DINNER CLUB, MELBOURNE (Belgrave), AUSTRALIA

WHEN: 7pm, 4th Thursday of the month
WHERE: Honey Thai Restaurant, 1678 Main Rd, Belgrave (just up from Belgrave railway station footbridge)
WHAT: Dinner (meals start from around $17 and special diets can be catered for) with others on the spectrum
WHO: teens and adults on the autism spectrum and their direct support people.
This group has been successfully running since 2006.
Note: we have established 2 important ground rules for attendees
1) this is NOT an opportunity to study people with autism or explore ways to enter the autism field
2) those attending are expected to be self management skills (ie: able to respect other people’s space, have reasonable hygiene, respect the venue etc).
Any doubts whether this group is for you, please contact Donna: bookings@donnawilliams.net
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Imagine a Christmas in Melbourne where there were virtually no street decorations, where shopkeepers didn’t make Christmas windows, where the houses largely had no Christmas lights, no wreaths or garlands, often not even an indoor Christmas tree. Well, in 2011, it happened. Person after person began spreading news not of Christmas cheer, but of Christmas sneer. Read the rest of this entry »

Say Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and it may conjure up images of quackery, hysteria, Sybil, stories of satanic ritual abuse and controversies of false memory syndrome. There are those who are attracted to the circus of cancer and equally those who are excited by any new role or condition to the degree they are attracted to anything so intriguing as DID. But in fact, there is a spectrum of dissociative disorders which includes things quite common and mundane and with which most people have some familiarity. Read the rest of this entry »

I officially finished adjuvant chemo for breast cancer on November 24th. I had endured all the challenges of chemo and was certain I had had a spring clean and got my new expiry date and I felt I’d be cancer free for at least the next 5 years. I was looking forward to getting hair back on my pale bald head and growing new nails where my damaged brown ones were ravaged by chemo. Seven days later, on 31st of November I noticed I’d developed a 2mm ‘black freckle’ on my scalp Read the rest of this entry »

I’m not scared of going to Mars at the Day Ward tomorrow.
It’s only a docking station.
They will inject me with an IV and drug me for 3 hrs whilst I take my trip to Mars… sort of like Mork Read the rest of this entry »

DUEL: The Aerosol Assassin

Exhibition Opening 6-8pm July 21 2011
Exhibition runs July 19 – August 06 2011

The latest exhibition by Melbourne based graffiti maestro Duel represents this artists progression, passion and individuality. Duel’s new works have multi dimensional brilliance, are like an untamed life force, and bounce off the canvases immersing you in their energy. Colors and splats, ribbons and weaves, take you on a journey through Duels past, his development of style, and future innovations.

Kick Gallery is located at 4 Peel Street Collingwood & open Tuesday-Friday11am-6pm & Saturday 12-5pm

For further information contact Kick Gallery on 0412 243 818 or email info@kickgallery.com

I’ve always had a strong reaction to images of Barry Humphries. Read the rest of this entry »

This month’s artwork is titled ‘Iris’.
It is 26 cm x 42 cm, acrylic on paper. Some of the irises look like dancers, butterflies, nudes, fairies. It’s a whimsical painting, full of movement. It is gently joyous. I hope you enjoy the painting. You can see it and others in my online gallery.

Warmly,
Donna Williams *)
http://www.donnawilliams.net

In 1970, when I was 7 years old, my family had moved from the small rented house into a big two story house in Preston. In went a built in swimming pool, well supplied bar, snooker table, chandeliers, mirror walls, and filled with antiques and racks of guns displayed openly on the walls. There was a revolver in the drawer of the front dresser just inside the front door. Read the rest of this entry »

From 1969-1979 a famous Australian artist, Donald Friend, had a house in Bali where he had up to 20 Balinese ‘houseboys’ who stayed at his home. Donald Friend kept diaries detailing his pedophilia there with boys aged 9-12 years old. He finally bequeathed these diaries to the National Library on the condition they publish them. Read the rest of this entry »