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Keeping partygoers safe
For more than a decade, the Salvation Army Street Teams initiative has played a crucial role in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of young people out late at night in Tasmania’s nightlife precincts.
Meet Paul - client, artist, outdoor enthusiast
It started after a mate commented on the number of guitars Paul had lying around and asked what he was going to do with them. Paul, who has had a guitar in hand since he was in the third grade, looked around and knew he didn’t want to get rid of them. But what to do with them? Then inspiration struck, and Paul entered his artist’s phase.
Paul began upcycling the guitars, turning each into an individual piece of art with its own story to tell. The first designs had cut-out shelves, and he quickly progressed to inserting clocks, lights, and creating skulls. An impressive piece is his uke-guitar-lele, both strung and playable.
Some of Paul’s inspiration comes from his love of punk rock and metal music, tunes you can hear pumping as he sits out on his porch creating the pieces. Paul uses the jigsaw, like a painter uses a paintbrush, to bring his ideas to life with Pete, his support worker, on hand to help with the electric tools. The men have bonded over a shared love of music.
“The guitars take a lot of effort to make,” Paul said.
That effort is proudly on display in his house, with more than 14 guitar masterpieces created to date. The guitars have come from friends or finds at the op-shop. When he posts pictures of the guitars on Facebook, they draw a lot of attention with comments and likes flowing in from around the country and even internationally. Paul proudly makes pieces for his friends, and has sold one, which allowed him to reinvest into his art. He said the guitars are hard to part with once completed.
Paul recently experienced a full-circle moment. About 20 years ago Paul was on his way to see one of his favourite bands, NOFX, when he was involved in a car crash. The accident left Paul blind in one eye and experiencing short-term memory loss. Recently, Paul’s mate bought him tickets to the last NOFX tour in Melbourne. “They were so, so, so good, they were awesome,” Paul exclaimed. And, as a tribute to one of his favourite bands, Paul created a NOFX-themed guitar art piece.
When Paul’s not with tools in hand creating these masterpieces, he’s jamming with his mates, even playing the didgeridoo, an instrument he’s self-taught in. Paul also enjoys bushwalking and camping, and works in retail.
MAIB has supported Paul for the past 18 years. This has included funding equipment and devices to assist him to live independently. The MAIB provided vocational rehabilitation support for Paul and was successful in assisting him to secure paid employment. We congratulate Paul on his achievements and commitment to recovery.
