Get to know the artist

Welcome. Hi, I’m Tamara.  

Art is my healing practice.  

Optimistic experimentation along with colour, texture and design, is at the heart of my creative work.  

My previous career path in education was a joy and I was always looking for new ways to encourage creativity in my students and staff.

My artistic endeavors are intertwined with my recovery from a serious illness. A couple of years ago I had to stop work and underwent successful neurosurgery to ‘evict the nuisance’.

My hobbies, my art and sewing, have been fundamental to my healing.

Tokpa means ‘by the water’, the ideal name for my studio (or spare room, kitchen table, balcony and sometimes couch) overlooking Darwin Harbour in Australia’s Northern Territory or on the banks of Jackson’s Creek, at my childhood home, in Victoria.  

Creating is my passion, it is my self expression, it makes me happy. It is me. And so, it turns out a brain tumour isn’t the end - it is just the beginning.