By Tanya Faulkner
As the seasons slowly warm up and towns brighten with blossoms, one local Hills town centre is being reinvigorated through the gift of art.
Hills artist Elizabeth Gleeson has been hard at work in the Monbulk town centre, bringing to life a mural on the North-facing wall of the Yarra Ranges Optical building, that pays homage to the towns’ history and culture.
Ms Gleeson said Monbulk has a rich history of flora and fauna that inspired her creation.
“Monbulk is known for its flowers.
“There’s an incredibly rich history of flowers, both indigenous and immigrated through the likes of the Dutch,” she said.
Ms Gleeson started installing the mural on Friday 27 October, and has been hard at work over the weekend crafting all of the elements on the wall.
“People will start to see tulips, daffodils, a multitude of blossoms, a stack of wattle and crab apples in this piece.
“I’ve also included strawberries, which played an important part of Monbulk’s heritage.
“The Monbulk Jam Factory provided locals with jobs throughout the 70s, and I wanted to put the nod to that historical aspect of the Hills,” she said.
Ms Gleeson said her family moved to Monbulk around a year ago, though she has been a local to the Hills for approximately 15 years.
She has been in the arts for several years, and has such a passion for her community that she wanted to do something to contribute to the community in a way she knew best.
“Doing a mural was the best way I knew to do it,” she said.
With the nature of the mural being a project for the community, Ms Gleeson said she did her due diligence to make sure she got the project right.
“I spoke to as many people as I could in the community to make sure I could create the mural.
“The Monbulk traders have been very supportive of the project with their approvals, and Yarra Ranges Optical have been so supportive in providing power and water for me.
“I even managed to track down the landlord of the actual building to get his permission for the piece as well,” she said.
A number of other local community groups were also consulted in the process.
From all of the consultation, Ms Gleeson was confident that this was the piece for the community.
“I made sure I covered all of my bases to make sure I was creating something that the community actually wanted and is actually excited about.
“Everyone I showed the mock up to was so excited!
“I wouldn’t have done it without the community,” she said.
Ms Gleeson said she has always been very artistic, with murals and large-scale works being on the newer side of her career.
“About six years ago I started drawing on walls at home and started painting them.
“I have a friend in Selby who owns the Ranges Integrated Health, and she invited me to do a mandala on a yoga ball.
“It’s kind of all gone from there,” she said.
The mural on Monbulk’s Main Road will be her 8th or 9th mural in the Hills region, developing her ever-growing portfolio of works around the world.
“I did some work on the Stairs in Belgrave as part of a really big street art project with some of Australia’s biggest street artists.
“I’ve also been able to do some murals in people’s private homes and studios.
“I also used to live in Bali, so I’ve done a number of murals over there and also in Melbourne city.
“I love it; I love it so much,” she said.
Over the weekend, several locals have stopped by to say ‘hello’ and see what new creation was being installed in their town.
Ms Gleeson said the response from the community over the weekend has been overwhelmingly incredible.
“I’ve had hundreds of people comment on how much they love it, how amazing they think it is and it’s just what Monbulk needed.
“They love what it adds to the town and countless people have said thank you to me.
“I couldn’t possibly have anticipated such a positive and supportive response,” she said.
Several of those locals have already taken to social media and posted photos across community Facebook groups.
“Even Bendigo Bank has posted it on their Instagram this morning,” Ms Gleeson said.
For the artists, it’s all about giving back to her community.
“I love my community so much, and I’m honoured to be able to contribute in a way that I best know how to.
“I have three children as well and they love seeing me do this kind of thing.
“It’s important to see families contributing to the community,” she said.
Ms Gleeson said the mural will be completed throughout the week for the community to enjoy for years to come.
