Janice Creenaune meets Christina Slon, a long-time resident of Austinmer and a retired teacher of art in evening colleges who now continues her passion by developing her skills and creating works of art
Christina moved to the Illawarra over 30 years ago, but her childhood illness and her surroundings in far-away England dominated her early life. It was there she developed her passion and skills for painting, drawing, sculpture and photography. Later, Australia enabled her to develop her arts and to teach them to others.
“I was very sickly as a child and couldn’t attend school as often as I would have liked, but I was always focussed on what I could do rather than what I couldn’t do. My father was an engineer and he had brought home some cardboard boxes.
“I took these cardboard boxes and turned them into a sculpture of a plane. It is the first thing I can remember creating but it was big enough for me to play in. There was a cockpit, dials, joystick, a substantial wingspan, all put together with brown paper tape.”
Making art was Christina’s way of making life enjoyable by focussing outside of herself and her health problems. “I would look out the windows in my home in London and watch the world go by.
“Opposite my window the theatre ladies would wave as they were doing their make-up. Theirs was a great generosity for a sick little girl. But my photography came out of this.
“I find people fascinating, particularly their gestures. Their gestures show more about themselves than they think. I was always good at noticing, sensitive to people’s emotions, and then capturing that image seemed a natural ‘flow-on’.”
In painting, Christina found her way through trial and error, and an escape from the constraints of illness. “I realised early that I was a very visual learner and even with my absence from school I did very well especially in maths. But I found happiness in my art, in another world, my own space, and I realised I was quite astute visually.”
Christina found inspiration in the works of great artists, such as English sculptors Henry Moore and Antony Gormley, as well as US photographer Diane Arbus, but French artist Henri Matisse “changed the direction of painting” in her mind.
“Matisse managed to depict three dimensions by making two-dimensional work truly amazing.”
Christina finds creative inspiration everywhere.
“The area where I live, the views from my balcony, the world around me all inspire. But I also love visiting galleries and viewing the works of others. The French Impressionist exhibition in Melbourne was very emotional for me.
“I really understood what those artists were aiming for. And you hold those memories close because they are so emotional. I learn from others through my understanding.”
Christina’s world is indeed one of beauty; the walls of her warm house exhibit her works, and those of other artists. Any visitor is drawn into that same world Christina and her partner have created. Beauty personified in their surrounds.
Christina is happy to pass on her knowledge and insights, and has conducted local classes for the Northern Illawarra U3A group. Hers is a generous and giving spirit, but there is immense beauty in Christina’s careful use of words that denotes an intense love of the arts in all its forms. It is a pleasure to spend even the smallest amount of time in her company.
Christina has faced immense personal challenges in her life, but she has found a rich creative life not only despite them, but because of them.
Writer Janice Creenaune is a volunteer for the PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) Foundation. For more info, contact janicecreenaune@gmail.com