June 15th, 2020Mural to depict six seasons of Dja Dja Wurrung
DAYLESFORD, Drummond and Yandoit Primary Schools have commissioned a mural to depict the six seasons of the Dja Dja Wurrung. Natasha Carter, well known for her work on the Bendigo Dja Dja Wurrung tram which has been teaching students and the wider community about First Nations culture since 2017, is the artist. She chatted with Donna Kelly.
Donna: Tell us a little about your background.
Natasha: I spent most of my childhood around Melbourne and then in high school years I grew up in Swan Hill. I then did the migration back down to Melbourne for a while and now I am on country in Bendigo. It’s nice to be back on my people’s country too. I hadn’t lived there before, so it’s very nice to be here.
Donna: How did you get into art?
Natasha: My family has helped a lot. My aunty Wendy Berwick has done a lot of artwork and murals for places like Scienceworks in Melbourne and things like that, so she’s always been a really good sounding board on building up my techniques. I remember as a kid spending time in her studio during school holidays and just watching what she was doing and she sometimes let me have a little bit of a go. That was really good. And my older cousins paint and do metalwork. Ever since I knew how to hold a pencil or a paintbrush I wanted to use one. Every spare moment I was always drawing something. My earliest artist memory was arranging all my soft toys on the dining table and then sitting down and drawing them. I spent two days trying to perfect dalmation spots. I was a bit meticulous.
Donna: Was it always going to be your career?
Natasha: I always thought it was what I wanted to do but you get two messages from people who have your best interests at heart. There are those who help support you and build on that and those who worry about whether it is a viable industry to be involved in and say ‘maybe you should learn something else’. I know where those people are coming from but if art is something you really want to do, stick to it. You are not always going to get there on the first go, the third go, or even the 15th go, but persistence helps, you need to be persistent in this industry.
Donna: Can anyone be an artist or is it intrinsic?
Natasha: I do think anyone can be an artist. But I think there is a bit of fear early on for people doing art. I have always had friends and family who say ‘I wish I could draw or paint like that’ or ‘what I am doing doesn’t look real enough or what I am trying to do’. But I think we need to let go of that fear of creating something absolutely perfect. There is real character that comes from imperfection in art and I think it’s building on recognising what your style is and realising you are onto something here and enjoying it and going to stick with it. It is all about individuality.People need to realise their own capabilities and style. Anyone can do it but that is not to say you have to create a business out of it, just have the enjoyment of creating the artwork itself.
Donna: How do you feel about having painted a tram?
Natasha: It’s funny, now and again I will forget I have done it and then I will be walking down the street and it goes past and I get a bit excited. Sometimes friends will come up for the day and send me a text with a photo and say ‘Look what I saw’. That’s really nice and what is even nicer is to see the people on the tram, because it’s a talking tram and talks about the Dja Dja Wurrung history in the area, so it’s really good to see people on the tram learning about that.
Donna: Tell us about the schools’ mural?
Natasha: The focus is on the six Dja Dja Wurrung seasons. There are six panels and each will focus on a season which will be a really good educational tool for the kids and the parents as well. A lot of my stuff is generally really colourful so I think that works well for a school environment and gaining kids’ interest as well. I was going to be painting the boards at the school but now I will be painting them at home but I will be taking a lot of photos for the school newsletter and my Instagram. Later I will be able to come in and take part in other activities.
The project is supported by Hepburn Shire, Daylesford Rotary and the Daylesford, Drummond and Yandoit school councils.
Links: instagram.com/murrupukart and
www.etsy.com/au/shop/MurrupukArt
