For nearly half a century, Donna Balma has persevered at her easel, constantly challenging herself and others to consider the way we look at West Coast Culture. From her early days in Victoria through her sojourns overseas, to her eventual residency on the Sunshine Coast, Balma's work has been informed by location. Nowadays, her art finds its audience both locally and internationally. In much the same way that the young Donna ventured overseas in her lifelong search for experience and education, her work is now at home in the United States, Europe and Canada.
This book, being only a partial telling of her story, serves to underscore the scope of her achievement. The struggle to express the particular vision that is born of her indivdual biography is reflected in these pages. The evolution of her work itself expresses her constant innovations and experimentation, the careful balance between self-congratulatrory complacency and artistic dissatisfaction that the artist must deal with each time she steps in front of a blank canvas. The internal judgements that can lead to progress or paralysis, the search for inspiration and mentorship, recognition and membership, the struggle to transcend female roles in the mid-twentieth century - all of these issuses inform Donna's story and consequently her work. And having found inspiration in the experiences of other women artists - in Frida's painted tears, in Remedioìs' flowing dresses, in Florine's filigree irony - Donna has always been ready to share her own.
The opportunity to assess her accomplishments at this stage of the game is priceless for both those familiar with her work and for those who may chance upon it for the first time. Even more, it is an important addition to the growing list of women artists who have managed to get themselves recorded into history. One fine day, it will be possible for a young women just starting out on her artistic career to study The Lives of Women Artists and to revel in a comprehensive collage of women's experiences and wisdom. Part of Donna's legacy will be her determined
and ongoing encouragement of women in the arts.
Rebecca Turner
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