Colleen is 'living the dream'

Colleen Slattery is happiest when she’s arts and crafting.

And her creations can be seen all over Holdfast Bay – from the ornate drapes which are part of the Sand Castles exhibition currently on at Glenelg’s Bay Discovery Centre, to some of the costumes that added extra sparkle and joy in the most recent Glenelg Christmas Pageant.

Colleen was dressed as the Snowflake Queen in a costume she designed and created herself, along with the walking Christmas trees and presents, which she described as ‘Christmas gifts to the community’.

“I’ve done so much and so many different things,” she said of her 13 years volunteering with Holdfast Bay. “Throw anything at me and I’ll do it.

“Now I’m obviously the resident Holdfast Bay dressmaker,” she said with a laugh.

Colleen began volunteering as the arts coordinator when she retired from an art framing business she ran with her husband Chris.

With art being her passion, Colleen hosts the Creative Holdfast arts bus tours and has recently started taking art classes with more senior members of the community.

“I do love it – my husband will say to anyone, ‘She’s living the dream’ as I have the best volunteer job,” Colleen said.

“And it’s great to do something for other people.”

Click on the link below to find out how you can join our team of volunteers and see our current list of vacancies.