The Artist Within Us All

When I bought my first Byron home I had art on the walls before I had furniture. To eat I sat at a coffee table on the floor surrounded by giant black and white beautifully framed photographs of African animals and paintings by renowned artists from both the bay and abroad.

Having lived in sterile rental apartments dressed with furniture bought to fit the one before, I was determined to conjure up a magnificent mood, create a unique warmth and wake daily in a setting that lit up my soul. I wanted to live the life I really desired in a stylish, relaxing, holiday inspired home that was ideal for me.

At the time visiting Californian creative genius Serena Mitnik Miller was the artist in residence at The Art Park (not far from my new house) and an exhibition of the pieces she completed there won the hearts of local business and home owners (myself included) who snapped them up with haste.

Top Shop, the most popular destination for a burger and coffee in town and The Atlantic Byron Bay (lifestyle hotel) swiftly displayed their purchases with pride as they were perfect perusal for holiday makers here to let their hair down.

Michelle Dawson’s whimsical work adorned the walls of the Apartments Inn and Restrospect Gallery, which had an impressive yet simplistic painting of a wild cat featured in the window. I immediately had to have it. Momentary concern (that my home was beginning to look more like a wildlife sanctuary) was tossed aside and caution thrown to the wind with yet another extravagant artistic accumulation.

The beauty of these creations had me starting to think outside the box. With few interesting or well equipped furniture stores in the area I took to coming up with my own solutions to filling my somewhat desolate interior space. First turning an old door into a study desk complete with legs I’d salvaged from the muddy backyard of the Bangalow Hardware.

Whether it’s the environment we create in our own homes, the words we pour onto a page or the song we make up to sing to our kids we all have an artist within us and express this in our own unique way. Regardless of whether we’ve honed our artistic skills great joy and a wonderful sense of accomplishment can come from producing something ourselves. So if you have a vision bring it to life! You might just surprise yourself. I did!