Coolamon-based artist Marita Macklin was "super thrilled" to discover she had been nominated as a finalist in this year's Hand and Lock prize for embroidery.
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It is the second time she has entered the competition, open every year to textile artists worldwide and carrying a top prize of US$3500, plus a work placement in London.
This year's theme was 'digital doppelgangers', which saw Mrs Macklin spend months creating a sculptural artwork exploring the concept of the digital space, and "the ghost of a person".
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Her piece, entitled 'Shadow Work', includes embroidery motifs based on circuit boards to represent the digital world.
It has already arrived in London, ready to be included in the Hand and Lock exhibition before the winners are announced in November.
Operating out of her studio in Coolamon, Mrs Macklin specialises in hand-guided machine embroidery using antique machines from the late 1890s to the 1950s.
She is hoping that the Hand and Lock prize will act as a "springboard to be able to get a career happening within embroidery", working towards this goal for the last couple of years.
Mrs Macklin has been crafting for decades, however, learning to sew as a six-year-old alongside her grandmother, working in theatre costuming and going on to study fine arts at university.
She said that creating, especially with textiles, has always been "one of those things that's just always connected and spoke to me forever".
"It's one of those mindful things when you're creating that you can kind of put everything else aside and immerse yourself in the techniques," she added.
"I love the ... ability to make wearables that are unique and individual to express yourself."
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