THREADS OF CONNECTION

8 October - 1 November

WRAP is coming to Gloucester! A collaborative exhibition of emerging and professional artist mentors. The Wauchope Regional Arts Project (WRAP) links emerging artists with disability with professional artists to build confidence, skills and connections in our rich, creative community. Join us in a powerful celebration of creativity, inclusion, personal growth and expression: Threads of Connection — a vibrant celebration of creativity and community.

Together, professional and emerging artists will exhibit their work and invite the community, families and friends to celebrate. 

• On exhibit will be a fabulous array of works from landscape and abstract paintings, drawings, recycled art, textile art, silk and block printing, woven baskets, lanterns, ceramics and wildlife photography.

  
  

Featuring Glen Ball, Nicola Bracken, Kerri Cains, Marita Dahlhausen, Jo Davidson, Karen Denaro, Cathy Eggert, Brooke Engledow, Vana Ford, Vivianne Hazenveld, Leanne McLuckie, Deb Murrell, Tracey Murrell, Mathew Newman, Joshua Oakden, Stephanie Smith, Charlie Tubbs, Colleen Werner, Kerry Wheeldon, Chris Wood.

Join us in celebrating how art connects us — to ourselves, to each other, and to the wider community.

Glen Ball

Glen just discovered his love for painting and this is his second exhibition. Glen used to trace lines, make doodle designs, where he would outline the whole scene with pen or pencil and then colour in. Glen is now exploring different techniques of painting and enjoys the different colour schemes and mediums.

Nicola Bracken

Nicola is a talented visual artist with multiple interests. Nicola studied design at UNSW and Design Fundamentals at TAFE NSW. Nicola has exhibited in Wauchope, Bowraville, Kempsey and Sydney galleries. Nicola has a fine eye for detail and works with charcoal, acrylic, pastels, ceramic, watercolour and wood.

Kerri Cains

Kerri is an artist using various styles and mediums. Kerri participated in several murals in Wauchope and has exhibited her work at Wauchope Gallery, Wauchope Creative Hub, Bowraville and Kempsey.

Marita Dahlhausen

Marita Dahlhausen is a self-taught artist beside attending some art workshops with different mediums. Marita works with various mediums like ceramic, drawing, painting, watercolour and photography.

Jo Davidson

Jo Davidson is an acclaimed artist utilising a variety of mediums who has exhibited worldwide and facilitated many community art projects.

Jo draws deep inspiration from her immediate environment, natural, emotional, political and symbolic, from the river where she lives and the garden she has made, reacting through her work to local and global events, developments, and injustices within the symbolic language of her creativity. Jo makes paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, installations, soundscapes and writes poetry. Her visual art is represented in state and private collections around Australia and overseas.

Karen Denaro

A world of uncertainty calls for connection, love and gentleness. I have experienced the love of family connecting through gentle artistic mediums encompassing water colour, acrylic, life drawing, felting and potting. Uncertainty remains – Gratitude gained. Karen had no formal training, for her it is ‘just healing’.

Brooke Engledow

Brooke studied drawing at Julian Ashton’s and National Art School and more recently completed Digital Media and Fine Art Ceramics at TAFE NSW. Brooke’s art is influenced by her love of the landscape but also her music. Brooke embraces various styles and mediums in the pursuit of creativity. She loves the challenge of the new, how to capture light on surfaces with colour and technique as well as how the process of making influences the end result. Brooke’s art making is a ritual of appreciation for the beauty of nature and allowing her own creative nature to develop along the journey towards accomplishment.

Cathy Eggert

Cathy began painting with watercolour just a few years ago. She also enjoys drawing, printing, acrylic painting and ceramics. In 2025 Cathy completed a Certificate III in Visual Arts and has exhibited at South West Rocks, Wauchope Creative Hub, Wauchope Show, Incognito and the Glasshouse. Cathy loves to experiment with the different mediums.

Vana Ford

Vana Ford is a bead and textile artist. Her particular influences are traditional textile arts and ornamental fashions of India, Indonesia and Japan. Vana works with natural fibres and natural dyes. Vana’s recent work is small, using her skills and knowledge to create miniature works.

Vivianne Hazenveld

Vivianne is an artist, tutor, and facilitator who empowers others to bring their unique art out into the world. As the organiser of the Hastings Arts Trail, she loves building connections between creatives and the broader community. She has established mentorship and professional development programs and is a curator and art judge.

Vivianne has a rich background in developing and facilitating art classes, leading community art events, and working in Creative Recovery, all while continuing to produce her own artwork.

Leanne McLuckie

Leanne’s interest in painting began when she was young. Turning 13, Leanne dived more into the world of painting and since then completed a variety of workshops, but is mostly self-taught. Leanne said painting makes her feel good at having mastered something and gives her great joy especially after acquiring a brain injury and hemiplegia from an aneurysm when she was 38. Leanne uses all painting mediums.

Deb Murrell

Deb is a local photographer, ceramicist and painter. She first took up photography in her teen years and then briefly at Sydney College of the Arts. In 2025 Deb completed a TAFE Fine Arts majoring in Ceramics.

Multiple winner at Gloucester ‘Pix in the Stix’. Exhibited Port Macquarie/Hastings Artwalk, Gloucester Gallery, PMHC Glasshouse, Bielefeld, Germany, Wauchope Creative Hub, Wauchope Gallery and Regional Showcase Glasshouse. Behavioural characteristics endlessly fascinates her as well as experimenting with light, tone, texture and composition to look beyond the obvious, to look behind and

within the subject.

Tracey Murrell

Tracey is an artist known for her use of brilliant colour. While Tracey works in many mediums and in many styles, with brilliant colours being the main common thread, one method she keeps returning to is Pointillism. Pointillism is a slow form of art and each work takes many hours (read days/weeks) to create. Each work speaks to her - and, in particular, tells her when it is finished. There’s no real ‘end goal’ at the beginning. Just a vision of what she is trying to create and it develops through the process. Sometimes, the plan to do a work a particular way is totally changed during the process as the work reveals another path to Tracey along the way. Currently immersed in Acrylics and Soft Pastels.

Mathew Newman

Mathew is an emerging singer songwriter and acoustic performer. He has been building a loyal following with his soulful acoustic sets performing around the Mid North Coast. Recently releasing two singles, you can check out his music on most platforms under Shaun Mandala.

Mathew is exploring photography as a new medium and his images reflect how he looks at the world from different angles

Joshua Oakden

Joshua has been painting and drawing for many years. Joshua attended workshops at Port Macquarie Community College and WRAP. He branched out from cartoon characters to experimenting with charcoal and ink. Joshua has exhibited in Bowraville, Kempsey and Wauchope.

Stephanie Smith

Steph has been part of theatre and dancing her entire life. Steph’s dream is to be rich and famous through her creativity. Steph uses different mediums in her visual art and loves to explore new techniques including finger and French knitting, weaving and the use of vibrant colours. Her work was highly commended in the

Phoenix Art Prize 2025 open category.

Charlie Tubbs

Charlie has completed a Diploma in Education and a Bachelor in Fine Art alongside additional areas of study in the field of health and well- being. Primary mediums used are printmaking with acrylics on paper and material surfaces, digital photography and cyanotype prints, pencil and pastel sketching, dye making techniques, silk painting and 3D forms.

Charlie’s Exhibition and arts practice includes participation in multiple community, private and public arts events.

Colleen Werner

Meadowbank Technical College and the City Art Institute Sydney were places where Colleen studied art. Realism is her style, being so accurate in her drawings, the work checked by botanists and biologists before exhibited, Colleen’s work is extraordinary. Colleen draws her inspiration from nature, her favourite mediums being graphite and watercolour. Colleen researches her subjects, and has usually a clear vision in mind what the finished work looks like. Making pencil studies helps Colleen understand her subject. Being a wildlife carer and growing plants, the animals and plants give her inspiration for her arts practice. Colleen has exhibited worldwide and her work is being held with the National Herbarium and the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.

Kerry Wheeldon

After a long career as a ceramicist, Kerry began making woven baskets, from cuttings and vegetation from her garden and surrounding bush. Using various weaving methods, Kerry makes beautiful bowls and decorative vessels. She also makes mosaiced stepping stones for her garden using glass and tiles.

Chris Wood

Chris has a long history of the performing arts. Chris uses different techniques and mediums with his visual art. His work is often related to a specific place or subject of interest. Chris has exhibited in Wauchope, Bowraville and Kempsey.