Hi, my name is Aileen Rudken and I am an Aboriginal artist based at Innisfail, on the Cassowary Coast in Far North Queensland. I am a descendent of the Ma-mu People from the coastal rainforests south of Cairns with my father Jirrabul and my mother Indinjii and Kuku-Thaypan.

Born in the Atherton Tablelands region and raised in Innisfail. I also raised my children in Innisfail and Tully until they were old enough for me to now focus on my love of hand making textile arts and crafts.

Sharing stories about my culture is important to me, so I work with ‘Jitta Art’ which was founded by indigenous women and promotes artist in the Far North Queensland region. As a group we share our teachings and techniques with other artists in the community and pass on our traditions to current and future generations.

As well as working with ‘Jitta Art’ I enjoy spending my time weaving baskets made from Madagascan and paper raffia as well as cord and other materials. This is intricate work, and requires close attention to detail, but I really enjoy making these baskets because they are an artistic tradition.

I also make these in a variety of shapes and sizes to provide practical use. My other joy is to make children’s clothing using colourful material with indigenous prints and animals. I developed this passion early when my mother let my use her sewing machine as a child, I’d practice stitching and making different items.

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