The pedagogical significance of the life and work of artist Helen Grey-Smith
type: CreativeWork
description: Visual arts educational practice has been built upon a tradition which has neglected the work of women artists. The reasons for this are explored in the introduction to this research and in the literature review. The research will examine aspects of the lived experience and work of a Western Australian woman visual artist within a context of the traditional cultural and educational paradigms which influenced her development as a visual artist and which, it may be argued, continue to influence all visual artists. The participant in the research, Helen Grey Smith, has been a prominent member of the visual arts community of Western Australia since the late 1940s. Helen Grey-Smith's chosen fields were textile printing, collage and painting in acrylics. She continues to work at her studio in Pemberton. The research was conducted as a hermeneutic/phenomenological study, as explained by Van Manen (1990). This method allows for the study of unique human experience and is consistent with the values of feminist research. The method of data collection was through a series of tape recorded conversations conducted at Helen Grey-Smith's home. Material from the transcribed conversations is contained in the appendices, which are designed to help the reader gain a full understanding of the nature of this artist's life and experiences. Through the transcription and analysis of these conversations, themes which emerged formed the basis for analysis and reflection.
abstract: Visual arts educational practice has been built upon a tradition which has neglected the work of women artists. The reasons for this are explored in the introduction to this research and in the literature review. The research will examine aspects of the lived experience and work of a Western Australian woman visual artist within a context of the traditional cultural and educational paradigms which influenced her development as a visual artist and which, it may be argued, continue to influence all visual artists. The participant in the research, Helen Grey Smith, has been a prominent member of the visual arts community of Western Australia since the late 1940s. Helen Grey-Smith's chosen fields were textile printing, collage and painting in acrylics. She continues to work at her studio in Pemberton. The research was conducted as a hermeneutic/phenomenological study, as explained by Van Manen (1990). This method allows for the study of unique human experience and is consistent with the values of feminist research. The method of data collection was through a series of tape recorded conversations conducted at Helen Grey-Smith's home. Material from the transcribed conversations is contained in the appendices, which are designed to help the reader gain a full understanding of the nature of this artist's life and experiences. Through the transcription and analysis of these conversations, themes which emerged formed the basis for analysis and reflection.
author: Phillips, Gwen
keywords: Art, Study and teaching, Vocational guidance, Women artists., Art Education
date published: 1997-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-27T19:23:15Z
provider: Edith Cowan University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia