By Mikayla van Loon
Lilydale Community House’s (LCH) home on Hardy Street has been brightened by a community made mosaic art installation which was unveiled on Tuesday 19 December.
Completing the mural over 10 sessions, Yarra Valley mosaic and public art artist Sioux Dollman helped bring the ideas to life.
Drawing on “what they love about Lilydale,” the mosaic emphaised the people and places that make the township shine.
LCH coordinator Suyin Chan said with just two sessions to go before the mural was finished, it looked like a lot still needed to be done but with all the participants and Sioux, it came together nicely.
For one of the participants, Angela, mosaic was always something she wanted to try and the workshops at LCH were the perfect opportunity to try a hand at the skill.
Focusing on her own Aboriginal heritage, Angela said including a connection by using symbols of First Nations culture was an important element for her.
“We all sat around the table with Sioux, having a discussion about what we would like this mosaic piece to look like and because of my heritage it was very important to embrace that and put that somewhere into the mosaic,” she said.
Two of the main focal points for Angela were the gathering place, as well as the Olinda Creek.
While the workshops were about creating the mural, Angela said there were other outcomes that
“Most people were really pleased and happy to come in, number one to learn this skill but number two, to connect with people and make friends,” she said.
Now able to greet people when she sees them at work or in the streets of Lilydale, Angela said “it’s great to see your faces and now I can actually say g’day”.
“I have that connection with the community and I will be coming back here to do other classes. I just want to say a big thank you to every single one of you who has made me feel very welcome.”
Yarra Ranges mayor Sophie Todorov said it was nice to walk past the mural and be able to spot different locations and references to Lilydale.
“I could just pick up things that are so significant about Yarra Valley, Yarra Ranges and most importantly, Lilydale, things that are iconic and things we really are grateful for,” she said.
“So well done to all of you for such creative, fun and special work on this mural.”
Also thanking the collective work of the volunteers, participants, Sioux and Suyin, Councillor Tim Heenan said “you put a lot of hard work into this and you should be very proud of it because it is very, very beautiful”.
“That level of detail makes it even more so. There’s a lot of tile art that comes together in a small space but this spans two walls and it’s just absolutely beautiful,” he said.
“There’s many different aspects of it, in particular the colour of the environment always does it for me.
“We’ve got depictions of Lillydale Lake. We’ve got our pavilion, we’ve got to know the Melba gates, we’ve got the beautiful Indigenous art, we’ve got a beautiful memorial, the Rainbow Bridge, for a little fur baby who passed over but more importantly it is the contribution of all of you who have brought this together.”
The mosaic is located on the walls at the entrance to the community house at 7 Hardy Street Lilydale.
