For many of us, these days of isolation are comprised of working, homeschooling, cleaning, cooking, exercising and maintaining general order within the house, leaving little time for anything else.
That being said, it is important that we set aside a few moments every week to pursue something that brings joy and calm to our hearts, and what better than a bit of creative therapy?
Lucky for us, a number of people and places are providing online events, activities and tutorials to provide us with some much-needed respite. Here are a few examples of how you can embrace your culture vulture during ISO.
Tarrawarra at Home
The Tarrawarra Museum of Art in Healesville has dreamt up some hands-on art activities to keep people of all ages feeling creative and connected while homebound. Every second Monday, the Museum will post a new activity as part of its #tarrawarraathome Making Mondays series, and will share some of the faves with their audience.
Virtual Soul Choir
Ballarat musicians Geoffrey and George Williams have kicked-off a Virtual Soul Choir project aimed at bringing people together through song. The venture encourages music lovers from near and far to warm up their vocal cords and record themselves singing a specially selected song. Participation is by donation, and at the end of the project, you’ll be singing alongside hundreds of others amidst a soulful, joyous, online choral piece.
Latrobe Regional Gallery
Morwell’s Latrobe Regional Gallery has started a 10-prompt art challenge asking participants to create an artwork of any medium or size based on a one-word prompt. Make sure to tag #LRGArtChallenge2020 to showcase your work!
Wild at Heart
Ever wanted to try your hand (or heart) at songwriting? The Wild at Heart project is all about bringing people together who experience disability, mental illness and disadvantage, and pairing them up with professional artists in a bid to tell their stories through music. The workshops, projects, ensembles and mentoring programs have moved online due to COVID-19, and enable participants to make friends, improve their well-being and develop as artists.
Shelby Sherritt Art Ceramics Tutorial
Maker of unique Australiana-inspired ceramics, Shelby Sherritt is becoming renowned for her adorable Koala and possum posy pots. While her small-batch items are in high demand (pieces are snapped up in a matter of minutes once they’re listed), Shelby is set to offer up her knowledge of ceramics, combined with an element of mindfulness, as part of some online tutorials. So if you ever wanted to dabble in clay, make sure to get in touch with her and find out when the first session is.
Art at Home
While the Bendigo Art Gallery may have closed its doors for now, it has still listed a number of arts activities on its websites for families to work through during the isolation period. As well as stretching their imagination, children can submit their work and have it featured on the Gallery’s Facebook page.
The Lydiard Street Project
Artist Pauline O’Shannessy Dowling (aka POD) has created a number of colouring pages based on Ballarat’s historic Lydiard Street. Using her signature design, POD has made these beautiful sheets available to provide hours of meditative and creative entertainment for all ages.
