Meet Shelley Bickerstaff

Meet the Hobart-based contemporary artist Shelley Bickerstaff, the artist behind our latest Resort ‘24 Hip Hills print and friend of Romy founder, Emma Petterwood. We have sat down with Shelley to talk about the inspiration behind the Hip Hills print designed in collaboration with Romy, her buzzy pop-up art exhibition concept 'Bickerstaff Blizzard' in Hobart, the greatest achievements in her career and what we can find her doing outside of work life. 

Tell us a bit about your collaboration with Romy – what inspired the Hip Hills Print?

I had been working on a collection called ‘Bodyscape’ a mix of landscapes integrated with the female form, these pieces stem from a mindset of being ‘connected to body, grounded by nature’.  When I am working on any art pieces it is an escape for me, a space where I lean into my feminine energy, away from the responsibilities of work and motherhood and connect back to self.

Early in 2023, Emma was working on ROMY’s second artist collaboration, and a wonderful lunch meeting resulted in ‘Hip Hill’s’, becoming part of the resort ’24 collection.  Emma adapted the artwork into a beautiful fabric and onto the pieces. The set is so elegant and feminine, an unplanned perfect match for the artwork.

What’s next in store for Bickerstaff Blizzard? 

In 2022, Jessica Blizzard and I converted an abandoned heritage building located on Elizabeth Street, Hobart into an thriving events hub for emerging Tasmanian artists and established interstate artists to show and sell their works. We loved curating the shows and meeting so many artists and art lovers through the space. 

After hosting over 20 exhibitions and over 200 artists in the year, we have now left the physical space and will be hosting private buyer exhibitions and events in pop up locations in 2024. It will be a fun format that also allows us to focus on our other work and personal projects as well.

In your career as an artist, what has been your greatest achievement yet?

There is a freedom to my art, as I have no expectations or pressure on myself, so I can be in moment.  My first solo show ‘Graffiti Women’ was a surreal experience, the first time pulling a collection together on scale and being open to receive all the feedback!  The show sold really well and from then lots of opportunities have followed. 

But by far, my proudest moment was hearing the ROMY collection including my ‘hip hills’ print was picked up by David Jones and would be in store nationally. That was the moment that allowed me to start dreaming and believing anything is possible.

What inspires your personal style?

Over the past few years my attention has been everywhere but fashion, even though it plays such an important part to how we feel and show up in the world.  I have been playing it very safe but watching Emma’s curation for After Eight and Romy has been really inspiring to me. A focus for 2024 is to experiment and play with fashion and accessories again… Kicking things off with the Icy Roses collection is a good place to start.

Alongside being an artist and owning your own gallery, you are also the Brand Manager at local Hobart winery, Frogmore Creek. Outside of your busy work life, what do you love to do?

I feel very lucky that work and life all flow together and I get to share that with my daughter.

Spending time with Molly is my favourite thing to do. Since living in the city, we walk and scooter everywhere, going to the markets and cute restaurants, galleries, and parks.  Molly has always had an eye for fashion and loves experimenting with her style. I am excited to travel and explore that with her more in 2024.

What is next for you? Do you have any major projects in the works? 

I love my life of moving parts and controlled chaos but as we enter 2024, I have recalibrated so I can focus my time on more of the things I love and made space for other opportunities to flow in.  I am sketching a lot of ideas for a solo show and have some exciting Frogmore Creek Brand projects bubbling away. 

The lesson I have learnt from the ROMY collab is sometimes you can’t predict where something will lead, but by leaning into things that interest you, living with an open mind and without fear of judgment, opportunities find you  – more of that please.  

Discover the Hip Hills Print online now.

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The original Hip Hills artwork from our Shelley Bickerstaff x Romy Collaboration is now for sale

To purchase, email Shelley at Hello@bickerstaffblizzard.com or DM her on Instagram @shelley.bickerstaff