All her life Kylie has been doing something creative. Thirteen years ago, she was a curator at Pataka. Since then, she has combined her creative practice with being a stay-at-home mum. Kylie has tried using many different materials over the years, eg. coins, to create jewellery which has sold at Toi Store. Currently her main approach is drawing, combined with cutouts and sketching. Her winning work, For decorative purposes only, uses a new technique and media, with pencil on the ukelele to create the effect of woven harakeke, using flax as its strings. Kylie has shown work in a number of shows. In 2019, Kylie won the Jane Hyder Painting Prize at the Friends Art Awards.
Kylie says of her work: “My work deals with nostalgia. When I was little I would visit with my grandparents on weekends. In their lounge they had various Knick knacks including a ukulele made from a coconut. When I was given a broken ukulele last year it reminded me of those weekend visits. I decided to change the texture to look like it belonged in that little room in Raumati that I spent many a Sunday. And like that tourist piece this work is for decorative purposes only.”