SPRING 2026 EXHIBITION

MOTHER VESSEL
by REBECCA EDWARDS

Opening reception: Friday, April 17, 5-7p
On view through June 26, 2026 at Michelle Thomas Fine Art Gallery + Studio

PROGRAMS
Mother Vessel: Creating Sacred Space workshop, April 22, 6:30-8:30p
Creating With Spray Inks class, April 26, 11a-1p
Seeing Poetry workshop, April 30, 6-9p
The Art of Kirie: Japanese Paper-Cutting, May 3, 11a-1p
Poetry Masterclass, May 7, 6-9p
Mother Vessel: Creative Portal, May 16, 10a-12p
Introduction to Gel Plate Printing and Other Mark-Making Techniques, May 19, 6-8p
LEARN MORE + REGISTER

Rebecca Edwards (born 1969) is an Australian poet and visual artist based in San Francisco. She has exhibited works on paper and found object sculpture in Japan, New Zealand, and Australia, with work held in private collections across these countries as well as in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. The University of Queensland’s Fryer Library houses a collection of her works on paper—including drawings, paintings and papercuts—alongside manuscripts, journals, and other ephemera (Rebecca Edwards Papers UQFL434). Mother Vessel is Edwards’ first exhibition in the United States.

A childhood spent in remote parts of the South Pacific—Papua New Guinea and Nauru—and various regions of Australia, including the Northern Territory, Queensland, and New South Wales, exposed Rebecca Edwards to many different modes of existence, and many different ways of experiencing and creating art. The culture of the Abelam people of the East Sepik, PNG, was an early and profound influence.

This foundation deepened over time through engagement with Nauruan and Kiribati Islander beadwork and needlework, African fetish sculptures, Catholic icon and shrine imagery, and Japanese papercutting (kirie). At sixteen, she spent a year in Japan living with a family in Hiroshima Prefecture, an experience that informed her enduring connection to the country. She later studied at the University of Queensland, majoring in Japanese language and culture, and won the Ford Medal for Poetry twice. Several grants from Arts Queensland, Australia Council, and Asialink have supported her return visits to Japan to write and exhibit.

 Rebecca Edwards is committed to a sustainable practice which includes repurposing materials destined for landfill, even when that means climbing into a dumpster! She is captivated by the doll form, particularly paper dolls, 12th-scale miniatures, and sacred icons and fetishes. An experienced educator, she has taught drawing, papercutting, mosaic, poetry, prose writing, collage, and bookmaking to students of all ages, and has performed her poetry at major literary events in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. 

Her latest collection of poetry, Plague Animals (Puncher and Wattmann, 2020) is available for purchase at the gallery.