DIY Home Décor Ideas

Recently, I resolved to add “Decluttering” to my daily task list, meaning that every single day I discard something I do not need or organise better something I do need....

Masks in African Art

  When I think of African art in the broadest sense, I immediately imagine masks—belonging to old communities living upon scorched earth or in dense jungles, masks used in rituals...

Visual Art on Alchemy

  “Alchemy” is a term I first discovered as a teenager via the bestselling novel The Alchemist (1988) by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. The book itself, a mystical fable about...

  In my September 2020 article on how artists could circumvent the elitism of the art world, I highlighted the importance of networking (without hard-selling), that is, introducing yourself to...

    If you’ve taken a business class in school or college, chances are you have given some thought to why people consume (any product or service), how they behave...

The Many Meanings of Myths and our Need for Them

    As my entrepreneurial journey progresses and life gets busier by the day—with more connections, conversations, proposals and plans—I find myself in greater need of energy. Yes, definitely greater...

Art therapy is simply the use of art to improve mental health and well-being. A study showed that it offers several benefits for its participants. In a nutshell, it can...

On Monsters

I recently explored a very interesting book titled On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears (2009) by Stephen T. Asma, a professor of philosophy at Columbia College Chicago. A comprehensive piece...

Using our Shadow Side as Fuel for Creativity

One of my favourite contemporary thinkers is the American author Robert Greene (born 1959)—who has produced the bestsellers The 48 Laws of Power (1998), The Art of Seduction (2001), The...

Margaret Dunn’s paintings build environments, often domestic and exotic at the same time, often modern and ancient also. These environments seem to be in flux, suggesting that while we exist...

Building Melbourne, creatively

The idea of building a creative city has been at the forefront of how we imagine and develop cities like Melbourne for the last decade or two. As an artist,...

Mid-2018, I underwent a massive “shift in consciousness”. It was like my mind expanded exponentially between May and August. I began perceiving both myself and the universe in an entirely...

Calculated risks and the creative life

“The greater the risk, the greater the reward”, many of us have heard this or something similar to this line multiple times. It is often assumed that those who break...

Painting and feelings – my journey with art

Art is in doing. Take the first step and be yourself. Brutally honest will do fine. Luisa, one of our resident Friday morning Drawing and Painting students, has generously shared...

In a YouTube video from 2015, British author Howard Jacobson (born 1942), who won the 2010 Man Booker prize for The Finkler Question, is seen making an impassioned admission related to the creative life...

Capsicums are not just for cooking

Our teens’ Studio Art class produced some incredible drawings and paintings in the – of the humble capsicum. Michelle Zuccolo presents the class with different materials each week, including still...

New perspectives on learning

If I was to name the one thing that has had the most effect on how I understand learning and creativity, it would be the shift in how we understand...

The magical effect of spring on artists

Although the weather is lagging a little, spring is definitely all around us. Beautiful pink and white buds are appearing and then blooming so quickly, leaving a beautiful blanket of...