8–9 November), the small rituals that steady us, and the way scent connects these threads of home, creativity, and the Australian landscape.

Thank you for your patience while we’ve been busy behind the scenes. It’s good to be writing again.

~

🌿 Also inspiring us this Spring

In Bloom
Sunflowers, lilies, tulips — five of the most beautiful flowers in art. See more →

House of Ghosts
Norman Lindsay Gallery, Faulconbridge (Thursday–Monday, 10am–4pm)

This extraordinary exhibition layers wall paintings, works on paper, and light installations to explore the presence of ghosts — both imagined and remembered. Wendy draws on personal and national histories: Norman Lindsay’s inconsolable grief at the death of his brother Reg in 1916, and her own family’s connections to spiritualism and the unseen.

The theme resonates deeply with me. I own a Wendy Sharpe painting that sits above the mantle in my bedroom, titled Mary Magdalene paints the gum trees. I like to think of it as a quiet message from Matt — a reminder to continue my own creative journey of image-making and the bush.

It’s this layering of personal memory, history, and imagination that makes House of Ghosts so moving — an exhibition not just about loss, but about the way creativity carries us forward.  Find out more →

Add to Your Diary
This year’s Rockley Garden & Arts Show will be on 8–9 November.

Listening
Music for Growing Flowers — Erland Cooper. Gentle, unfolding soundscapes for spring mornings with a nod to the Impressionists.

Reading
Recipes Handed-Down for Artists and Food Lovers by Zaira Zarotti — a luminous book at the crossroads of Venetian cooking and art. Discover more →