The quest to find my people...and reconnect to art

People always ask me how long I have been making art - and the answer is - as long as I can remember! Growing up in South Africa, my grandmother and mother were artists (albeit not professional), and my home was always filled with paintings of bushmen, zebras, lions and sweet romantic scenes. I was encouraged early on to express my creativity.

I sold my first painting at age 17 but didn't pursue art professionally after school as I took the road to the corporate world and studied IT. For the next 30 years, working in various IT and business roles, art took a backseat. As much as I was able to, my creativity expressed itself in hobbies and special interests. Some crafts and arts I've immersed myself in over the years: sewing & quilting, jewellery making & beading, graphic design & illustration, blackwork & fine embroidery, watercolour painting, oil painting, acrylic painting, cyanotype, drawing, writing & journaling, printmaking, photography...there's probably more! Oh, and I started and ran an art gallery in the UK for about a year.

Even though I have dabbled in a wide variety of arts and crafts in my life, I somehow was never comfortable in mainstream art groups and mostly worked on my own (but I didn't know why at the time!)

Fast forward a bit...I moved to Canberra from the UK around six years ago, and in that time I got divorced, and found out I was neurodivergent (ND). After a long period of grappling with my new identity, and then enjoying a new era of self-acceptance, I was ready to mingle with some of my own people. After all, I had had such a lot of painful and confusing social experiences, surely I could find a softer and more accepting home among the Canberra ND folk?

I set out to find my people and boy, did I had some adventures along the way! There are plenty of activities and groups available in Canberra, but I found it surprisingly challenging to find one that was age-appropriate, welcoming and safe for neurokin. I am anxious and quietly overwhelmed in unstructured social settings, like the "coffee and chat" format, I don't like smelly, noisy or brightly lit environments, and I am much happier chatting when my hands and eyes are busy. I also really wanted to meet other neurodivergent people around my age. It’s easier to connect when we share experiences and ways of seeing the world (hello, double empathy problem!) 

Around the same time, I had job challenges. After years of slow burnout, a devastating job redundancy, a confidence-crushing job that came after that, and then a year of fruitless job searching (is it me, or is this a thing now for women over 50?), I couldn't handle corporate workplaces, masking, and relentless stress, pressure and uncertainty any more. I decided bravely (or stupidly) to take matters into my own hands and start a  business, and art called to me.

While I was birthing my new business, Marjorie Drage - Visual Artist, I continued to have frustrating social experiences in mainstream groups, including art groups and workshops. So I decided to use my business as a platform to create the art group I wanted to belong to. A regular place where I could have fun, make neurodivergent friends my age, reconnect with my art practice and creativity, and feel comfortable and safe while doing it.

And so, the Neurospicy Art Group was born!

And here we are! Our first term has been exciting and successful, and I think I’ve created a place where neurodivergent people over 35 can connect with one another, try a range of arts and crafts, and feel welcomed, supported and cared for (with free snacks!)

If you want to hear more about the group, you can register your interest.