I try to use materials I have already, and I have metres and metres of felt to sew through... but  I would love to experiment more with clay and wood and fabrics in the future.

When is the best time of day to make art?
I'm kind of a night owl, I am most productive in the evenings and well into the dawn time. This seems to be when I am least distracted by the outside world.

I hear you're a kick ass muso too, tell us a bit about your music career?
That's nice of you to say. I write folk/country/alternative pop influenced songs and perform under my middle name, Sui Zhen. I am currently writing an album and have previously released a little self-titled EP back in 2007. I perform mostly in Sydney, but when my album is out I hope to do national and hopefully international tours.

Who would you most like to collaborate with? (musically or artistically)
I would love to collaborate with Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze. Musically I would love to sing in a choir for Bjork and maybe sing for Frank Zappa. This is obviously in my dreams.

What's the best advice you've been given?
I sometimes forget what freedom I have as an independent artist. My partner Jamie will remind me that if I am making art or music for myself then there are no rules, no-one's approval that I need, no right or wrong. It's extremely liberating to remember this. This attitude extends to lifestyle choices. I took 6 months off full time work from September to February last year to focus on art and music and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. It really gave me perspective on what I really need to be happy, which is not much!

What's the worst advice you've been given? Don't aim too high - from my high school careers advisor. When a vending machine takes your money, what do you do? My knee jerk reaction would be to swear at it, pound on it with my fist, press all the buttons. If there is a machine ID number I might take that down and make a complaint... someday What have you got planned in the next few months? I have a headline show coming up on April 16th at The Hopetoun, it will be the last Sui Zhen band show with Claire my kindy friend as back up singer before she takes off overseas. The other lovely bands supporting are Tapestries of Sound who cross between folk, world music and Redjayway a.k.a. Alex Shaw from John Columbus. I am performing Sui Zhen solo shows throughout May at Cafe Lounge, Finders Keepers Markets and a support for Angie Hart. Keep an eye on my myspace www.myspace.com/suizhenmusic