EllieBs_Winter_Newsletter_WEB | Page 6

Travis ’ s Story

From left to right : Simone ( Key support person ), Travis ( EBL participant and talented Artist ), Emma ( Team Leader of Travis ’ s service ) and Andrea , who is sitting ( Key support person for Travis )
Adelaide Airport - Travis in front of his picture on airport
Since deciding to leave his old place of employment to connect with his culture , Travis has gone from strength to strength . Experiencing so many opportunities , Travis has become heavily involved in the maintenance and development of the IWS site at Lower Light under the close eye of First Nations Elder / Lore Man Uncle Yuandamarra .
Travis is learning about bush medicine , bush tucker , propagating and growing native flora for the community and Australian markets . Each day , Travis works with a small team taking care of large greenhouses , planting , fertilising , re-potting , pruning , filling orders for Greening Australia and revegetating the site .
Throughout the day , Uncle Yuandamarra shares cultural stories . He talks about the Dreamtime , totems and the different journeys of the First Nations people . Uncle Yuandamarra is also about to start teaching Travis how to play the didgeridoo .
On the job - ( 1 ) In work ute ( 2 ) Landscaping beds
Travis loves being on-site with the mob and regularly says , “ I feel happy there and I feel like I belong ,” pretty powerful !
In addition to this , Travis was supported to develop his interest in art and attended art lessons with a lady from the Salisbury Art Society to learn about different techniques . He has progressed so well he is now independently producing some lovely Aboriginal dot art paintings .
He has his own business cards , which he is very proud of , and uses them as a tool to help him negotiate orders which is working well .
Travis learning traditional ceremonial dress , body painting and smoking
Recently learning how to do ceremonial smokings , too , Travis has visited schools with Yuandamarra to provide Welcome to Country and ceremonial smokings as well as teach cultural dance .
Having participated in Childsafe Environments training , Travis is able to go to schools and kindergartens with Yuandamarra . He is also preparing to get his Senior First Aid .
Travis has developed his own painting style leading to Uncle Yuandamarra introducing him to the First Nations Providore Team from the Adelaide and Sydney airports . The team was so impressed with Travis ’ s paintings that they placed orders for his coaster sets . Travis has also had one of his paintings commissioned , which is being printed onto all-occasion gift cards . These will also go into the First Nations Providore at the Adelaide airport , so keep an eye out if you ’ re passing through ! His work will be easy to identify as you will find a picture of him on the back along with the name of his artwork .
Another huge opportunity and something very exciting for Travis is the invitation from the Providore Team to be their Artist In Residence commencing in July . This will see Travis spend time painting and promoting his artwork at the airport . Here , Travis will get the opportunity to rub shoulders with other wellestablished artists who will be more than happy to mentor and share their journey with Travis .
6 ebldisabilityservices . org . au