Student Success Story: Christine Herman

Christine Herman has spent more than thirty years working as a practising artist, with a strong foundation in printmaking and a long history of exhibiting and teaching. Yet despite this depth of experience, when she enrolled in Take Two's Visual Narratives - Print, Paint, Stitch with Sally Tyrie she found herself creatively depleted.

After years of giving so much to her practice and others, something had quietly run dry. The studio no longer felt like a place of possibility. Instead, it had become a space of repetition.

“I was kind of at a low point in my life,” Christine reflects. “I felt isolated… tired and exhausted… and I really needed a kickstart.”

When experience no longer feels enough

For Christine, the frustration wasn't a lack of skill or knowledge. It was the sense of circling familiar ground without moving forward. Each visit to the studio echoed what had come before, leaving little room for surprise or discovery.

Despite decades of practice, she found herself stuck in patterns that no longer felt generative. What she hadn't realised yet was how narrowly she had come to define her own work.

Questioning long-held boundaries

One of the most significant shifts Christine experienced during Visual Narratives was recognising how tightly she had been holding onto the idea of being a “printmaker.”

Without consciously intending to, she had set boundaries on how her work could be made, presented, and understood. The idea of remaining a purist had quietly limited her willingness to explore beyond familiar formats.

Encountering Sally Tyrie's practice changed that perception. Seeing printmaking sit alongside photography, stitching, and layered processes opened a door Christine hadn't realised she'd closed.

Rather than abandoning printmaking, the course reframed it - showing how it could stretch, soften, and evolve.

Slowing down and working more intimately

As Christine moved through the course, her pace shifted. She found herself drawn to smaller, quieter formats, particularly book forms, where she could engage more closely and reflectively with her work.

The intimacy of working at this scale allowed for a different relationship with materials. Printing onto Mylar, experimenting with varied papers, and layering elements together encouraged a sense of curiosity that had been missing for some time.

This wasn’t about producing finished pieces quickly. It was about giving herself permission to explore again - without urgency or expectation.

Allowing the work to become more than flat

A pivotal moment came through witnessing the work of fellow students within the course community. Seeing how others were reimagining their practices helped Christine envision new possibilities for her own work.

"To imagine my work in a more three-dimensional way - that was really an aha moment,” she says. “Allowing myself to dream bigger.”

This shift wasn't just conceptual. It altered how Christine physically interacted with her work, opening up new ways of thinking about form, space, and construction.

Stitch as metaphor and method

Stitching, introduced as part of the course, became something more than a technique for Christine. It emerged as a metaphor for integration - a way of bringing together past experience and new ways of seeing.

“The stitching became symbolic,” she explains, “of stitching together a new way of being, a new way of seeing, and a new way of expressing myself.”

Equally important was the freedom to dismantle. Allowing herself to tear apart existing work, rather than protect it, proved unexpectedly liberating. Pieces that once felt unresolved became starting points rather than dead ends.

Confidence that continues beyond the course

Since completing Visual Narratives - Print, Paint and Stitch with Sally Tyrie, Christine has continued to work with renewed confidence. Layering, tearing, and reworking older prints now feels expansive rather than destructive. What once felt like a limitation has become a possibility.

She also values the ability to return to the course material over time - revisiting lessons as her practice continues to evolve.

The shift hasn't been about reinventing herself as an artist, but about releasing constraints she no longer needs. With space to experiment and permission to dream bigger, Christine's practice has found fresh energy - one that continues to unfold well beyond the course itself.