Local artist Maria is keen to run a community short course ‘Introduction to Collage”.

Collage is one of those arts that is accessible to everyone. It can be serious or very funny and can be a wonderful meditative process, with the cutting and pasting and then moving the elements around and interchanging them to come up with a final design.

If you think this might be your cup of tea click here to find out more about what Maria is proposing, and to register your interest. Maria will then contact you in February to discuss how the course will progress.

Jen Neille has been teaching in our shed and building art in the garden spaces at Alphington Community Centre for a little while now.

So we thought you might like to know a little more about her!

I asked Jen how she came to be an artist and how she found her way here.

Jen said that she has never been a traditional girl. Instead she won prizes for her art and her efforts at sport. She loved science and still does today. She explained that when she was small her family went to church and because she hated to sit still, her mother brought things so she could draw and colour. From there she explored all her interests in art, including drawing and painting, and then branched out into sewing, fashion styling, landscaping (which was part of her family business), renovating houses and mosaicking (which she learnt at Traralgon Neighbourhood House - her intro to neighbourhood houses!).

Jen originally attended Traralgon Neighbourhood House with her children, but she ended up teaching there. And in doing so she discovered a passion for teaching women.

It was in 2010 when she was working in bushfire relief in the West Gippsland region that she met Laurie Collinsa metal sculptor who would become a friend and teacher to Jen. In 2015 Jen took Laurie up on his offer to show her how to use a welder and Jen went to Jindivick twice a week to learn and create with him. Here is a link to explore Laurie’s art.

It was a couple of years ago, when Jen was living in Kew, that she heard that there was a shed space opening in Alphington. And so she popped by and talked with Leanne during a community lunch - and from that conversation Jen ended up working with us. We have been so lucky to have Jen sculpt signs and make art as well as teach here at ACC.

She is now teaching our Women in the Shed program, that empowers women through practical projects involving timber, tiles and metal. The program is open to beginners on Monday and those with some knowledge of tools on Tuesdays.

And in 2021 we are also offering an additional class for women of all skill levels on Thursdays with Maylei (another creative out).

You can find out more about the program and enrol here.

Our new brochure is out. We’ve created a trimmed down version for semester 1 2021. You can read it here. It is jam packed with old favourites like playgroups and choir and new ideas including a range of short courses, workshops and events you can book in to.

• Women in the Shed is back on Monday (for beginners), Tuesday and Thursday for 6 weeks in Term 1 and 2.

• Our free Access All Abilities Bowls program run with Alphington Bowls Club is back for 6 weeks in term 1 and 2.

• Our new Drawing in the Shed short course will also run for 6 weeks in Term 1 and 2. Run by local artist Louisa, this is a low-cost opportunity for all members of the community to develop the observation and co-ordination skills necessary to make creative drawings in any style. It will cover contour drawing, creating creative compositions, drawing with perspective and more.

• In 2019 we had Gordon come along and run a sewing machine maintenance workshop. It was a fantastic morning and so we’ve rebooked him this year. On Saturday 1 May he will run a sewing machine maintenance workshop and then on Saturday 17 June he will run an overlocker maintenance workshop.

• Local Manu is keen to share her Indian cooking skills with us … starting with a chai tea making workshop (Sunday 9 May). $20. Book here.

• Our History Walk is back! Join local Anne and other history buffs for a stroll around South Alphington on Sunday 16 May from 2pm.

• And finally … Home maintenance 101. It’s a maintenance kind of year it seems … and on the weekend of 19 & 20 June we’re offering a two day workshop (only $50 with Learn Local funding) all about building home maintenance skills. How to unblock a drain, how to stop a cistern running, how to fix a hose leak, how to hang pictures and fix cracks in plaster. How to fix windows that stick … (depending how old your house is the list goes on and on right?).

Book in online today.

This week our letter starting ‘Dear neighbour’ has been written by a year 12 student. Find out what the student is planning now, how year 12 has been amidst a global pandemic … and more.

Another super interesting take on a year like no other!

These letters went up Sunday on the butcher shop window, so there should be some left Monday. Note we also have some in the foyer at ACC if you find you keep missing out …

At ACC we try to offer a wide range of opportunities for people to meet their neighbours, to make friends in the community, and to build, explore and share their skills and knowledge.

We run a number of activities that are self-led or run by a generous volunteer. These include Czech and Slovak Playgroup, Ukulele, Line Dancing and the like. For these programs we ask all attendees to contribute $5 per week (no matter how long the session lasts) to keep the lights on and the heater heating etc.

We also support a number of micro-businesses that provide services that fit in with our programming goals. Small business owners/sole traders running these programs set their own fees and we support them with low room hire rates (again $5 per attendee) and publicity. These programs include Jane’s Group Harp, Cat’s Lego Club and Matthew’s Guitar Lessons (about to start up).

Then we run a number of tutored programs, where we spread a small bucket of money that comes from Darebin Council and Yarra Council as widely as possible, prioritising community building and community need.

In the first half of 2021 we will fully subsidise Jill to run our very successful and long-standing AAA Bowls program (a partnership with Alphington Bowls Club) and Jenny to oversee our Friday community morning program that includes Community Craft, Gardening Group and Morning Tea on the Corner.

Then with the remaining program funding we will partially subsidising our tutored/supervised Community Shed sessions.

These programs will cost $5 per hour per participant (still a bargain) and we’ll need a minimum of 6 people booked in by the term for them to run.

Of course, we also tap into other funding where ever possible. We always have our eyes open and our ears to the ground … last year we partnered with MyTime to support our Peer Support Playgroup for example. And we get one-off grants from wonderful community support organisations such as Clifton Hill/North Fitzroy Community Bank who have previously provided funding for our Community Lunches and our Gardening Group … and this coming year will be supporting our History Group (more to come on this).

Our full program for 2021 will be out next week, and we’ll be featuring some of the new things on offer at ACC (and some old favourites as well) in our newsletter in coming weeks (with the links to book in).

We hope you can find something that you will enjoy being part of, and we look forward to seeing you onsite in the new year. Our programming will resume in the first week of February.