By Lachlan Ellis<\/p>\n
New artwork has been put up in a Moorabool caravan park, and its creator says she hopes to enhance the sense of community in the park.<\/p>\n
Lou Callow\u2019s vibrant artwork now adorns trees at the Ballan Caravan Park, which she provided to help residents feel a sense of belonging, and pride in where they live.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver many years, a small group of artists have developed a tradition of decorating street trees. Because people responded to those really positively, we kept that going. Winter can be so bleak in Ballan, so colour really lifts people\u2019s spirits,\u201d Ms Callow told the Moorabool News.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find it a joyful thing to do. It\u2019s about community, and here in the caravan park, I just went \u2018wow, it\u2019s a new canvas\u2019. When I was stitching them on the trees, people came out and said thank you. That makes you feel really nice, and what you\u2019re doing is valid and it\u2019s worthwhile. It\u2019s so important that this is a place where people feel safe, and they feel they\u2019re cared about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Designs on the trees include cockatoos \u2013 one of Ms Callow\u2019s favourite animals \u2013 a kangaroo with sunglasses, and a \u2018Welcome Happy Campers\u2019 sign.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to work anonymously\u2026it\u2019s a bit harder now, but I won\u2019t stop doing them. I\u2019ve already got some ideas for next year\u2019s Autumn Festival,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Caretaker at the Ballan Caravan Park, Helen Tatchell, thanked Ms Callow for her generosity, and said the new art would complement ongoing works to improve the park.<\/p>\n
\u201cLou\u2019s work is amazing; I said the park could make a donation, but it was a typical Lou response\u2026she said, ‘this is just my contribution to the community’. The colour of the banners brighten up what is quite bleak here in winter ,\u201d Ms Tatchell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been in the process in the past four and a half months of cleaning the place up and making it a bit nicer and safer, like a home, rather than a caravan park.<\/p>\n
\u201cColour ignites happiness. How pleasant for residents and tourists to come in and the first thing they see is colour? This is just the beginning \u2013 we have painting jobs we\u2019re going to be doing with more colour. There\u2019s plenty of blank canvases around here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
While the trees on which Ms Callow\u2019s brilliant art sits have recently been trimmed by arborists, they\u2019re expected to provide welcome shade for residents again over spring and summer.<\/p>\n
The Ballan Caravan Park is located at 45 Jopling Street, and offers permanent short-term stays, as well as powered and unpowered sites with cabins available for tourists and workers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Lachlan Ellis New artwork has been put up in a Moorabool caravan park, and its creator says she hopes to enhance the sense of community in the park. Lou Callow\u2019s vibrant artwork now adorns trees at the Ballan Caravan Park, which she provided to help residents feel a sense of belonging, and pride in […]<\/p>\n