Above: Hodette with her book art.
Hodette’s Upcycling Artistry
When Housing Choices WA tenant, Hodette, moved into her home seven years ago she said it felt like heaven. “I noticed Housing Choices were more caring. I just felt very different not just like a number.” After going through some challenging times with the loss of many of her close family members, Hodette admits she was a hoarder when she first moved in. “I had about five sheds full of stuff, it was hard because I was lugging this stuff around.” “Then one day when I was sitting here it was about six months after I moved in, I got up and looked at everything and I just thought where is me?” Hodette realised she had held onto so many belongings of family members, but nothing belonged to her. She woke up one day and decided she needed to make a change.
Above: The scarecrow in Hodette’s front yard.
piece has a story to tell. At this year’s Tenant Art Showcase, Hodette was the winner of the Packer’s Prize with her incredible book folding art inspired by Alice in Wonderland and Beauty and the Beast. Some pieces included the Mad Hatter’s hat, the March Hare, and Mrs Potts and Chip. Over 20 pieces of her book art were on display, with each piece taking around 3-4 hours to complete. Hodette says, “How many places put on a Christmas lunch, or an art show for their tenants? It makes you feel a bit special.”
“I slowly started going through it, and going donate, keep, donate, keep... after a while I got down to two sheds, it was hard to part with. “I was keeping all this stuff because it was my brother’s or my sister’s, or my mum’s but there was nothing of me in there and that is what hurt me, after a while I woke up to that.” Hodette’s place is hard to miss now that it’s imprinted with her own personality and creativity. Her amazing, recycled creations include a very colourful piano and scarecrow in the front yard. She puts so much time and attention to detail and each
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