When entering the art room at OC Connections, there is always a buzz of creativity, pride and confidence in the air from people who have chosen to express themselves through their art. It is wonderful to see participants engage with their peers, work on personal creative projects, and develop important life skills through their art.
When Emma first joined OC Connections, her main goal was to find the confidence to express herself and communicate with others. During the initial intake process Emma told us she was struggling to find common interests with people and hold conversations with other participants.
With the assistance of her support workers, it was quickly established that Emma had a real passion for art and in particular the Ninja Turtles, so naturally Emma’s talents and goals aligned with the OC Connections art program. Emma settled in quickly and was most excited about finding common interests with her new peers.
Using the OC Connections Co-Achieve Model, our support staff are able to work closely with participants to understand their goals and develop their skills so they live engaged, meaningful living. Through collaboration with Emma, we identified ways that Emma’s passion and interests could be used to achieve her goal of greater expression and communication.
A common love of art allowed Emma to gain more confidence and share with others the projects she was working on, as well as engage in conversation about what others were working on alongside her. According to Emma, thanks to the art program, she has not only learned new creative skills, but she can now more confidently communicate with others.
Similar to Emma’s story, Joey has been attending OC Connections for over 10 years. His name is widely recognised at OCC because of his beautiful works of art that decorate multiple walls around the 773 Warrigal Road facilities. Joey’s most recent project was constructing a mosaic piece for the Queens 70th Jubilee Tree planting project. It was a fantastic accomplishment showing great skill and artistry!
Through his love of art and with the support of the art program facilitators, Joey has strengthened many skills; he shows his independence through finding his own materials, his planning skills as he visualises and plans his pieces, and his focus as he works methodically to complete a project.
Through the years it’s been fantastic to see Joey’s art evolve. His love of Picasso has been captured in the most recent pieces that were entered into several art exhibitions.
We look forward to seeing more masterpieces from our talented artists!
If you are interested in learning more about our art program, contact us on (03) 9569 0603 or visit our “My Days” services to see our range of Day Support activities.
