My Artist Story

Hello, my name is Bella. I am the artist behind Unratio.

Grass Roots

In high school, I was an avid landscape painter. At an early age I won awards and sold my work to prominent people in my community. I painted the ocean. I had found my first flow and joy. But I was an ambitious high achiever and encouraged to follow a conventional path to a corporate career.

Yet I still dreamed of creating things. Over a decade later, I radically changed course deciding to turn a sewing hobby into a business making bags. I up-cycled interesting textiles and leather, I collected from second hand and vintage sources. While shooting and styling product photos and creating social media content, I began to enjoy the photography side of things more. 

I played around with fusing my love for retro tablecloths and embroidered linen with landscape photography, to create ethereal worlds as digital collages. 

After another significant move to a new part of the country, I decided to retire the sewing machine to focus solely on photography and digital collage. It was not long before this lead to drawing digitally and my screen filled with summer, landscapes and colour. I realised that I had walked in a very long circle that lead me right back to my first joy and flow - making art. I wholeheartedly, unreservedly embraced this. I am an artist. 

Fabric, Flowers and Water

I still adore vintage textiles, especially when made using cultural traditional techniques like batik, crochet and lace. I appreciate the time and craftsmanship reflected in delicate woven or printed fabric. I often draw inspiration from fabric and patterns to add historical and textural layers of beauty into my work. I travel to expand my knowledge in this area, soaking up the world of global textiles and heirloom crafts, from hill tribes to island huts. 

Flowers have entered my attention. I make a daily habit now of admiring gardens and flowers. Flowers are beautiful; magnificently designed, fleeting, colourful, intricate and purposeful. I avidly photograph every new variety I discover and the way light dances off the petals and foliage. I just adore all things floral. 

I explore wild landscapes and am always drawn back to the sea and water. Nature is what grounds me, it reminds me of God, the original artist. Water is a living mirror, a powerful life affirming force. I like to draw the landscape to show how it makes me feel. Time spent outdoors in nature is the perfect detox from busyness. 

Surround yourself with what ignites you

Deep down I am a bohemian, rooted in the slow life movement and eclectic art culture. A perennial wanderer, I am drawn to exotic places but return to a home that nurtures my heart. 

Right now I am travelling around South East Asia, soaking up sultry tropical vibes, lush jungles and sparking coral seas. It is awakening my senses and soul. 

I love pot-pourri, all things citrus, dark chocolate, cinnamon, pottery, wallpaper, rugs, wooden furniture, ambient lighting, scarves, floral dresses, buttons, greenhouses, herbs in terracotta pots, jasmine, lemongrass, large sheds, the second floor of old buildings, mosaic paths, leather sandals, long dangly earrings, dinner parties and reading. I am learning to embrace what makes me happy and to truly know what that is. 

Find your voice

I spend my days noticing things. I capture these ideas with photography and pencil on paper. Then I play around with them digitally to create my artwork. 

I prefer to seek out what is lovely in the world. I choose to find joy and exude a positive energy. I believe in love and hope and I try to find this in my creative voice. 

Finding your voice, your interests and passions in life and having the courage and wisdom to pursue them, is a journey worth undertaking. It is my hope, that my art encourages you to take this journey. 

Welcome to my store Unratio and thank you for the gift of your attention. I hope we can meet in this space or out there in this big beautiful world. 

"For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands." - Isaiah 55:12