As you walk into the workshop at Labre’s Hope, you are immediately faced with an uplifting, colourful mural that fills the room with positivity and energy.
This was created by Hazel, artist and illustrator, who works under the name of Nocciola The Drawer.
The piece, which took 11 days, was created all free hand, and was designed to brighten up the days of everyone who sees it, while evoking emotions of inspiration and empowerment.
Hazel says:
“The message of artwork is so important, its not just about creating a pretty picture it’s about the message it is putting out there.”
The design is broken down into three different parts. The first part is the growth section. The hands are nurturing the ball of growth. Growth takes time and development, but that’s what everyone is going to be doing at Labre’s Hope – growing. This also represents the creation of handmade soap.
Hazel continues:
“When you do something with your hands, you get that feeling of contentment. The light emitting from the hands represents that fizzing energy you get when you’re starting on a new path. There is all that excitement and so much growth to be had.
“The second part is community. We’re all part of the Labre’s Hope community and we’re connected under this mission. It was important that this section was about the people. Here we have the silhouette of the people with all the vines growing up them. This was inspired by the fact that a lot of the packaging and imagery is about the natural element of the soaps.”
“The onward section has a couple of different meanings. As you can see, the yellow brick road is not a straightforward path. People coming here will find some days tough. They’re trying to make a big change in their lives.
“We all know that when you try and make a change, it takes a lot of effort. Some days you need an extra push to get over the obstacles and challenges you’re facing. The artwork is saying you do not need to leapfrog all the way to your end goal, its just about going onward to the next step.”
Hazel was keen to show that Labre’s Hope is not the final destination. It is a stepping stone onto a new pathway for life.
She says:
“This section shows how you’ve gone through the growth, you’ve got your own community now, but afterwards you’re going to go onto your new dream.”
“Art can really make a difference. This was a blank wall and now as you come into the room, the art work creates impact. It’s not just the space it changes, it’s the people it has impact on too. Having artwork somewhere can evoke inspiration or empowerment and this is what I hoped to do with this piece.
“I hope this has lit up your day or sparked an idea. Whenever I create something and leave it behind, I hope to leave a bit of my joy for life, so whoever sees it can feel that. This was created with passion, and passion is contagious. I hope it fills you with hope in whatever your next part of your journey is.”