Breaking free of the confines set around her, Milie Woods always knew art was a calling she couldn’t resist, little did she know one day it would also provide immense comfort in hardship.
“For me, it’s just who I am. I’ve always been creative. I always wanted to paint. I taught myself to paint under the bed at night as a kid. And look, it’s always been in me,” she said.
Unable to explore her creative side as a child growing up in a conservative household, Milie said after facing adversity and moving to Tasmania, the first thing she did was enroll in art school.
Exploring graphic design initially, discovering this wasn’t for her, Milie turned her attention to a Masters in art therapy.
Working in Tasmania in a mental health ward at a hospital, she helped young people under the age of 30 find stability, using art as a key element.
But when her sister fell ill, Milie moved to Healesville to care for her and has remained ever since.
Finding inspiration from the natural environments that have surrounded her, particularly the 40-odd years in Tasmania, Milie said this too inspired her colour palettes.
“A lot of my work is memories from that time and basically from all the places I’ve lived in Australia. So I draw from those experiences,” she said.
“If you look at the work, you can see the progression, (starting with) more earthy colours, and then I’ve gone into the brighter colours.”
Using ink on watercolor paper as her preferred modality after exploring oils, acrylic and watercolour, she said the versatility of ink allows her to create vibrancy but also a more subtle hue if she so desires.
As someone who paints everyday, Milie said her collection of works is extensive, with roughly 200 pieces accumulated over time.
So when Milie was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in December last year, it felt like the perfect opportunity to present her art and raise funds while doing so.
“I never painted to make money, it was just for me. It was therapy for myself. So from that aspect, I always really wanted to just donate the work,” she said.
“When I was diagnosed with MND, I thought, ‘well this is obviously for a reason’.”
Launching A Retrospective in Ink at Round Bird Artspace in Lilydale on 1 June, Milie’s exhibition has so far raised $6000 for MND Victoria, with another six weeks of showing remaining.
“This whole thing is about donating to a cause that desperately needs it. For instance, Neale Daniher, he is basically fundraising for research,” she said.
“MND Victoria, their function is different in the fact that they offer care, they offer counselling, end of life care, all that sort of stuff. Research is fantastic because hopefully we can find a cure, but until we do MND Victoria is the main body needing funds.”
Having been quite shocked by her diagnosis not knowing all that much about MND, Milie said awareness is crucial to understanding what and how this disease comes about.
Milie’s path to a diagnosis began when she started experiencing drop foot in one of her legs, with her muscles becoming weak.
Sent to a neurologist and eventually the Austin Hospital for further tests, it was all showing signs of MND.
But because of the difficulty to pinpoint symptoms specifically as MND, Milie said it can take up to six months to have a complete diagnosis.
“There’s still questions around my diagnosis and yet I am losing a lot of my functions. So even though I have a diagnosis, there’s also several different kinds of MND, there’s four different varieties, they’re still testing, and they’re still working out which one I’ve got.”
For Milie, her muscles are getting weaker, she has difficulty swallowing at night and her fine motor skills are deteriorating.
“I drop a lot of things because my hands are getting weaker. My voice is changing. I have spasms in my legs. (One) leg actually aches consistently.
“But what can you do? I mean, if that’s what it is, that’s what it is and you’ve just got to push on.”
Despite losing her ability to paint the intricate details she is used to, Milie said if she wasn’t able to create art at all, she wouldn’t be as positive as she is.
“What I’m trying to do at the moment is to adapt my artwork to what’s happening to my body.
“It keeps my mind busy. It keeps my mind occupied. It is something I love…If I couldn’t paint, I think I’d just go down hill. It just gives me the will to keep going.
“If you give up, then it just lets the disease take over. When you’re given a diagnosis that is life threatening if you give up, it only progresses further.”
Milie’s exhibition is showing until 29 July, with 50 per cent of the sale price of any artwork being donated to MND Victoria.
Find Round Bird Artspace at 170 Main Street Lilydale, above the cafe.
