Rick Hayward is a Meanjin / Brisbane based artist, maker, and traditional signwriter. Embracing traditional hand tools and techniques in both his studio and commissioned work, Hayward accesses the meditative qualities of discipline and process culminating in multi-dimensional works that bridge subject and object.

Originally trained as a traditional signwriter, Hayward has acquired skills from some of the finest craftspeople in the world and has received mentoring from established Australian artists and makers. He was awarded Student of the year at the internationally recognised Sturt School for Wood in 2023, and in 2024 he was a finalist in Wood Review Magazine’s ‘Maker of the Year’ prize, and won one of Australia’s most recognised woodworking prizes, the Wootha Prize.