Time in ‘cave’ spurs creativity

The COVID-19 pandemic may seem to be all doom and gloom, but for local artists like Naomie Hatherley, it’s a perfect opportunity to get really creative. Since the pandemic has forced residents to stay at home, Hatherley said she had been using her time to immerse herself in her art. “It’s been wonderful being able to just sit in my studio and just play with paint,” she said. “Having the restrictions on physical distancing has really allowed me to just go and hang out in my cave and be really creative while still being mindful of other people’s situations. “There hasn’t been any sort of social expectation with everyone staying at home, so I have really been able to just spend my days in the studio mucking around, playing with paint and exploring new techniques.” Hatherley said she would “absolutely” take what she had done in her studio to the Broome Senior High School visual arts classroom to inspire her students. “I think the biggest thing for me as a teacher is knowing how to diagnose artwork when a student produces them to try and help it be the best it can be,” she said. “I think throwing myself into new ways of paintings and figuring out how to take artworks to the next level has really helped me figure out ways to apply it to my teaching.” While Hatherley has continued adding paintings to her Her Rules, Her Game series, she has also begun work on new projects such as creating a sculpture out of palm fronds and string. “I actually did this one a few weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic blew up, just as a way to show my students a way to create art at home without the conventional materials,” she said. “We can’t always assume everyone has pencils, paper, canvas or anything of those things. “I initially tasked my Year 11 ATAR students with creating an anthropomorphic form using unconventional materials, and I wondered what could I do as an example. “I was really inspired by the Tjanpi Desert weavers so I thought I’d create my own with palm leaves and strings. “It was quite an interesting challenge and I was really happy with how it turned out.”