The Walcha Chapter of Quota International held its annual friendship dinner last Wednesday at the Walcha Bowling Club.
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Guest speaker Donna Rankin gave an inspirational presentation on her work with troubled teenage girls.
Mrs Rankin said her creativity was abundant when she was young but stopped when she failed art in her Higher School Certificate.
“As a young girl, art was always a constant in my life. I liked to draw and, not being a sporty type, I would spend hours sketching, creating designs, playing with clay, doing anything I could find that was arty,” she said.
“I was devastated when I failed that subject and lost all confidence in my ability and promptly dropped art from my life for many years. For most of my 20’s and 30’s I embarked on a career in real estate.”
Mrs Rankin found her creative spark again when she had her three children.
“Art started to reclaim its place in my life slowly,” she said.
“Whilst the children were little, I found I had an abundance of energy and came to realise that creativity was vital to a balanced life. I started painting lessons with a local artist more than two decades ago and since then have won many awards.”
A tragic accident in 2006 resulted in the death of Mrs Rankin’s 11-year-old daughter Shannon.
“My world as I knew it shut down,” Mrs Rankin said.
“I would never be the person I was. I had to learn how to function in a different way. Over the years friends and family tried to coax me back to life but it was a local social worker who encouraged me to use my art skills to reach out to young people in our community who are also suffering and in need of nurturing.”
For the past eight years Mrs Rankin has run ‘Heart to Heart’, a program of art classes for teenage girls who have faced trauma and difficulties in their lives.
“The classes encourage calm, mindful, focused attention,” said Mrs Rankin.
“I believe in the positive and immeasurable power of creativity and connection to community. These things have saved me and taken me on a colourful journey.”