Artist Profile: Ilyhana Kate Kennedy BA (Ed),
Ilyhana Kennedy is a multi-media artist currently working in pastels, clay & acrylics, textiles and found objects, and venturing into combining artwork with writing to produce ebooks.
Ilyhana’s artworks are the expression of her relationship with Nature.
“As a child, I was somewhat mothered by Nature, as we were privileged in that time to be able to run free and barefoot in the bush near our home on the Sunshine Coast.
I’ve always been able to see patterns in Nature, and I am constantly astonished at both the order and chaos that I see, and particularly the beauty. And this is what I hope to bring through my work.
I love working with pastels as they are so immediate. There is no process coming between the image in my mind and the paper. I work with a blending rather than stroking technique. The finished soft texture really allows the work a soft inner glow. I'm fascinated by the play of light through the subject I'm working with and I'd say that my work is as much a relationship with light as it is with the beauty of our wonderful seashores and forests.”
1970. Ilyhana, then known as Kay Contini, began her career as an artist in oils.
1977-1985. Ilyhana discovered the feeling of clay in the hands and bonded firmly with the medium. She became a professional potter and pottery tutor, living first in Cairns , then in Pomona and selling her works in Eumundi Market and various store outlets, as well as commissions such as making platters for the then known Jetty restaurant at Boreen Point.
During this period, Ilyhana (still known as Kay or Katie Contini) also discovered the joy of pastel artwork and began to exhibit works that expressed the relationship between the human form and Nature.
1985-1997. Ilyhana turned to textiles, creating screen-printed clothing, and then windfish and wildflower scarves in handpainted dyed silk, again finding appreciation from buyers at Eumundi Market who often sent their purchases overseas. Works were also exhibited in Sunshine Coast galleries.
During this period, Ilyhana’s pastel work was also developing strongly and showing in local galleries, as well as attracting private commissions. Always the theme of the beauty of Nature inspired the works.
1997–2010. Ilyhana returned to her birth name of Kennedy and after an extraordinary life experience, adopted her current name. In 2001, and now living in Victoria, Ilyhana invested her passion for Nature and community-building in the founding of the Earthsoulscience Co-operative to develop education in social and environmental sustainability. The artwork was at rest, in gestation for a time, with some indulgence in the textile art of crochet.
2010-2013. Ilyhana returned to Queensland and once again resumed her art career. Living at Peregian Beach, and re-discovering the beauty of the dunes, and the wonderful patterning on such sea creatures as the nudibranch, her works in pastel and clay are vibrant with the natural life of the Sunshine Coast.
In 2012 Ilyhana created a children's picture ebook "Imagine That!" with sixteen images painted in acrylics and some collaged work.
And in 2013, working across media as so often happens in her artwork, Ilyhana ventured into fabric flower handcrafting and launched her Handcrafted Fabric Flowers.
2014-2015. Ever adventuring, Ilyhana finally found her way with the medium of acrylics and began painting larger works for eventual exhibition.
Ilyhana’s artworks are the expression of her relationship with Nature.
“As a child, I was somewhat mothered by Nature, as we were privileged in that time to be able to run free and barefoot in the bush near our home on the Sunshine Coast.
I’ve always been able to see patterns in Nature, and I am constantly astonished at both the order and chaos that I see, and particularly the beauty. And this is what I hope to bring through my work.
I love working with pastels as they are so immediate. There is no process coming between the image in my mind and the paper. I work with a blending rather than stroking technique. The finished soft texture really allows the work a soft inner glow. I'm fascinated by the play of light through the subject I'm working with and I'd say that my work is as much a relationship with light as it is with the beauty of our wonderful seashores and forests.”
1970. Ilyhana, then known as Kay Contini, began her career as an artist in oils.
1977-1985. Ilyhana discovered the feeling of clay in the hands and bonded firmly with the medium. She became a professional potter and pottery tutor, living first in Cairns , then in Pomona and selling her works in Eumundi Market and various store outlets, as well as commissions such as making platters for the then known Jetty restaurant at Boreen Point.
During this period, Ilyhana (still known as Kay or Katie Contini) also discovered the joy of pastel artwork and began to exhibit works that expressed the relationship between the human form and Nature.
1985-1997. Ilyhana turned to textiles, creating screen-printed clothing, and then windfish and wildflower scarves in handpainted dyed silk, again finding appreciation from buyers at Eumundi Market who often sent their purchases overseas. Works were also exhibited in Sunshine Coast galleries.
During this period, Ilyhana’s pastel work was also developing strongly and showing in local galleries, as well as attracting private commissions. Always the theme of the beauty of Nature inspired the works.
1997–2010. Ilyhana returned to her birth name of Kennedy and after an extraordinary life experience, adopted her current name. In 2001, and now living in Victoria, Ilyhana invested her passion for Nature and community-building in the founding of the Earthsoulscience Co-operative to develop education in social and environmental sustainability. The artwork was at rest, in gestation for a time, with some indulgence in the textile art of crochet.
2010-2013. Ilyhana returned to Queensland and once again resumed her art career. Living at Peregian Beach, and re-discovering the beauty of the dunes, and the wonderful patterning on such sea creatures as the nudibranch, her works in pastel and clay are vibrant with the natural life of the Sunshine Coast.
In 2012 Ilyhana created a children's picture ebook "Imagine That!" with sixteen images painted in acrylics and some collaged work.
And in 2013, working across media as so often happens in her artwork, Ilyhana ventured into fabric flower handcrafting and launched her Handcrafted Fabric Flowers.
2014-2015. Ever adventuring, Ilyhana finally found her way with the medium of acrylics and began painting larger works for eventual exhibition.
Awards & Exhibitions
April 2011 "Sea, Sand and Form", a highly successful combined exhibition of seven artists showing sculpture and photography.
June 2011 3rd prize in pastel section of Maleny Art Awards & Exhibition
September 2011 Kenilworth Arts Council/LGI Art Competition
June 2011 3rd prize in pastel section of Maleny Art Awards & Exhibition
September 2011 Kenilworth Arts Council/LGI Art Competition