During my time in Bathurst I was lucky to be able to stay with Rachel Ellis.
Rachel is an artist, and has a beautiful home filled with artful objects and paintings lining the walls. It was such a pleasure to stay there, and it made the whole trip a lovely experience. A big thanks to Rachel!
 One of Rachel Ellis' paintings |  Still life flowers in Rachel's home |
This series of rural workshops, doing one after the other so close together, is making it even clearer that each new workshop is totally different from the last!
In this particular workshop I worked with a group of 4 people. Their names were Sean Gibson, George Green, Ally Salter and Katherine Inwersen. Each had a different disability, and got different things out of the workshop program.
ALLY has cerebral palsy and let's us know if she likes something by an excited animated expression, as she cannot speak nor control her physical movements. She responded really strongly to the image previously created by Emily where her face is blended with that of a tiger. Ally loves animals and so we created a portrait of her in a beautiful fur jacket with a white tiger.
Ally is learning photography once a week and will now have a switch to enable her to control the camera shutter fitted to her chair. She is taking photos with her carer by expressing her excitement when she sees something she wants to make an image of.
ALLY has cerebral palsy and let's us know if she likes something by an excited animated expression, as she cannot speak nor control her physical movements. She responded really strongly to the image previously created by Emily where her face is blended with that of a tiger. Ally loves animals and so we created a portrait of her in a beautiful fur jacket with a white tiger.
Ally is learning photography once a week and will now have a switch to enable her to control the camera shutter fitted to her chair. She is taking photos with her carer by expressing her excitement when she sees something she wants to make an image of.
GEORGE was one participant who really enjoyed drawing with the Wacom tablet. He used the tablet and stylus to paint his portrait, which is painted digitally over his photographic portrait to create an entirely new image.
George paints on the computer at home and says that his self-portrait was inspired by a portrait by Picasso, because his style is so different and unique. It was great to see George embracing these techniques.
George paints on the computer at home and says that his self-portrait was inspired by a portrait by Picasso, because his style is so different and unique. It was great to see George embracing these techniques.
SEAN took to the workshops straight away, showing a strong interest in drawing and cartoon-style imagery. For Sean, I developed an alternative program that enabled him to draw over the top of his photograph and then remove the underlying photographic image. He was particularly inspired by Popeye, using a pipe creating a speech bubble that has a statement about his concern for the environment. The result was amazing and he was obviously very engaged in the process.
At the end of the workshops we discovered that Sean had been a graffiti artist, and had actually acquired his brain injury while doing his graffiti art. His carers from ABI and family came along to the final exhibition and saw his focused interest in the program. They said that they intended to purchase the apps and iPad for his upcoming birthday. Sean also wrote by hand a long message of text about the environment that accompanies his image, which the carer agency took this back to the office and framed – they believed this would be an encouragement to his carers to see what Sean was capable of.
At the end of the workshops we discovered that Sean had been a graffiti artist, and had actually acquired his brain injury while doing his graffiti art. His carers from ABI and family came along to the final exhibition and saw his focused interest in the program. They said that they intended to purchase the apps and iPad for his upcoming birthday. Sean also wrote by hand a long message of text about the environment that accompanies his image, which the carer agency took this back to the office and framed – they believed this would be an encouragement to his carers to see what Sean was capable of.
KATHERINE arrived at the workshop in a very negative space. She wanted to make an image that expressed her real feelings about her disability that she had always kept hidden since her horse riding accident 15 years ago. Her original ideas for her artwork were extremely bleak and lacking hope, so as we further discussed things I tried to focus on any positives I could find. After further conversation, I found that Kathy had a strong connection to her animals, and we spoke about how they loved and relied upon her.
The next day Catherine came to the workshop more positive and changed her image to include her animals and grandson in her portrait. They were waking with her down the road and leaving the bleakness behind. By the end of the project, Katherine said she felt so much lighter, having let go of the burden of her dark emotions. In an interview, she described art as "another means of self expression and communication" and saying that the workshops were "cathartic in the utmost degree."
The next day Catherine came to the workshop more positive and changed her image to include her animals and grandson in her portrait. They were waking with her down the road and leaving the bleakness behind. By the end of the project, Katherine said she felt so much lighter, having let go of the burden of her dark emotions. In an interview, she described art as "another means of self expression and communication" and saying that the workshops were "cathartic in the utmost degree."
While in Bathurst, I also had time to check out a couple of local food spots. The Church Bar served fabulous thin crust pizza with a great atmosphere, and the Hub Cafe offered lovely outdoor eating under the grape vine.
 The Church Bar, in a real old church! |  Me standing outside the Hub Cafe |
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