art therapy

Sunday Studio Visit – community projects

What a busy Sunday this has been!

This morning I worked with the community from Scotsburn and surrounds as part of the ongoing bushfire relief project – of which you can see previous posts HERE. And then this afternoon I ran a workshop for the Ballarat branch of Yellow Ladybugs – a group that connects girl with autism – its been a great day!!

The Scotsburn group continue to create some fab ceramics – with a concentration on Christmas decorations this session. The bushfire occurred a week before Christmas in 2015, so there were lots of positive messages inscribed onto the decorations.

And there were also some creative additions – all to be exhibited in the end of the year exhibition to coincide with the anniversary picnic in December.

In the afternoon the Ladybug girls produced some amazing treasure boxes – they so enjoyed it, and so did I !!!

Sunday Studio Visit – another art session for the Scotsburn Bushfire Recovery Art project

I am writing this a day late as yesterday (Sunday) I just ran out of time after being at the Scotsburn Bushfire Art Relief project all day and then visiting friends who live in Scotsburn, and just managed to save their property, for dinner.

The Scotsburn fires happened a week before Christmas last year (2015), and burnt through  4,000 hectares, taking livestock, shedding, homes and precious memories.

The Victorian government appointed a bushfire relief officer to facilitate healing in the community and as part of that initiative an arts program was established.

This is the second art session we have held in the community – you can check out the first session HERE.

And here are some pics of the finished works from the first session:

There will be a third session in mid November culminating in an exhibition to be held for a week and coinciding with the Anniversary Family BBQ being held in December to bring the community together and commemorate the bushfire.

The session included clay (me), drawing, felting and jewellery making, and the community had a great day with a BBQ lunch between sessions.

Following are some pics from the day and go to show how art is integral to bringing communities together and healing 🙂

Sunday Studio Visit – Ballarat Health & LIfestyle Expo

Today I was not in studio! I was a stall holder at the Ballarat Health & Lifestyle Expo at the Ballarat Mining Exchange. Organised by from The Health Academy, the expo showcased businesses across Ballarat whose business focus values health and wellbeing.

As regular readers my know my “other” business is ClayMotion where i offer ceramic classes and workshops, professional development, corporate teambuilding, kids birthday parties and an array of other services. I also sell ceramic supplies, which I ship internationally.

So today I was at the expo with my ClayMotion “hat” on promoting the health benefits of playing with clay… which, if any of you have experienced will know the benefits of! Being a tactile and plastic medium clay lends itself to subconscious expression as well as being an artistic medium, therefore it is a great material suitable to everyone.

As part of the days fun I was offering free pinch pot making to anyone who wanted to get their hands dirty – most were kids with a few adults having  go. Everyone was able to take their pinch pots home with the advise of their fragility (being unfired) and that they were to be shelf decorations. Unfortunately I was VERY busy and didn’t get time to take many photos!

The expo ran from 10am to 4pm, so by then I was almost hoarse and badly in need of an ice cold beer (it was a hot day in Ballarat, for a change also), so after my partner helped me pack up at the end of the day off we went to a local bar …. hope everyone has had a great Sunday 🙂

Family Ceramics Classes

Easter Sunday: A Family wanting something different to do with the day… a variation on spending time together – a ceramic session!! yaya!!

This is a great activity for families – young or old – to spend some quality time together. Being creative stimulates conversation, feelings and bonding… art is a great way to reconnect.

This family spent two hours creating, had a one hour picnic lunch break ( the studio is on a beautiful 10 acre property) , then a one hour period decorating their artworks with coloured slip…

The group had limited exposure to ceramics, so I provided a wheelthrowing demonstration and tuition in decorative techniques, and future creative outcomes.

A great fun time was had by all!!

(PS: creative workshops like this are great for corporate team building, art therapy workshops and differently abled people – contact me for any customised workshops you may envisage.)

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