No Boundaries Project

The very first hands on session of our newly formed Arts group happened this week (on Monday the 28th May) at PCYC Penrith. Six Penrith people came to the class and were immediately in the zone, experimenting with a range of materials from pastel to craypas, watercolour pencil and watercolour.

The aim of the first session was to try materials and see what gives pleasure and delight, and discover how to play with them and have fun and relaxation. Everyone tried more than one material and technique.

The main things learned today were how different materials feel, look, work and most importantly, that even when the end result does not satisfy you, there is still another creative use for it.

Among the most fascinating experiments today were a brightly coloured abstract arrangement by Kevin that could make you feel like you were at a Christmas banquet (it sparkled with vibrant colour that felt celebratory) and two pictures of landscapes with trees by Paul, that showed what Penrith used to look like a few decades ago. We loved to hear Paul talk about going camping in those trees. Valda, Jill, Anne and Tim all created interesting experiments too, which we found our own stories and ideas in by looking at them.

Below are a few photos of us in our journey to explore the materials on the first day. We will soon be posting a very special video of the work we made, for you to enjoy and share.

Our next session will be on the afternoon of Monday the 4th of June 2012, from 1pm to 4pm at PCYC, 100 Station St Penrith.

Today the Art Group that will begin running in Penrith on the 28th of May, met for the first time to talk about what the activities would involve, who would attend, the materials to be used and some of the topics of interest.

Cindi and Robyn were joined by five interested people with apologies from a couple of others. The group talked about how the art pieces made, would become part of the projection show in September.

Some of the areas that are exciting to the participants, are to work with an art teacher to show some new techniques and materials. The idea of being able to take an excursion to the River to paint and draw “plein aire” (in the outdoors) is also of great interest. Some logistics to be considered in the outing are the duration, accessibility of the site, transport and permissions from guardians. But overall it seemed like an event to make part of the process.

Topics discussed included the historical changes in Penrith and the way the area has changed, grown and improved.

No Boundaries is a community collaboration in Penrith NSW for, and by people with disability working creatively with professional artists, to create a spectacular public installation.

You can join a visual art workshop to make artwork, stories and animations that will be part of the final project. We are planning a fortnightly workshop to be held at PCYC over coming months.

Our first meeting for people with disability from Penrith, interested in art activities (painting, drawing, making etc) was held at 10:30 am on the 14th May and the first group of five people have decided to start working together on the 28th May. More people with disability from Penrith region are invited to make contact and join the group if interested.
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