INTERVIEW with Sally Stevens Artist || 2026 Finalist for The Australian Wearable Art Festival

SD: Hi, Sally. Can you introduce yourself to my readers who don’t know you yet? 

SS: Hi Suzanne! Thank you so much for this lovely opportunity. It’s been such a pleasure getting to know you and your community online. 

I’m an emerging crochet fibre artist with over 28 years of crochet experience. My creative background spans wedding styling and design, as well as graphic design, both of which continue to influence my artistic approach through storytelling, composition, and attention to detail. 

After spending the past ten years living abroad in Colorado and Canada, my family and I recently returned home to Australia and now live on the beautiful south coast of NSW. I’m a mum to two wonderful children, aged seven and four, and I’m incredibly grateful for the unwavering support of my husband, who has been beside me throughout everything.

SD: How and when did you get into wearable art? 

SS: Surprisingly, this is my very first foray into wearable art. Until recently, I had consciously stayed away from it. I felt that wearable crochet, as I understood it at the time, didn’t align with my aesthetic or the conceptual direction of my work. 

That perspective shifted after returning to Australia and joining both the Crochet Guild of Australia and the Eurobodalla Fibre and Textile Artists Group. The encouragement and creative energy within those communities inspired me to rethink what wearable art could look like through my own lens. 

In 2025, I was awarded second place in the Crochet Guild of Australia’s annual conference challenge, which happened to be a “hat” theme. I created a sculptural goddess crown interpreted through my own techniques and storytelling approach. That piece sparked something, it made me realise that wearable art didn’t have to fit into a preconceived box. It could be expressive, narrative-driven, and entirely my own.

When entries opened for the 2026 Australian Wearable Art Festival, I felt ready. I was at a point in my artistic journey where I was actively seeking challenge and growth. Stepping into wearable art felt like the perfect next evolution.

SD: What advice would you give to a younger version of yourself when you were starting out in wearable art?

SS: Given that this is my first step into wearable art, I would tell my younger self not to dismiss it so quickly. 

It’s easy to form assumptions about what an art form is meant to look like, especially when you only see other people’s interpretations. But wearable art, like any creative discipline, is expansive. One person’s approach should never define your understanding of what’s possible. Wearable art becomes powerful because every artist brings their own perspective to it, that diversity is what makes it so compelling and beautifully unique.

I would remind myself to trust my instincts, embrace my aesthetic, and approach new creative challenges uninfluenced and with curiosity. 

SD: What keeps you inspired?

Life - it may sound cliché, but it truly is the greatest source of inspiration. 

I find ideas in the most unexpected places: nature, fashion, people, Bunnings, long drives, cafés. When you keep your mind and eyes open, inspiration is everywhere.

Living on the south coast has deeply influenced my work. I’ve always felt drawn to the ocean, but being immersed in it daily has strengthened that connection. The rhythm of the tides, the textures of sand and driftwood, the movement of water, they all feel symbolic and layered with meaning.

My 2026 Australian Wearable Art Festival entry, “She Who Inherits the Sea,” emerged from this connection. I began imagining the daughter of the water, the next in line to inherit and care for it. She knows every grain of sand, every current, every shifting breeze. She is both protector and embodiment of the sea.

This concept was deeply inspired by watching my own daughter interact with the coastline, her curiosity, her respect, her wonder. She is part of the next generation that will inherit our oceans, and that thought profoundly shapes both my inspiration and my intention with my entry. 

SD: Explain your understanding of sustainable fashion practices and how you incorporate them into your design process.

SS: My understanding of sustainability is strongly shaped by my background in wedding styling and design, and the bridal industry, where I witnessed firsthand the scale of overproduction and waste.

Many garments are mass-produced using synthetic materials that can take more than 150 years to break down. Bridal gowns are often worn for a single day, and I observed situations where discontinued fabrics were burned or sample gowns discarded to protect brand positioning. It was confronting and heartbreaking.

As a crochet artist, I’ve intentionally built my material selection process around those experiences. I prioritise second-hand and repurposed materials, both natural and synthetic, because they have already been produced and, in many cases, discarded. By incorporating them into my work, I extend their lifecycle, reduce landfill contribution, and lessen demand for newly manufactured synthetic fibres and artistic pieces.

My Australian Wearable Art Festival entry even incorporates a recycled wedding dress as a quiet homage to my bridal background — transforming something traditionally worn once into a reimagined sculptural narrative piece.

I recognise there are moments when new materials are necessary to achieve specific structural or artistic outcomes. However, I strongly believe that if we collectively prioritised second-hand and upcycled materials wherever possible, the environmental impact across the artistic, fashion and textile industries would be significantly reduced.

SD: You’re a 2026 finalist in The Australian Wearable Art Festival. What excites you most about this? 

SS: When I received the finalist email, I genuinely couldn’t believe what I was reading. It still feels surreal! 

What excites me most is the opportunity for growth. Stepping into a genre I’ve never competed in before pushes me beyond my comfort zone — technically, conceptually, and professionally. The scale of production, the calibre of fellow finalists, and the public exposure as an emerging artist all present an incredible learning curve.

 I’m excited to refine my craft, challenge my assumptions, and see how my crochet practice evolves under this kind of creative pressure. More than anything, I’m grateful for the opportunity to stand alongside such innovative artists and contribute my voice to the wearable art conversation.

Tickets are going fast. Go and buy tickets to see Sally Stevens Artist in The Australian Wearable Art Festival here

The Australian Wearable Art Festival Website: https://australianwearableart.com.au/
The Australian Wearable Art Festival Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/australianwearableart/
The Australian Wearable Art Festival Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/australianwearableart/

Sally Stevens Artist’s Links:

Website: https://www.sallystevensartist.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578033246609
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sallystevensartist/

Photo Credits:

First and third photo: Photography by Sally Stevens