Kate Gardiner's Rangelands series focuses on large and small-scale features of the Australian landscape in western New South Wales (NSW). For example, the meandering line cut along the edge of each earring traces the line of a sandstone ridge, while silk thread of varying colours suggest either the red soil, or the bright blue midday sky. Similarly, the speckled texture and tone of Kate's brooches are reminiscent of the shell of the emu’s egg, and their concave form suggests the rock overhangs found along the ridgelines, while a fine, saw-pierced line mimics the crevices between boulders, and balled, yellow gold wire are the glint of mineral deposits found in the region. Kate's work has a particular focus on the tone and form of the bark of the Leopardwood tree; called ‘ngarrkaray’ by traditional custodians the Ngiyampaa Wangaaypuwan, and in Latin Flindersia maculosa. Due to the grey-black tone of the bark, and because it flakes off in jig-saw sized pieces, Kate's work in sterling silver, copper and yellow gold is often oxidised. 

Kate’s artistic focus combines both her personal and professional experience. She spent her formative years in the rangelands south of Cobar, NSW, where her family practiced regenerative agriculture. During her career as an Elementary teacher, and more recently while working in museums, Kate championed environmental capital. Bearing these influences in mind, Kate often incorporates silk hand-stitched within her pieces as a metaphor for the mending and repair being carried out in rangeland ecosystems.

Beginning in 2015, Kate began undertaking metal-craft workshops including Japaneseknife making, enamelling, and silver and goldsmithing. She has exhibited in Australia and Canada, and in 2023 was awarded the Emerging Artist Award in The Earring Show, held at the Craft Council of British Columbia, Vancouver. Kate is represented in Australia at KIN Gallery, Canberra, and at Craft Victoria, Melbourne. Kate lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.