Candy Spender-van Rood: interdisciplinary creative: jewellery; painting & drawing, digital prints

Candy Spender, also known as Candida Spender-van Rood, is a distinguished Australian artist and designer who has been a prominent figure in the creative arts for decades. Based in Crib Point on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, she brings a wealth of experience from her early days in graphic design and postgraduate studies at the Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. Her professional journey is marked by the international success of Candy Spender Jewels, a brand that gained recognition with stockists such as Browns in London and various galleries across North America. Today, her practice has transitioned back to her core disciplines of painting, drawing, and digital printing, while still maintaining a niche in creating unique, "re-treasured" jewelry pieces. Her work is deeply influenced by her family's heritage in fashion and metaphysics, blending a sophisticated eye for detail with a spiritual and environmental consciousness. Through her studio, Candy Spender continues to explore the intersection of wearable art and visual storytelling, offering one-of-a-kind creations that range from intricate necklaces and earrings to expressive gouache paintings and digital art. Her aesthetic often features a wabi-sabi sensibility, emphasizing the beauty of imperfection and the history of the materials she uses.