Episode 44: Young Adults Pursue Creative Careers

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EPISODE 44: Young Adults Pursue Creative Careers

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00:00:00:00

Carers Qld voiceover

Choice and Control is a podcast celebrating meaningful inclusion of people with disability in our communities, brought to you by Carers Queensland, your NDIS Local area coordination partner in the community. Each episode provides a conversation space for people with disability, their families and carers, to share their stories with you. We also hear from members of the wider community, local businesses and community leaders who share information, ideas and possibilities to give you more opportunity and more choice and control in life.

00:00:40:05

Carers Qld announcement

Our School to Adult Life Transition project aims to identify positive pathways for young people with disability as they move from school to adult life. To help us better design our programs for young adults and their families, Carers Qld is proud to work with our new reference group of young adults from different regional areas who have finished school and are exercising choice and control at home, study, work and/or in their communities. The ‘Amplifying Young Voices Reference Group’ will share vital knowledge gained from lived experience.

00:01:05:16

Tracy (interviewer)

In this episode, I chat to a number of young adults who are exercising choice and control at home, study, work and in their communities. First up I talk to 22 year old Sunshine Coast local Emily, who is well on her way to becoming a successful artist and cartoonist. I started by asking her what she enjoys about creating visual art.

00:01:35:23

Emily (interviewee)

I just love how you just get to, just kind of have some creative freedom and just draw whatever you want. Sometimes just drawing and listening to music just kind of relaxes me and just takes my mind off things a lot.

00:01:48:13

Tracy

When you finished school, did you know that you wanted to be an artist?

00:01:51:23

Emily

Yeah, I do. I always. I really wanted to be like, I really want to be a famous artist or like, a professional artist that makes really, really nice paintings or drawings to sell or or even make like a cartoon. Like something like a comic. Because I really want to be a cartoonist the most, like, make my own comic and stuff like that.

And stories, I think my friends and family helped me along the way. Sometimes I struggle with some like OCD or autism stuff like like just going through like, certain tics and stuff like that with some sort of problems or have a little bit of OCD. But, um, my, my family helped me through it and they really helped me got through some of the hard times with some OCD stuff. And I managed to stay positive, try to stay positive with my artwork, and just try to get my work out there.

00:02:54:18

Tracy

Having the right people to work with to help your child follow their pathway is important. And for Emily, finding art teacher Lindy made a big difference.

00:03:03:10

Emily

Actually, Lindy has been helping me the most with my artwork, getting my artwork to markets and some art competitions.

00:03:15:00

Tracy

We're actually at Lindy's studio right now. Tell me what you love about this place.

00:03:21:10

Emily

Oh, I just love how you just get to come here and just kind of express yourself. I love how Lindy just kind of tries to push me to do a lot more art I'm not quite comfortable with sometimes. Sometimes it's like she pushes me to do a lot more painting or a lot more, um, a lot more sculptures and parts and stuff like that. She really pushes me to put a lot more detail into my art. I don't think I would be here talking to you if it wasn't for Lindy helping me with my artwork. You can find. You can find me on Instagram #LegendaryBluePegasus

00:03:59:05

Carers Qld announcement

Our School to Adult Life Transition Project aims to identify positive pathways for young people with disability as they move from school to adult life.  To help us better design our programs for young adults and their families, Carers Queensland is proud to work with our new reference group of young adults from different regional areas who have finished school and are exercising choice and control at home, study work and in their communities. The Amplifying Young Voices Reference Group will share vital knowledge gained from lived experience to support other young adults to overcome barriers and feel empowered to plan for their adult life.  To find out more, get in touch, or look for events and opportunities coming up near you, visit our website at www.carersqld.com.au or call our inquiries line on 1300 999636.

00:05:02:23

Emily

Just try to follow. Just try to find your own path. It could start out with something small, like a small job. And maybe, maybe if you find opportunity, your path will grow larger.  You just have to try to find your passion through jobs, hobbies, or anything. When I left school, I didn't quite know where I was going next.  I didn't know. I didn't quite have many classes or anything else after school. But I had I had faith we'll find something. And me and my dad and my mum, we kept looking, trying to find some opportunity. And we ended up, we ended up finding Lindy. I believe that when you leave school, you somehow find a way, find your own path.  It might take a while, it might take days, months, maybe, maybe a year or two. But you'll be able to find a way through this rocky road called life.

00:06:09:13

Tracy

After chatting with Emily, I was joined by Bonnie, Emily's proud and supportive mum, who's been there every step of the way. I started by asking Bonnie how she first knew Emily was destined for a career as an artist and how the family has supported her journey since leaving high school.

00:06:27:02

Bonnie

Emily's been drawing since before she could talk. She always was just fascinated with art. She's always been very open about it. Like, I want to be a cartoonist. I want to do this. I want to do that, you know? And she's always had that absolute raw talent for the art, which is just amazing. Lindy always says, you know, there's a few different types of artists, one who learns and one who is just natural. And Emily is that natural artist that can just look at something and just draw it. It's amazing. When she finished school, she just started on the NDIS. They offered the program and I thought, that's going to be great. She went for about two months and she really did like it. She very social. She likes hanging out with other people. And then when COVID happened, you know, everything went into lockdown and everything was shut. Everything was just left. Emily was at home, she was getting more and more anxious. She was pacing around the house because, you know, she's an outdoors person. She loves going out and doing her art and stuff. And then yeah, so that was really, really hard just to kind of be all in lockdown and stuff.

We went through a few different programs that just weren't right for Emily, but just keep looking. But I think looking at all your different options, not just sticking with one, but going, okay, this doesn't quite fit, we're going to move on because at the end of the day it's about them and it's about what they want to achieve. And the other programs just didn't give Emily what she truly needed in that moment. So we just kept looking. Just don't stop looking. Find the right people to work with your child because there's lots of different art teachers and art therapy places and all of that. But finding that person that really gels well with your child.

I know when we first met Lindy, we came in and Emily and Lindy just started talking the same language. I didn't even understand what they were talking about. And I was just like, okay, this is the right person for Emily. She worked so well with Emily. She knew what Emily was talking about. You know, they just gelled so well.  So it's about finding that right person to help them and not being afraid of going through a few people. Because sometimes, you know, one person just isn't right for you.

00:09:14:13

Tracy

Well, it's clear that visual art plays a unique role in Emily's life as a way to communicate complex thoughts and emotions – helping others understand her lived experience.

00:09:27:02

Bonnie

Throughout probably the last five years since she left school, she's had a few challenges with her mental health and the autism and all of that.  So she did a painting for an art gallery for an art exhibition a couple of years ago, which was her what her OCD felt like. And it was just a beehive in her brain with all these bees flying around everywhere. There was one time she was put on some medication with the mental health team, which didn't it didn't affect her very well, like she got quite sick and was very sleepy and dopey. So we came off that and she was really shaky for about a month. She couldn't stop shaking after being on these medications and we've got a couple of drawings. She drew these silhouettes of a cat and the lines are all shaky and she calls it her “Shaky Cat”.

00:10:27:01

Tracy

… so the art is an expression… is a is a way of communicating…

00:10:30:18

Bonnie

Absolutely. Yeah. Like when she's in a sad mood, she'll do sad drawings, and when she's in a happy mood, she'll do happy drawings. And, you know, she really, whenever she's feeling overwhelmed or anxious, she just she goes up to the office at the house and just grabs out paper and she'll just sit there for hours and just draw and just get everything out onto the paper.

00:10:57:04

Tracy

And has it help you understand Emily more?

00:11:00:00

Bonnie

Absolutely, Yeah, absolutely. Like when she drew the picture of the beehive in her brain that was like, wow, it's amazing. You could really understand what she was going through with her OCD. Like when she has to pace back and forth a certain amount of times. She was saying, you know, it's the bees in my head…and they,  “I just have to get them out”. And so that was really good representation of what she was feeling during that time. And it's helped me understand what she goes through.

00:11:36:08

Tracy

Well, it sounds like Emily has such a supportive family, and you must be really proud of what she's achieved.

00:11:42:03

Bonnie

Oh, we are. We are so proud.  Like, just to have her artwork in galleries and for her to sell that.  And people are always telling her how great her art is. Yeah.  (And she's still so young – Tracy)  Yeah. Yeah. She's 22. So she's 22 and she's, you know, when I was 22, I didn't know what I was going to do with my life. But she's 22 and she knows exactly what she wants to do, and she's well on her way to getting there.

00:12:10:03

Carers Qld announcement

Do you have a passion or a talent to share with the world? A small business can be a great way for people with disability to earn income, build your confidence, be more independent, and be an active part of your community. Carers Queensland is supporting our next generation of entrepreneurs with the Be your own Boss Micro-business Project. It's a place to find out what it means to start a business, whether it's a good fit for you, connect with business mentors and learn from existing micro-business owners and even opportunities to showcase your goods and services in the Be your own Boss Marketplace.  Find out more, get in touch or look for events and opportunities coming up near you. Visit our website at www.carersqld.com.au or call our inquiries line on 1300 999636.

00:12:59:03

Tracy (voice-over)

Next up in this episode, we hear from  20-year-old Isaiah from Ipswich, who is Deaf and nonverbal and communicates via an AUSLAN interpreter.  Isaiah is the brainchild behind the t-shirt and apparel microbusiness Silent Threads, and was a participant in the hugely popular “Be Your Own Boss program”, a free initiative from Carers Queensland.  And a note to listeners… In this interview you will hear the voice of Isaiah’s  AUSLAN interpreter and his mother Leslie in an open interview setting. I started by asking Isaiah about his experience in the be your own boss program.

00:13:33:03

Isaiah (AUSLAN interpreter)

Well this is the first time I’ve done a course here. And it has given me confidence and I’ve met, you know, lots of new people while I've been here in the course. So it was at first, a little bit of a shock, you know, I had to sort of say who I was, what my name was, and what I do and then yeah… And I thought, okay, let's have a look. And it's good to see different people and meet different people. Well I'm selling my products. Yeah. From the course yeah.

00:14:09:03

Tracy

Isaiah is keen to get his message and products out on social media and will be making a podcast in the future to promote his message.

00:14:17:10

Isaiah (AUSLAN interpreter)

I'm going to be interviewed interviewing famous sports celebrities and different people.

Georgie (Carers Qld)

And through podcast?

00:14:34:10

Isaiah (AUSLAN interpreter)

Just through… a friend of mine, he's going to come and he's going to do all that, I guess, technical side of things and get that happening for me.

00:14:45:10

Tracy

Joining the Carers QLD Be your own boss program was an exciting time for Isaiah and his mother Leslie, as they started to make solid plans for Isaiah’s future career.

00:14:54:10

Leslie (mother)

Yeah, I think, he's just been really, really, every week or every two weeks when the course has been on, he's been very, very excited to go and like to come along. He was sick for one of the weeks and that was a bit of a disappointment, but he's really enjoyed it.  It's been a quite a journey because it's all content that helps the young, you know, a startup business. Yeah. So for him it's all brand new, but it's been very informative and very educational for him.

And it's, it's so it's been good because he's learned just, you know, what it takes to actually help him get set up, which has been good. Yes. So I think it's really exciting too, because when we saw like when he saw the ad initially at the beginning of the year, he was at that point where he was wanting to like, how do I how do I do this?

It's like I just don't even know where to start. And it was just by chance that we saw the ad come out and I went, Oh, what's this? Because he came running in and he was showing me the thing. So we clicked on it. We were reading and it was like, this is going to be what we need to sign up for.

So we checked the date. So it was like two weeks away. So we quickly hurried up and emailed, filled in the application forms, and then when we got the notification back to say that he was starting, he was very, very excited because it was like, yes, I got accepted, I’m in. And so yeah, that's, that's been awesome.

00:16:25:10

Georgie (Carers Qld)

And it's the perfect timing as well with the business taking it to that next level. So you have that concept, the idea…

00:16:33:00

Isaiah (AUSLAN interpreter)

Yes, just progressing with my business and getting, you know, getting bigger and bigger and lots more planning and good for my future as well.

00:16:42:10

Leslie (mother)

I think as a young person too, I was sharing with some of the interpreters that coming from school, there’s not… like for a young deaf person, there's not a lot of opportunity. You know, there are pathways, but as a parent, you want them to be in employment that's meaningful to them. And so I've really tried to encourage him, me and his dad and his entire family, like do something that you love. And because he's always like creating media and things like that, just as a young person, as they do, it was really then, why don’t you see how you can try and monetize that idea, but use it in a space where you feel comfortable?

And so then when we started researching around like, you know, the deaf influencers, there’s not a lot here in Australia and particularly his age group. So he's kind of like going to be like a pioneer in this space, which is good because I think it just means that he'll be then influential to other kids that are coming through, you know, and then using them, the clothing and then the media side of things, to meld that… that's the whole idea with the “threads” – “silent” playing on the fact that he’s deaf but the “threads” being the link to either the clothing but then also like the media, like keeping up media threads. But that's kind of like the link, the idea around that. So, he's very excited.

00:18:17:10

Carers Qld voice over

The Be Your Own Boss program offered by Carers Queensland is a free program to help people with disability start or build on their own micro-business. Just like Isaiah's Silent Threads brand.

00:18:29:07

Isaiah (AUSLAN interpreter)

Yeah. Think it's good?  Yeah, I think I've had a good time, it's helped with my confidence, and it’s been really helpful working as a team as well.   Well, I think in the future I'd like to expand to shopping centres, like to shops and get more products to sell and different types of colours and, you know, just different things, more sizes. And I want to do it to help my mom as well. And my auntie has also helped with the planning and working as a team. We all are.

00:19:01:10

Georgie (Carers Qld)

Fantastic.

00:19:03:10

Carers QLD announcement

LAC Connect:  It's a new way to stay in touch with your Local Area Coordinator, Carers Queensland with everything you need right here on your device. It's a handy app to keep track of your LAC appointments, browse workshops and events, check out information and support, and get the latest news, stories and podcasts. It's available on Android and iOS, so whatever device you have, you can stay in touch. Head to our website to sign up at carersqld.com.au and look for LAC Connect.

00:19:36:00

Carers QLD announcement

Thanks for joining us at Choice and Control, a Carers Queensland podcast. If you have enjoyed this podcast please take a moment to leave a rating and review, and share it with your community. For more information about our School to Adult Life Transition Program, the National Disability Insurance Scheme or Carers Queensland, contact us online at www.carersqld.com  or Call us on 1300999636 or head to Facebook and look for Carers Queensland NDIS