Annemieke Mein was born in Haarlem, Holland, in 1944. She migrated with her parents to Australia in 1951. After attending school in Melbourne, Annemieke took up a career in nursing, graduating in 1967. She married Phillip Mein in 1968 and they moved to Sale in south-eastern Victoria in 1971.
As a child Annemieke was enchanted by the diversity of Australian insects. She studied, sketched and collected butterflies and other insects. Encouraged at school, she explored numerous mediums for her creative expression. Annemieke was given a Husqvarna Class 20 sewing machine for her eighteenth birthday by her parents. This was the machine that she used on her early pieces and it was particularly suited to the ‘free-sewing’ technique she developed. Husqvarna have always been very supportive of Annemieke, and have supplied later-model sewing machines for her own use, and also sewing machines for the students in her workshops.
When she moved to Sale in Gippsland, Victoria in 1971, her popularity grew and she became recognised as one of the world’s foremost textile artists. Her work combines fabric, paint and sewing threads with many of pieces being dimensional.The techniques she uses include machine embroidery, painting, dyeing, appliqué, trapunto, quilting, pleating, moulding, sculpting, felting, hand embroidery, beading, spinning, weaving, plying, stiffening and wiring - in an amazing amount of combinations.
Annemieke clearly states her motivation is “The encouragement of an awareness of our environment and an understanding of the importance of the preservation of our natural heritage are among the most important needs of our time.” Speaking of her beloved Gippsland’s flora and fauna, she illustrates the timeliness of her art when she says, “I have already seen disturbing changes in the environment and witnessed the effects of apathy, ignorance, financial greed and premeditated vandalism.” “Through my textiles, whether sculptures, wall works, or ‘wearables,’ I hope to make people more aware of our native species while expressing my love and concern for our native environment.” *
Annemieke has become internationally recognised as an Artist and Craftsman. She was the first textile artist to be accepted as a member of both the Wildlife Art Society of Australasia and the Australian Guild of Realist Artists. In 1988 she had similar works touring Australia in both art and craft exhibitions. She is the only textile artist to be featured in Australian Artist. She has exhibited at State and regional galleries in Australia and in 1980 won the inaugural Hoechst Textile Award.
She is represented in the Hoechst and Husqvarna international collections, in private, national and State collections in Australia and in private collections in Holland, Sweden, the United Stated, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Japan and Canada.
In 1988 she was awarded the Order of Australia Medal 'for services to the Arts, particularly in textile sculptures and bronze bas-relief sculptures'.
Annemieke's health has deteriorated over the past few years and she is unable to work as an artist due Cryptogenic Sensory Neuropathy which has made her unable to spend time at the sewing machine or to have fine control of pencil or paintbrush. This has been a devastating blow for her as she had always thought she would be pursuing her artistic career until she died.
* Quote taken from www.annemiekemein.net.au
As a child Annemieke was enchanted by the diversity of Australian insects. She studied, sketched and collected butterflies and other insects. Encouraged at school, she explored numerous mediums for her creative expression. Annemieke was given a Husqvarna Class 20 sewing machine for her eighteenth birthday by her parents. This was the machine that she used on her early pieces and it was particularly suited to the ‘free-sewing’ technique she developed. Husqvarna have always been very supportive of Annemieke, and have supplied later-model sewing machines for her own use, and also sewing machines for the students in her workshops.
When she moved to Sale in Gippsland, Victoria in 1971, her popularity grew and she became recognised as one of the world’s foremost textile artists. Her work combines fabric, paint and sewing threads with many of pieces being dimensional.The techniques she uses include machine embroidery, painting, dyeing, appliqué, trapunto, quilting, pleating, moulding, sculpting, felting, hand embroidery, beading, spinning, weaving, plying, stiffening and wiring - in an amazing amount of combinations.
Annemieke clearly states her motivation is “The encouragement of an awareness of our environment and an understanding of the importance of the preservation of our natural heritage are among the most important needs of our time.” Speaking of her beloved Gippsland’s flora and fauna, she illustrates the timeliness of her art when she says, “I have already seen disturbing changes in the environment and witnessed the effects of apathy, ignorance, financial greed and premeditated vandalism.” “Through my textiles, whether sculptures, wall works, or ‘wearables,’ I hope to make people more aware of our native species while expressing my love and concern for our native environment.” *
Annemieke has become internationally recognised as an Artist and Craftsman. She was the first textile artist to be accepted as a member of both the Wildlife Art Society of Australasia and the Australian Guild of Realist Artists. In 1988 she had similar works touring Australia in both art and craft exhibitions. She is the only textile artist to be featured in Australian Artist. She has exhibited at State and regional galleries in Australia and in 1980 won the inaugural Hoechst Textile Award.
She is represented in the Hoechst and Husqvarna international collections, in private, national and State collections in Australia and in private collections in Holland, Sweden, the United Stated, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Japan and Canada.
In 1988 she was awarded the Order of Australia Medal 'for services to the Arts, particularly in textile sculptures and bronze bas-relief sculptures'.
Annemieke's health has deteriorated over the past few years and she is unable to work as an artist due Cryptogenic Sensory Neuropathy which has made her unable to spend time at the sewing machine or to have fine control of pencil or paintbrush. This has been a devastating blow for her as she had always thought she would be pursuing her artistic career until she died.
* Quote taken from www.annemiekemein.net.au