MEGAN Gilbert, an artist and fashion designer, draws inspiration from the Outback landscapes of the Far West to make paintings and clothes in her home studio in Broken Hill.
Ms Gilbert, who moved to Broken Hill from Queensland after visiting with the Broken Hill Art Exchange, said her arts practice has always reflected where she’s lived at the time of making.
“Wherever I’m living is the biggest source of inspiration,” she said.
“For my paintings, I start with walks in the bush and draw from the beautiful nature that’s everywhere. I either take photos and paint from that, like I’ve done with some of Copi Hollow or from kayaking on the lakes, or sometimes the experience of being in a landscape will give me the idea.”
Ms Gilbert said her mum enrolled her in art classes after school as a child.
“I really loved art, and I decided I was going to be an artist or an actress there and then,” she said.
“But my sister was really good at acting so I decided on art. I’m glad I did because I think I enjoy making art more than anything!”
Though she’s been painting quintessentially Australian landscapes for many years, she’s recently opened an online shop that sells handmade clothing that she also textile designs and sews in her home in South Broken Hill.
“I’ve always loved dressing up since I was a kid,” she said.
“I dabbled with screen printing at university, and then got into textile design and making surface patterns.
“I thought it’d be cool to put the surface patterns onto clothes, through collaborating with fashion brands.”
Ms Gilbert said when she moved to Broken Hill she realised the chance of collaboration with a local fashion brand was slim.
“There was nobody to collaborate with on that, so I decided I should just do it myself,” she said.
Ms Gilbert said sustainability had always been an important focus in any of her work, and her fashion label was no different.
“I’ve always been focused on the impact, with my painting too,” she said.
“I just recently transitioned from acrylic paints to oils, using a specific brand of paints that’s all-natural pigments so it’s more sustainable and less toxic.
“So it was a natural progression to bring this into the fashion label, because I didn’t want to be another fast fashion brand and contribute to the problem.”
She began researching the most eco-friendly ways to produce clothing.
“So most of it is digitally printed onto natural materials, plant-based, non-synthetic fibres, and the ink is soy based which is very water efficient,” she said.
She also planned to have her label, Moogie, focus on made-to-measure pieces, to reduce waste and ensure size-inclusivity.
Her handmade wares will be for sale at this weekend’s Broken Hill Art Exchange Makers Market.
“I have a few pieces I’m selling at the Makers Market this weekend, it’s all my own textiles,” she said.
“There’s a button up tee, some really cool elasticised pants, some drawstring pants, scrunchies, tote bags, these square scarves.”
“If someone sees something they like the idea is for them to be able to place a custom order so I can make them something that fits perfectly!”
Ms Gilbert’s clothing is available to order at moogie.me and her paintings and totes are for sale at https://meganvictoriagilbert.com/
