About Wendy Springfield

Since my Fine Art training at Queensland College of Art in the 1980’s I have been selling original art pieces at various art galleries and fashion outlets throughout the regions of northern NSW and Queensland.  I regularly work on commissioned and speculative pieces of jewellery, as well as repairing and restoring precious metal jewellery. My passion has been to add value to Australia’s gem and precious metal resources; and to preserve the manufacturing skills of goldsmithing, in the face of unprecedented popularity of cheaper imported goods. I work with Australian mined and manufactured gold, silver, copper and brass; as well as gemstones of all varieties and values. I upcycle and also use new materials.

I presently teach Gold and Silversmithing at Byron and Murwillumbah Region Community Colleges. I initiated the Silversmithing Course at Brisbane Institute of Art in 2003.

My tutoring and teaching experience dates back to 1987 when I first commenced teaching unemployed local Tweed residents at Skillshare. I taught also at Gold Coast Institute of Tafe. I have been training small groups since that date and also completed a Bachelor of Arts in Writing, Cultural Studies and History.  The Bachelor degree, attained in 2006 required a high degree of competence in written and spoken English to publication and tutorial standards.  The cultural studies component involves knowledge and understanding of global communities, and their cultural heritage of which language and art are integral.  My degree in Social Science also included in-depth studies of Impressionism, especially Gauguin; of Asia; immigrants to Australia; Post-Colonialism; and Indigenous peoples. I have taught silversmithing to at least three thousand people and written several theses concerning Art History.

I have recently exhibited and sold work at the Pomona Railway Station Gallery in Noosa Shire, and Uki Cafe Gallery run by Lorraine Lintern. Other galleries include Hammer and Hand, in the A & I Estate at Byron Bay; at Jules Gallery at Marine Parade, Kingscliff (formerly Kallallu of Griffith Street Coolangatta); the Museum of Brisbane Shop; the Brisbane Institute of Art, Nona Gallery at Windsor; the Tweed River Gallery Shop; and I have entered Regional Art Prize competitions.