'Licorice' art show helped sweeten Ann's recovery

Ann Clarke is a survivor, and she credits her passion for art as giving her a new lease of life after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer.

It was two years ago that Ann was told she had glioblastoma, the same cancer that recently took the life of the joint 2024 Australian of the Year winner, Prof Richard Scolyer.

Within weeks of having surgery, Ann was painting again and working towards a joint exhibition. For her, art has been healing, and the best possible medicine.

“For me, it’s a boon, an absolute boon,” Ann said. “Normally you’ve only got 18 months (to live), but it’s been two years for me now, and I’m convinced that I’m going to go on forever.

“There are two types of glioblastoma, and I’ve got the better one. And so I’m convinced that I’m one of the 2 per cent that will survive.”

Until she became sick, Ann organised an annual exhibition called Licorice All Sorts, the bringing together of artists for a weekend show at the former court house at Belmore Basin.

Ann has passed the organising baton on to Melanie Lever, an arts teacher at Dapto High School, who has “lived and breathed art since I was a kid”.

The 2026 Licorice All Sorts exhibition will open at 6pm on Friday, September 18, and continue from 9am to 4pm on September 19 and 20. Entry is free.

“We’ve been exhibiting as a group for about 20 years,” Melanie said. “We first got together when we did night art courses at TAFE. We got along together as a group, and we said 'let’s exhibit together'.

“We’ve named the show because we are just a group of all sorts of artists. We’ve got ceramicists, photographers, printmakers, painters, drawings; yeah, you name it. I think we get better and better every year.

“I think this year will be the best yet; more refined, lots of really experimental works. We have a few new artists, so there’s always something new, always something different, because people continue to learn and go on their own journeys and they bring that back as part of the show.”

Melanie’s mother, Judy, says was inspired to take up art by her daughter “because she was so good at it and so passionate about it".

Judy will show her latest landscapes in the exhibition.

“My artmaking process is very soothing, and I hope to convey a sense of serenity and calm to the viewer.”

Karen Heffernan, who is also a visual arts teacher, found her creative self before attending kindergarten.

“I was about four when I started drawing. I would be given coloured pencils and the Sunday newspaper had the comics and I would just copy the comics.

"I had scrapbook after scrapbook for years, all through primary school, stashed under my bed.

“My art practice has evolved over time with a constant being the love of historical artists employing traditional techniques. In this exhibition I focus on drawing, landscape and still life being the dominant genres.”

Karen says art is her “happy place”.

“As soon as I’m sitting down with a calm implement; it might be a humble biro to do a drawing. Hours can go by, and I’m as calm as anything, and all I’ve done is held a 30-cent biro pen and drawn another tree, which is just marvellous to do. it is very therapeutic being in the world of creativity.”

How does Karen feel about sharing her work with strangers?

“It’s something that not everyone is comfortable doing but I love the conversations. As soon as you put your work out there, it may just be on social media, or it may be in a physical space where people can come and walk in. People will talk and you can have great conversations.”