“I’ve been an artist for years. It’s part of what I do,” said Heather Kennedy.

Heather loves vibrant colours. She likes to bring her work to life with layers and bright hues that catch the eye. She has always been creative but said it has taken years for her work to be recognised.

She emphasised how important it is to paint from your heart.

“It is about finding yourself. It is about being comfortable in yourself and what you are doing. It is a therapy that builds confidence and self esteem.”

Some nights after her children had gone to bed, Heather would stay up to the early hours of the morning painting. If she had an idea in her head, it was imperative to get that on the canvas and capture the moment.

“When it comes to creating art, I would say to people it’s authentic. It’s part of me I am putting on the canvas.”

Heather was asked by Playgroup Victoria to create an artwork for their national program PlayConnect. As the name suggests, it aims to connect families and children through play. It is a unique program.

PlayConnect playgroups are dotted around Australia, providing opportunities for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, developmental delay or behavioural concerns to engage in appropriate and supported play. The program aims to create opportunities for children to grow, develop, engage and shine.

Heather’s niece is autistic and whilst creating the artwork she thought of her.

“She loves lots of colour so I identified her with the artwork.”

Heather had a vision for the artwork before she began. It was about beauty and innocence, but also about growth.

“If you look at any child, teenager and adult with a disability, they evolve and keep evolving, they don’t just stay the same. That’s what I tried to capture: the beauty and the innocence, just like the evolution of the butterfly.”

“Depending what I am thinking, butterflies represent a new life, a new beginning. From the cocoon they bloom into butterflies and fly around. In this painting, I see the innocence of the children flying around, not hearing any negativity but are free to play and imagine.”

Circles feature in Heather’s artwork, as they represent meeting places.

“As aboriginal people we often meet in circles, we sit in circles and that is represented in the painting.”

Heather explains that the figures in her artwork represent family- mothers, fathers, grandparents, children and also extended family and community- all coming together and supporting each other.

Heather said that the women are the backbone of the family.

“The figures of the women in the painting represent the spirits of women, maintaining the strength and guarding the family.”

“The sky is representative of ancestral spirits who are always there, looking over us. The gum leaves are representative of the land. Gumtrees have many important uses, especially for smoking ceremonies and cleansing.”

There are many different elements in this work and Heather likes that everyone will have a different interpretation.

Stories and ideas flood through Heather’s artwork in subtle and meaningful ways.

“Stories are really important. It doesn’t matter if they are not good, or they’re funny or whatever, they’re so important because those stories are going to stay with you and then you’re going to talk about them with someone else and maybe your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends and they continue.”

“It’s kind of like at a funeral when people get up, what do they do, they are telling a story that they remember, a story that was of significance and of importance to them with that person. Storytelling is a big thing.”

Heather sees stories in motion, in so many varying mediums.

“Our aboriginal ancestors did not write- story was told in art, dance and song.”

As with the butterflies in her artwork, the stories continue to evolve.

“I always say, when you’re painting, it’s not just the painting and you’ve finished it, you have to layer it, and bring it to life.”

“You need to paint from your heart.”

Heather loves the process, the capturing of the feelings, the ideas and the stories. Through her art, she is able to find connections- to people, to the land, to herself.

“It’s seeing the expression on peoples faces and hearing their interpretations of the painting. It is also about, wow, that’s going to be there long after I’m gone.”

Learn more about PlayConnect Playgroups here

Article by Sinead Halliday