Blog
Blog
On all calculations, Mary’s story about a community art project will endure
Drum roll for Mary Randall, completing a PhD based on Gippsland. By Mary Randall I like calculating. I find it relaxes me when I’m lying in bed in the early hours of the morning. So,..
Friendships, teamwork and hidden talents emerge in community art project
By Jenni Frendo Where, when were you born? Where did you grow up? I was born in Colac in 1957, the second daughter of three. Mum and Dad built their first house in Colac under..
Finding your inner poet
By Karyn Braveheart Words without a tune, paper without a picture Nights without the moon, lessons without a Lecture Love without a heart, years without a season Hold onto your poetry, it’s within you for..
When disaster re-ignites past trauma, reach out
Trauma comes in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes the cause is visible and sometimes it is not. The bushfires blazing over much of eastern Australia, including my beloved childhood region of East Gippsland, are sparking..
When a feminist educator visits a country town, awakenings occur
My writing encompasses seemingly diverse genres of academic writing on rural policy, regional development and transformative community engagement and personal poems. I write to develop an authentic mother tongue connecting people and the landscapes they..
Retire? This farmer and teacher refired instead and went to Mongolia to share felt-making skills
Vivienne is a felt maker, and refired (not retired) wool grower. She now lives in Orbost in East Gippsland with no sheep but lots of wool to play with. Vivienne loves the fibre and continues..
Being true to yourself and others through writing
I think it’s time my past was made public. I’ve always felt ashamed of it, I suppose, though I realize now I shouldn’t feel this way. I haven’t done anything wrong; I’ve just had an..
‘Go big, go wild, go imagination, all can be done’ attitude creates fulfilling life
Jenny was born in Melbourne but has lived rurally for much of her life. Art was an early experience, and Jenny has used it to communicate, explore, enrich and bring joy to others and herself...
How a community garden project sowed the seeds of friendship for newcomer, Hilda
I was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1951. My background is working class but in 1971, I graduated from Glasgow University with a BSc in maths and computer science. Leaving Scotland, I started work as..
Women Who Mean Business
Born in England in 1955, Sue came to Australia with her immediate family, but not her grandmother. Sue missed having a relationship with her grandmother and this gave her an understanding of internal conflict, loss..
Art project gave young mother confidence to pursue creative endeavours
Natalie Evans grew up in a creative family, moving locations and schools many times. Participation in a women’s leadership project in Orbost in 1997, gave her an amazing opportunity to grow and share skills. It..
A bollard helped this young mother blossom with a career in the arts
Jessie McLennan is a West Gippsland-based figurative sculptor, arts advocate and passionate gardener and has four children aged from five to 24. Jessie was born in 1973. She had a creative upbringing, being home-schooled on..
A country teaching position set this city girl on a fulfilling life path
After 42 years living at nearby Riverslea on a dairy farm, Trish Vardy resides in Maffra. Sadly, her husband died shortly after they had moved, but Trish keeps busy with family and community activities. She..