Yvonne Souter combined her passion for art with decades of experience working in disability services to offer the workshops in painting, drawing, pottery and textiles.

“I graduated from the National Art School with a Bachelor of Fine Arts a couple of years ago, but I used to work in disability services before – for all the acronyms you can think of – and I thought I could combine what I’d done in the past with what I’ve learned,” Ms Souter said.

Classes are available through participants’ NDIS funding and are run twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays.

“Classes are capped at six people. I like to work individually with them; everybody’s got a different style and has something to offer,” Ms Souter said.

Challenge Southern Highlands operate the creative workshops with additional support from donations. 

“People have given us some paintbrushes and various things, but I mostly go around to the op-shops and see if they’ve got old canvases and art tools,” Ms Souter said.

“Challenge is a fabulous organisation, they run on the smell of an oily rag with mostly donations but they provide so much, the garden centre employs 40 people with disabilities,” she said.

For more information or to make a donation of art supplies, contact Challenge Southenr Highlands on (02) 4872 6600 or drop into the Welby Garden Centre: 1 Bendooley St, Welby.

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