Nicola Hensel appreciates the power of drawing. It helps her pay attention to the fullness of life. For her, its meditative process is a way of "being present" to aspects of the world often overlooked. Hensel's finely attuned work exemplifies the rewards of long and close observation. As she looks for the 'prize' in nature, which is so often obscured by familiarity, her exquisite renderings reveal what gifts are offered by what may seem mundane. Using considerable technical facility, the artist works directly and immediately from the specimens she gathers to capture their transient fragility. As if adjusting a lens, the work focuses attention on the subtle extraordinariness of the ordinary. Also to this end, Hensel often works with collage, enjoying its aptitude to layer and enrich content and meaning through association of shape and form. Like her drawings, they are a perfect tribute to the wonderment of nature. Since attaining her Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts, Hensel has exhibited regularly. She has had solo shows at the Seattle University in the United States, in Sydney, and in her home town of Newcastle, as well as numerous group shows. In 2005 Hensel's work was selected for inclusion in the Art Gallery of New South Wales' Dobel Drawing Prize.
