December 7, 2016
A stroke and a wheelchair weren’t enough to keep Wondai Regional Art Gallery’s irrepressible curator Elaine Madill away from the December exhibition’s official opening on Friday night.
In September, Elaine suffered a serious stroke after she went to Brisbane for a minor operation on her knee.
The incident kept her in hospital for many months, and Elaine said doctors have told her she’ll probably be facing at least another year of rehabilitation before she can get back to normal.
The stroke had come ‘out of the blue’, Elaine said, and it surprised her as much as it surprised family and friends.
But she was determined not to let it cloud her life, and looked forward to gradually resuming her activities with the Gallery, the Wondai Markets, choral groups and major regional events as she regained her strength.
Elaine’s reappearance at the Gallery was assisted by Cr Ros Heit, who picked Elaine up from her new home at The Laurels, helped her move about the Gallery in a wheelchair, then took her back home afterwards.
Cr Heit, a long-time friend, had been invited to officially open the Gallery’s final exhibition for 2016, but said she was even more delighted to help Elaine return to public life.
The December exhibition – which will run until January 12 when the Gallery will be closed a fortnight for roof repairs – features wildlife works painted by the Nature In The Raw Group.
Nature In The Raw was formed by 10 Toowoomba-based artists in 2000 although it has now expanded to include several South Burnett artists as well.
The group has had many Australian exhibitions and one international exhibition over the last 16 years, and has been exhibiting at the Wondai Gallery every two years since 2006.
The works, which were created in everything from acrylics and pastels to charcoals and mixed media, focus on birds and animals.
Some of the works on display have already won prizes elsewhere, while others are completely new.
At the exhibition’s official opening, Elaine thanked the Gallery’s volunteers who had ‘performed magnificently’ in her absence the last few months.
“I always wanted to be a team player, not the chief, so my focus has always been on training our volunteers and delegating rather than trying to do everything myself,” Elaine said.
“I think delegation has played a big role in the Gallery’s success over the years, and every member of our team deserve to be congratulated for the way they’ve all stepped in and kept everything running smoothly.”
Elaine said her decision to move from the Gold Coast to Wondai 12 years ago had been a “life changing” experience, and she knew her recent illness was going to be another.
But she had no regrets about moving “into another phase of my life”, and said she was happy and humbled to be surrounded by so many good friends.
- “Nature In The Raw” will remain on display at the Wondai Regional Art Gallery in Haly Street, Wondai from 10:00am to 4:00pm daily (except Christmas Day) until January 12, 2017. Admission to view the exhibition is free.
