[Helen Fraser]

Hi Everyone,

I’m bursting with some exciting news that has happened due to this course and we are only a week in!  I have been working on a drawing commission that was organised by a friend of mine for his wife.  It was of her Grandmothers house (photos on instagram @stitchcolourpattern if you are interested) who died two years ago.  His wife Jane was her Nan’s carer till she passed away in her 90’s.  She was very close to her as her own mother died when she was a teenager so she spent almost every night at her Nan’s house growing up.  It was a very challenging project but one that really moved me as I did it.  I was challenged because it was a detailed drawing in a style that I don’t usually work in as well as having two solo exhibitions early this year that interrupted it terribly.  But the look on Jane’s face when she received it on Saturday was priceless.  She is not one for tears but she almost was in tears!  For her that is a huge thing.  (I was in tears though).  She was completely blown away by the surprise from her husband.

Then today I had this idea based on what I am learning here, that I can offer drawings of family homes to people who have had to leave for reasons like aging, ill health, financial reasons, immigration, working overseas.  For example, if I was commissioned by a family to do a drawing of the family home for an elderly family member moving into an aged care facility, the drawing may help them to cope with the transition and give a sense of continuity to them and the family when they look at the work.  Then if the idea/business progresses I could also paintings and textile options if there was a demand and include portraits of people and pets…just thoughts at this stage.

So I called my friend who received the gift as she happens to work in an aged care facility in a very wealthy suburb in Melbourne and she loved the idea and would like to promote me and has given me permission to use her photos for promotion.  She has asked for a brochure so I think I will get one together asap and start the process while the energy is moving and adapt as I go.  I am so grateful to Crista and all of you for this opportunity and would love any thoughts.  I will keep you informed as the process unfolds.

I am thinking about calling it “Home to heART”  with a tag line of “Home is where the heART is”.  I think my own heart is going to burst every time I think about this plan!!! It feels very scary and exciting all at once but I am committed to finding a way to sell my art so here goes……

 

[Helen Fraser]

In the process of making a textile, the craftsperson applies their concentration in a meditative fashion, repeating patterns and actions over and over until the piece is complete.  In my art making I use drawing as a meditation.  It is the medium that gets me connected most quickly and deeply to my feelings.  Immediate, it shows me where I am at, right away.  It is honest.  And by drawing textiles and observing them closely I am aiming to get to the heart of the work and it’s maker as a type of honouring of those who have gone before me.

For the last twenty years I have worked as a Psychologist and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist in private practice in Prahran, Melbourne.  This work is about using myself as a tool to facilitate the growth of another person’s mind, so they can think about their thoughts, feelings, desires, dreams, pain, longings and hopes.  Slowly, session after session I see people’s guard come down which allows a mourning process to unfold, softening their spirit in the process.  Being in the privileged position of witnessing the slow unfolding of another’s psyche deeply impacts on my own.  The intensity and beauty as well as the exquisite sorrow of this work is a type of soul poetry which I am searching to express and honour in my drawings and textiles.