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Dunoon is a nature-rich town in Northern NSW, where our participant, Ella Risebrow, lives. There, she spends her time creating marvellous portraits and mystical sculptures that capture the uniqueness of her subjects, or an otherworldly magic inspired by nature. For Ella, her art isn’t just a creative outlet; it’s a form of therapy, something that connects her to others and a way of transforming her life.
Ella started her journey as an artist in her childhood. Her father, also an artist, gave her an excellent introduction into the creative world. Growing up in this environment, she developed a love for painting and sculpting, a love that has deepened over the years. Now, in her adult life, she enjoys spending her time sketching fantastical portraits and sculpting mythical creatures. She draws her inspiration from the natural world around her.
Living in Dunoon, Ella is immersed in an environment that fuels her creativity. Dunoon is in the Northern Rivers region of NSW, which is filled with lush green hills and densely forested areas, a perfect place to foster a love of nature. With the coastal areas of Ballina and Byron Bay only a short drive away, there is no end to the natural beauty Ella can surround herself with.
In fact, in these coastal areas, she can find material to use in her artwork. Organic driftwood and other found objects make great mediums for her work. She will mix these with ceramics to make them look like small mystical creatures.
Something Ella enjoys greatly in her work is creating portraits of others. She takes great care to find the unique beauty and character of her subjects, highlighting their positive aspects to give them a better perspective of their strengths.
“I like to bring out the good points in people’s physicality and character, which can make them feel really good about themselves,” she explains. “The whole experience is like a therapy session and very calming.”
For her subjects, coming to her house to see her work and sit down for a portrait can become more than just a fun afternoon. The process can become a moment of self-discovery and positive affirmation. Thanks to Ella’s work, her subjects can see themselves through the compassionate eyes of an artist and gain greater confidence and bolstered self-worth.
Ella has also shown interest in doing portraits for other people on the NDIS to help give them a new perspective on themselves and fill them with confidence and positivity.
Creating art is not just a way for Ella to connect with others; it is a deeply personal practice that helps her navigate challenges in her life. She describes her creative process as a form of “hyper-focus,” a state in which she can forget about the pains of her daily life as they fade into the background while she works.
“It’s good for me because I hyper focus and it takes my mind off all of life’s distractions, and it takes my mind away from physical pain.” she says.
While the work is also physically demanding for her, the emotional reward she gets from a finished piece is well worth it. “When I complete a work, I feel a sense of achievement and joy… but it’s worth it to do what I love,” says Ella.
Ella has exhibited her work in many spaces, from university galleries in Byron Bay to cozy cafés in Lismore. A memorable exhibition at Muddle Puddle café in Lismore, where she showed off her sculptures made from the driftwood collected from Ballina combined with ceramics to make them look like little forest creatures, proved to be a big hit in the community.
“They sold like hotcakes!” she recalls.
Another highlight was her participation in “The Small Things” exhibit at the Levee Wine Bar in Lismore. This event allowed artists to display one piece of work. Ella’s piece sold immediately, and the experience helped reinforce her belief that sharing art isn’t just a commercial endeavour but a real way to connect with people on a deeper level.
For those of you who might be thinking about taking up an art journey, Ella has some simple but powerful advice:
“Follow your heart. Do what you’re passionate about. Don’t do what other people think you should do. Just make art the way you want to do it.”
She believes creativity flourishes when you trust your instincts and explore your process without constraints. Art also goes beyond personal fulfilment; Ella sees art as a force for positive change, both for the artist and those who experience their work.
Ella doesn’t maintain a social media page to share her art, as she prefers to create at her own pace without external pressures. However, she is open to the idea of using her talents to help heal others.
“I’d love to be involved in something that’s helping people,” she says. “Like sharing art in a small workshop and creating portraits for people to enhance their self-worth and sense of beauty. I’d love to be part of creating art for healing and positivity in people’s lives.”
Her vision and current practice are aligned perfectly to create an outcome where art is not just an object to admire but something that can be a transformative experience.
Ella Risebrow’s work represents art’s power in healing, inspiring, and connecting, whether through her portraits that reveal the hidden beauty of her subjects or a mythical sculpture that sparks the audience’s imagination. The dream of a workshop that helps to foster self-discovery for its attendants is an admirable one, and we hope to see it come to fruition. Ella’s approach to creativity is deeply human and profoundly uplifting to all who can experience it.
We hope to see more of Ella’s work in the future and can’t wait to see what she achieves next.
We acknowledge the connections of First Nations People of Australia to the land, sea and community on which we live and work. As custodians of this sacred land we respect and acknowledge Elders, past, present and emerging.