Sacred Landscape : Sacred Centre

Click here for more photos from the Exhibition

The journey we call life can have its simple moments but it is often mysterious and complex. There are, however, people who invite us into their own journey and help us to understand our own lives a little better.

Such people observe their world, reflect on it and find some way of interpreting their experience for others. We call these people artists. St Joseph's Centre for Reflective Living at Baulkham Hills was privileged to host an exhibition of the work of four such artists in June this year.

The exhibition, Sacred Landscape : Sacred Centre, celebrated the ways each of the individual artists and artistic groups captured their very different life experience. The four artists were Steve Bailey, Patricia Snudden rsj, Elaine Walker rsj and The Sisters of the Dreaming.

Artists from left to right: Rhonda Randall, Elaine Walker rsj, Patricia Snudden rsj, Steve Bailey, Sharon Mumbler, Janice Kennedy and Janice Brown.

Steve Bailey is a psychotherapist who has had a long-time interest in photography and, in particular, photographing the beauty of the wilderness areas in both Australia and New Zealand.

Patricia Snudden is a Josephite sister who has an interest in mandalas. These are drawings contained in a circle and brought to the notice of Western culture by CG Jung. Pat's works include a series of mandala drawings she has completed over the past two years as well as a series of paintings celebrating the life of Mary MacKillop.

Elaine Walker is also a Josephite sister. Her beautiful calligraphy recalls another age when medieval monks worked in a scriptorium and, by so doing, preserved much of their spiritual and social heritage.

The group of artists, The Sisters of the Dreaming, presented a variety of works from painting to sculpture to silkscreen works. The group consists of a number of talented Aboriginal women from Aboriginal Catholic Ministry in Penrith. These women celebrate their culture and spirituality in their art. Their works have vibrancy, and show the delight the artists have in playing with colour and design.

"We do arts because it is therapeutic," Janice Brown said. "We share our art skills and our time with girls from Bolwarra Transitional Centre, women who come in for the domestic violence programs, carers and whoever wanders into our centre. Arts is our way of relaxing with each other."

Sharon Mumbler loves going to ACM. "All the other women who go there are my inspiration and they encourage me in the arts and crafts. When you buy a scarf that I have made you are wearing a part of me and my story."

Taking part in a workshop at the St Joseph's Centre was a joy for Ellen Yule from Castle Hill. "The workshop provided a wonderful sense of pleasure as I went through the process of painting two scarves. What an encouragement to be told you can't make a mistake and to be encouraged to take big, bold strokes with the paint brush.

"Rhonda and Sharon were wonderful teachers and such a great encouragement throughout the whole process and I valued watching them as they also created. I will wear my handiwork with pride and with thanksgiving for the opportunity I have had to do something creative and to have such fun."

C. O’Sullivan rsj

Page last updated August 2, 2009