To give you some background, The Old Church on the Hill is a much-loved and well-used neighbourhood space in Quarry Hill, Bendigo. It’s a welcoming place where people are valued and community can grow. The site is home to a community garden, feast space and kitchen, recreation hall, and the renowned Old Church itself.

In August 2019, I had the privilege of adding my letters to a wall in the feast space – a beautiful old hall used for a plethora of community-based activities including shared meals, morning teas, life drawing classes and more.

The wording we chose – there’s a place at the table for you – reflects the hospitality of The Old Church, where anyone is welcome and many find a sense of belonging and connection.

Not only was the wording crucial, but the style of lettering, colours and composition had to be considered too.

Having spent time in the space previously, I knew that I wanted the mural to feel like it belonged there. I wanted it to be noticed, but not demand attention.

Fortunately, there was paint left over from when the feast space had a makeover, so I was able to use the same shade of blue that had already been used.

I chose an informal, friendly script all in lowercase to help emphasise the sentiment that everyone is welcome.

The shapes around the outside were designed to look like confetti, which adds a celebratory feel and helps to hold it all together.

My process for this mural was fairly straightforward but had its challenges. 

Here it is in a nutshell:

1. Using digital calligraphy, I wrote the words on an iPad with the Apple Pencil and Procreate app.

2. Once I had finalised the design, it was projected onto the wall and traced in pencil.

3. Next came the fun part – painting. Being left-handed, I worked right to left to make things easier for myself.

4. The finishing touches were added with a Posca paint pen.

The challenges weren’t obvious until I began to paint over the grooves between the weatherboards. It was fiddly work, and slowed the process down significantly, but it was also very satisfying in the end.

Seeing people react to the mural as they walk into the space has been incredibly rewarding. Recently, I was chatting to a lady at The Living Room, which is a drop-in morning tea for the neighbourhood held in the feast space. She looked up at my mural and exclaimed,

It’s reactions like these that make the hard work worthwhile.