PARKERVILLE resident and printmaker Sue Starcken says she was surprised to learn she would be inducted into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame but is honoured to be part of a group working to improve the world through collaboration and ideas.

“Well it was a big surprise and at first I just thought they’d made a mistake,” she said.

“But they said that was quite a common reaction and it showed a lot of people often doubted themselves.

“What it means to me is to be a part of an organisation that is helping to make the world a better place hopefully, addressing issues we have in the world and ways to improve on those things.”

Although art had always been part of her life, Ms Starcken originally pursued a very different career, working as a dental therapist in WA schools before eventually returning to university to study art while raising a young family.

“As a kid I was always drawing and reading and I’ve always loved art but I came from a home that thought art was a luxury, it wasn’t something that you could make a career of,” she said.

“My parents were very against me pursuing art as a career so I chose my previous path as it allowed me to look after myself but art was always on the backburner.

“Eventually, I decided to go back to university and that was my new start in life.”

She said her previous profession unexpectedly helped shape the meticulous approach needed for printmaking.

“I work as a printmaker primarily and I always say that working in children’s mouths was like working in the smallest art gallery that you could find because it was a gallery of teeth,” Ms Starcken said.

“I had to be really meticulous and very aware of tiny details so that set me up for the printmaking which demands the same kind of qualities.”

Ms Starcken said art was ultimately about communication and exploring ideas in ways that words sometimes could not.

“Art to me is a way of communicating ideas, facts or fictions, entertainment or serious political ideas,” she said.

“Art is able to communicate in a way that fits into a space word can’t.”

During her time at Edith Cowan University she was also part of a group that helped develop a partnership between the university and members of state parliament that led to the artists-in-residence program.

“It was satisfying creating a team that did something really good for the arts for the visual arts,” she said.

She also steered one of the collaborations that led to the creation of the Young Originals program which showcases and celebrates excellence in art from public schools.

One of the most memorable moments of her career came through a cultural exchange with Cuban artists who stayed in Parkerville before hosting a reciprocal exhibition in Havana.

“They spoke no English but their paintings and their prints were all about communicating political ideas and cultural ideas,” she said.

“They were talking through their art to those of us that didn’t speak Spanish.”

Reflecting on her career, Ms Starcken said if she could offer advice to her younger self it would be to take more chances.

“I’ve always been quite a cautious person but I would tell myself to be bolder and take more risks,” she said.