Artists LILYBETH MAYHEW and DR EMMA MAYHEW will discuss their differing art practices.

Saturday 19th August 2pm- 3pm at Wollongong Art Gallery

Free, all welcome.

After retiring from St Mary Star of the Sea College as Head of English, Lilybeth Mayhew went back to art making which had begun in the sixties when she attended Wollongong TAFE.  Lilybeth Mayhew is totally centred on the Illawarra and the meeting of the escarpment and the sea. Her style is naiive, in the sense that although recognisable as objects and persons, figures and landscape in her work have a simplistic form. Colour is everything to her as are patterns and lines. Her collages of Port Kembla, Kiama and Thirroul are celebrations of our area. Currently she is returning to pure water colour as she did in the late sixties. 

Emma Mayhew is a social worker and artist. She has a PhD in sociology from UOW and has more recently completed a Masters of Social Work (via University of New England). She is currently teaching in the social work school at the UOW. Emma's recent work with acute mental health clients, while working for NSW Health, has opened up her interest in the therapeutic aspects of creative expression. In the last 100 years art therapy has grown as a profession and is becoming more acceptable as a holistic approach to improve wellbeing. To this end, Emma is currently studying an Advanced Diploma in Transpersonal Art Therapy through the Centre for Complementary Medicine in Sydney.  

Emma will speak about her personal experience using visual art journaling techniques (mixed media, collage, printing, writing) to communicate and reflect on her own grief and loss. She will also provide some examples of how a range of creative modalities can support psychological growth and healing. In particular she will examine techniques and concepts of transpersonal psychology/psychoanalysis including: the amplification process, mandala work, working with symbols archetypes, and outlining a holistic approach that looks at all aspects of human experience (the biological-psychological-social-spiritual).
Images: Left - Lilybeth Mayhew 'Fractured Rainforest. Right - Dr Emma Mayhew ''Space Walk'.