Glass half full

Bead maker Sangita Daniel is inspired by the people, landscape and weather of western Queensland.

Story By Janette Jenyns

Creative energy surrounds glass-bead maker Sangita Daniel as she constantly searches for new ways to express the love she has for her surroundings. Born in Kenya and widely travelled, Sangita came to Miles, on Queensland’s Western Downs, after arriving in Australia three years earlier. Her husband works in the mining industry and they originally settled in Perth, but rural Miles was Sangita’s first taste of country life.
“When I first arrived in Miles I was fascinated by the sight of men in hats, gathered on street corners, talking about the weather,” she says. “I wanted to capture those conversations, along with the images, people and the resources of the Western Downs. To me it was unique.

I have fallen in love with this land and its weather. I strive to capture the ploughed, planted and dried paddocks, the diverse landscapes, the gums and bottle trees with their shades of green and grey, jacaranda trees in the parks of Toowoomba and the water lilies that grow on dams and waterholes. Even the tall grasses topped with feathery seeds that grow beside the road challenge me to capture their images in my beads.”