Artists’ invite to explore imagination

The relationship between artistic practice, therapeutic expression, and intuitive creation will soon be at play between two textile artists as part of an upcoming workshop.

Later this month, Kay Hustwaite and Judy Rook will host their second session aimed at unlocking one’s creativity.

For Hustwaite, a retired home economics teacher, the ethos behind the joint initiative came to her during her decade-long recovery from an acquired brain injury due to a workplace incident.

“It’s about using art as a means of improving wellbeing,” she said. “That’s been a big part of my recovery since my head injury when I was teaching.

“Even 40 minutes or 20 minutes of making art each day can lower your cholesterol and help you live longer. It’s putting that stuff into practice.”

The pair met last year despite both being longtime members of the Ballarat Fibre and Textile Network.

Hustwaite has been a member of the group for about 12 years; Rook joined nearly a decade ago.

They discovered their artmaking sensibilities aligned.

“I was doing this sort of thing back in the 1970s when people didn’t know what it was,” Rook said.

“I knew Kay was on the same wavelength so she was happy to get onboard with this.”

The duo’s first session was held in May following Hustwaite’s return to workshop hosting in June last year as part of the Northern Territory Professional Learning Conference.

Their neuro-arts practice will be on full display as part of their upcoming workshop at the Djila-tjarriu Community Hub, which means “place of play”.

With all prepackaged materials including recycled items, fabrics, and feathers, attendees will be encouraged to create art with the sole purpose of creative expression.

“One of our aims is to give people confidence to bring out their creativity that they’re maybe hiding or think they can’t do,” Rook said.

“It’s almost like bringing out your inner child. Last time, a woman did a wonderful scribble just based off a line from a poem using the materials we had.”

The “Unleash Your Unique Creativity” workshop will take place on Saturday 26 October from 10am to 3pm.

Tickets are $95 and can be booked at bit.ly/3Yhia4P.