The Van Gogh Reality

is self-evident, especially given workshops sell out well in advance. With plans to expand to a larger premises in 2023, she has her eyes set on taking SipnDip Australia-Wide | Image: Contribued

SIPNDIP Teacher, Katie O’Brien, insists there are no mistakes in creating art, only happy accidents. For the past three years, she has taught art and craft around Brisbane’s north and the Moreton Bay region. SipnDip is a new concept that specialises in fun art, not fine art. Participants can enjoy a drink and something to eat while creating a functional piece of art or craft.

SipnDip workshops are hosted at suburban coffee shops and restaurants across the region and Southeast Queensland. Depending on the venue, tuition is complemented by lashings of coffee and cake or pizza and wine, making for a fun social activity for groups of friends. They’re ideal for hens’ parties, team-building events, birthdays or individuals wanting to try something creative.

Daytime and evening slots are available, and weekend classes are offered at the Rothwell studio. Projects include resin and alcohol ink tumblers, garden pots, chopping boards and kitchenware. There are also classes in macramé, mosaics, pottery, jewellery-making, kokedama (i.e. making a mini-succulent in a string pot) and bonsai. Students can even learn how to paint a portrait of their pet.

Katie joined the SipnDip brand three years ago, although art had always been significant in her life. To begin with, she dreamt of becoming an artist until an inspirational TAFE teacher triggered her fascination with art education. Her Visual Arts teacher had a vibrant and energetic persona and connected well with the students. This made Katie rethink her career direction, and she became an art and craft teacher and owner-operator of SipnDip Brisbane North in 2020.

Whilst Covid hit just as the business launched, it did not dampen Katie’s enthusiasm. Undaunted, she continued to offer workshops for adults and children, designing new projects around current decorating trends. It worked. Katie is constantly developing new ideas and projects, adding leatherwork and wood-burning work- shops to SipnDip’s comprehensive offerings, classes she hopes will attract more male students.

“Our demographic is mainly women and, occasionally, men. The men may have been dragged along, but they all leave happy.”

The common misconception that a person has to be naturally gifted to produce artwork is something Katie challenges, disclosing that several customers itive difference in her life. to do missionary work with the impoverished coal mining community in Belgium. But again, he fell afoul of church authorities and once again abandoned and penniless he sank into depression. are nervous, but there’s no need.

SipnDip sources local art supplies and impressively strives for a small environmental footprint. But there is one thing Katie would change about workshops if she could. “That’s ladies who wear beautiful white dresses or valuable designer clothing to art classes. Things can get messy,” Katie says, suggesting participants bring an apron, or steal one of hubby’s old shirts, as protection rather than use a disposable plastic apron.

The success of the SipnDip is self-evident, especially given workshops sell out well in advance. There are plans to expand SipnDip in 2023 and move the studio to larger premises.

I HAVE lost count of the number of my students, both adult and children who have asked whether I had visited the magnificent 2022 `Van Gogh Alive` exhibition at The Grand Pavilion at suburban Hamilton’s Northshore. But due to heavy work commitments during its showing I missed it, much to my immense disappointment.

Students’ comments like “It was like being in his paintings” and “It was being surrounded with so much colour and light.

Increasingly his erratic behaviour, brought on by depression created his further isolation from everyday life and turning inwards he started to draw at the age of twenty-seven. Suddenly finding solace that he had not experienced before.

“Our classes are designed for people who have never done art since school. We walk them through the creative process step by step, so they leave satisfied, wondering what they were nervous about.”

The workshops are inclusive of people with disabilities, and carers are also welcome to attend. One regular customer likens SipnDip art classes to her weekly ‘therapy’ due to the pos-

“Workshops were held in Thargomindah last year, and now we’re expanding to the Sunshine Coast, Sydney and Melbourne. We’re trying to go Australia-wide.” Katie says.

SipnDip workshops and classes start at $20 for children and $50 for adults. School holiday craft packs are available for purchase at the Rothwell Studio.

A truly wonderful experience!” were just two that I can remember, and these only added to my misery. Before it came to Brisbane, the exhibition had entranced over one million visitors in sixty-five countries, worldwide. I had long admired the work of this great post-impressionist Dutch artist. The bold colours, his strong brushwork, and the wonderfully different forms he produced all had a great influence on my subsequent work as an abstract artist.

But sadly, his life was not a happy one. In his 37 short years on this planet, he was racked with self- doubt as he craved human affection, which eluded him.

Unlucky in love, he was rejected by a girl in London, where he worked first as a language teacher and then a lay preacher. Dismayed, he returned to his native Holland, continuing his religious studies. His disagreement with church authorities led him

He met and formed a turbulent friendship with fellow artist Paul Gaugin, with whom he competed for the affections of a prostitute. Desperate for her love, he cut off an ear and presented it to her as a token of his passion for her.

Subsequently admitted to a mental asylum, he continued painting, during which he produced his most famous oil on canvas painting `The Starry Night`, one year before committing suicide by shooting himself in the chest.

He only sold one painting during his lifetime which is ironic when in 1990, his `Portrait of Dr Gachet` sold for U.S.$82.5 million.

Poor Movement Patterns Vs Weak Muscles

OFTEN people are told they have weak muscles or weak joints, and this is the reason why they may be experiencing pain. Although this may be true, there are several other reasons wherein the muscles can contribute to pain or discomfort. One of these reasons may be poor movement patterns, which often gets confused with weakness.

An example of this may be when you hear someone say, “I have been told my glutes are weak and that’s why my low back/hip is sore”. In fact, most of the time, this person’s glutes will be strong enough for most activities of daily living which allow them to sit to stand, walk and step up etc.

A poor movement pattern does not always mean the muscle is weak. It often means that the appropriate muscles are not engaging or activating at the correct time or in the correct way. The strength of the muscles may be fine, however if they do not turn on to support the appropriate structures this may lead to pain or discomfort. Poor movement patterns can affect people during day-today activities as well as during