Rainy King

Wailwan Gamileroi

Lorraine, commonly known as ‘Rainy’ King is a local Coonamble artist, with a vision for the future. Self determined and strong willed, Rainy put herself through university while raising three young girls, but for 20 years she did not feel as though she was in her real home, or life.

“I always felt like I was living someone else’s life. I would be waiting for a job to come up here, or an opportunity there, but until I moved back to Coonamble. I didn’t know what it was that I really wanted”.

Returning as a school teacher to her home town, Rainy can easily recall her lifelong desire to be a teacher. She had an inspirational art teacher in her teenage years but Rainy can remember that the desire was implanted much earlier in her life.

“I always knew that I would be a teacher, and not just a teacher, but an art teacher. I was always very creative. On several occasions, I was left alone as a kid and when my parents came home I had repainted the kitchen”.

Back in Coonamble, and after delving into sewing and other activities, Rainy and her Auntie Vivian were inspired when the ceramics studio was most active in Coonamble. Learning how to utilise the ceramic skills to incorporate traditional cultural design, the duo soon outgrew the cooperative group and set up a studio of their own with all the equipment and three kilns.

“We used to love the ceramics but it just got more and more hectic. I would be up all night and still working all day. It was the same for Vivian, and it was just too much”.

Originally a painter and always maintaining that link while she raised her children and studied, her creative spirit has led her to explore a wide range of disciplines and styles. Painting eventually evolved into photography, which was supported and mentored through a local photographer and art teacher. Following this road has meant that Rainy has been studying again for the last couple of years, travelling weekly to Mudgee, in order to gain photography qualifications.

“I just started going out taking photos, practicing what I was learning, but again people just started taking an interest. I started just putting things on my Facebook page and then people started asking me to do jobs for them. Now my garage is a studio and I do portraits, baby photography, and it’s growing in a way that I would never have imagined”.

Here Now and Always in Clay

Through this film you will see the outcome of our activity funded by the Aboriginal Regional Arts Alliance, held on Wailwan Gamilaroi Country in Coonamble NSW.

Our community studio is situated on the banks of the Castlereagh River, where Uncle Sooty Welsh and myself Rainy King practice our ceramics. We both acknowledge the therapeutic nature of working in clay and the impact this arts practice has had for our healing journey through trauma. We had always wished to hold an opportunity for others in our Aboriginal community to become involved in ceramics and this activity provided the chance. We invited a small group, those we knew were keen but also had their own lived experiences and traumas and were not already involved in arts activities.

The participants thoroughly enjoyed the 2 days, it was such an incredible achievement for the group with a positive experience and several signing up to continue on weekly ceramics classes.