Brushstrokes of connection and creativity

This article was written by Hannah Kennelly and was originally published in the Mansfield Courier.

BEN holds a small wooden paintbrush between his fingers and lightly dabs a white canvas with splotches of blue.

He is not sure what the artwork will be.

A cerulean sky or maybe a vast ocean?

He’ll figure it out later.

Twelve months ago, Ben would barely touch a paintbrush.

Now his artwork decorates the walls and halls of Yooralla Community Hub in Mansfield.

Located on Early Street, Yooralla provides supportive and community-based programs for NDIS participants.

Yooralla support worker Jenny Cherry said the Hub provides a “safe, connected and creative space” for adults with learning difficulties or disability.

“Monday mornings at Yooralla are always reserved for art time,” she explained. During the art program, clients explore their talents with vibrant coloured paints, textas and crayons.

“Clients are invited to express themselves through woodwork, painting, collage or drawing or any other type of creative arts.

Jenny said a lot of Yooralla clients produce artwork and sell it to the Mansfield community, a process that is “fantastic for confidence building”.

These sales and the incredible feedback from the Mansfield Community led to the creation of social enterprise ‘MY Kaleidoscope’.

“Clients have also started their own cardmaking business. It’s been wonderful to see the reception from the community at events like the Mansfield Bush Markets.”

“We’ve had some clients who have been reluctant to paint, but they’ve slowly come round and it has done wonders for them and reduced their anxiety,” she said.

Ben has attended Yooralla for more than 10 years, however his passion for art has been a slow burn.

“I didn’t really like it, because I didn’t know what to do,” he said.

“But I slowly started trying it and I got better.

“Then I sold some of my paintings and that was awesome.”

Ben’s preferred style of art is abstract and loves experimenting with squares and rectangular forms.

He never plans his artwork and loves to just let his “paintbrush do all the work”.

Yooralla clients are currently working on their entries for Mansfield Postcards – a community auction organised by Mansfield Arts Council.

“Postcards has been a really fantastic opportunity for everyone at Yooralla to show off their wonderful artwork,” Jenny said.

Jenny has worked at Yooralla for more than eight years and shares her life-long love of art with her clients.

“I tell people I’m crafty, but the truth is I’m an all-rounder, there’s not a specific type of art that I specialise in,” she explained.

“I love doing props, we’ve actually got a pirate party coming up so I’m definitely going to be busy.”

Across the craft table, client Anne-Marie calls out to Jenny to come over and examine her painting.

The Alex resident has been attending Yooralla for three months and has spent the past few sessions working on her Postcards entry – a speckled starry night sky with a vibrant indigo backdrop.

Painting makes her feel “calm and happy” and her favourite location to draw is the beach, with crashing waves and golden sand.

“The hardest thing to draw is the Eiffel Tower in Paris,” she laughed.

“It’s pointy and tricky.”

Anne-Marie likes socialising with other clients and enjoys spending time with the support workers.

“But mostly I just like to paint,” she said, grinning.

“I like using all the cool colours and trying different things.

“Jenny has shown me new types of paintings which is great.”

At the other side of the room, Yooralla client Guy is colouring a wooden structure with a brown felt pen.

He twirls his fingers around the edge of the woodwork and rotates a small dial at the base of the structure.

The lightbulb at the top begins to flash.

“It’s an electrical generator,” Guy said with a twinkle in his eye.

“Took me a while, but it’s cool.”

A lifelong collector of trinkets and junk, Guy taught himself the basics of woodwork and carpentry.

“I really like making things from scratch and using things like magnets, horseshoes and other things,” he said.

“I reckon it’s pretty cool.”

Guy could not remember how long he had attended Yooralla for, but said he loved working on his art pieces each week.

He paused when asked what his favourite part of the program was.

“I think the choice is good,” he said.

“I like being able to choose what I want to do.”

Find out more about Yooralla's Community Hubs. 

Image credit: Hannah Kennelly