The 37-year-old, whose chosen medium is polymer clay, said winning the award was the best public feedback an artist could wish for.

"Of all the [awards] that you want, that's the one you want," she said.

"It means your artwork, your activity, the thing you feel strongly about is resonating with your community. It's a bit of a confirmation you're on the right track."

Cultural development officer Georgina Perri said more than 200 votes were cast for the People's Choice Award with the winner given $500 in prize money.

"We had three contenders for the top spot, it was very close," she said.

"A lot of people mentioned that it was the best work they'd seen entered in the Award.

"We had a lot of diversity this year and also a few sales for the artists. We really hope it will continue to grow from here."

Natalie has entered the Queanbeyan Regional Art Award for the past five years with the aim of delivering something different each time.

This year's winning piece, titled 'River Fragments', was loosely based on Queanbeyan's weaving river course as well as snatches of endangered or threatened plants known to occured in the local region.

The work was influenced by Natalie's current appointment as an Artist in Residence at the CSIRO National Collections. The piece features various hues of green and earthy tones and a combination of two different perspectives: satellite views and close-up microscopy.

"[Through my residency] I'm working in particular in something called 'soil crust' which is a protective, thin layer of lichens, mosses and fungi that sits on the soil," she said.

"I'm accustomed to looking from an aerial view on to the soil surface so I began thinking about the things I do in micro format remind me of satellite images. So I was bringing together different types of scale.

"I've used polymer clay and applied it to the surface of the tiles and cured the whole lot. There's a mix of colours and variety of textures to showcase the diversity of the material."

Natalie discovered and honed her artistic skills about five years ago. Originally coming from a legal background, her husband encouraged her to follow her artistic pursuits when she took time off to be a mum.

She tinkers in her home studio every night after putting her three kids to bed. She said it's the versatility of polymer clay that attracted her to the relatively new material.

"I was looking for a material that had enough diversity to capture my other craft interests," she said.

"I've done a lot of leatherwork, silk painting, wax and sculpting and I wanted a material that did it all and it just so happens there was one and it's called polymer clay."

Natalie began crafting polymer hair clips to sell at markets but now she uses the material to make a variety of artworks.

Now a full-time artist and not one to sit still she has several projects on the go. She has just completed a piece to enter into the Clearwater Sculpture Prize, is working on a community garden project at the Queanbeyan Uniting Church and just filmed a short documentary-style piece with Silver Dory Productions.

Next up will be finishing pieces for a solo exhibition at the Botanic Gardens in November and then allowing public eyes into her studio for the Queanbeyan Arts Trail later this year.

Natalie's work features flora and fauna because she says it fits the polymer clay medium. However, she said her priority is delivering untold stories to the public.

"I always try to give that story, it's important to me to show that," she said.

"They may not remember the art but they may carry that story forever with them and it really resonates.

"This year it was fantastic for me because obviously that story is beginning to embed itself."