A vibrant new artwork now brightens the walls of the Logan Hospital mental health ward thanks to a collaborative ceramic installation that symbolises resilience, recovery, and connection.
The project, Resilient Clay, was driven by the Leisure and Recreation Team Metro South Addiction and Mental Health Services, who arranged a creative partnership with Brisbane ceramic artist and Senior Recreation Officer Stephanie Outridge Field.
Working side by side with Stephanie, consumers and staff from the Leisure and Recreation team designed and built a permanent artwork made from individually crafted clay tiles each one unique, yet part of a greater whole.
“This partnership inspired a shared creative process where consumers and staff could work alongside Stephanie to design and build a beautiful, meaningful artwork that would enhance the ward environment and build resilience within the consumer cohort,” said Clint Nelson, Team Leader of Allied Health Inpatient Services, Metro South Addiction and Mental Health Services.
The aim of the project was to bring people together through creative collaboration, to beautify the ward while strengthening the sense of connection between consumers and staff. Using clay as the medium was intentional: it’s a material that is both malleable and enduring, symbolic of personal growth and transformation.
“Firing clay allows the mark-making to become permanent, it’s a recognition and validation of each maker’s unique contribution,” Stephanie Outridge Field said.
“Together, the tiles form a collective experience, a shared story of resilience that is now part of the environment itself.”
The finished installation, featuring tiles made by consumers, nurses, and allied health staff, tells a powerful story of community and recovery.
Each tile reflects personal experiences, growth, and hope in a tangible expression of resilience shaped by many hands.
Consumers described the experience as both joyful and meaningful:
“Such a beautiful process, especially working together collaboratively.”
“So much fun! Best fun I’ve had in here so far. Takes the ‘mental’ out of health!”
“All from different paths of life, working together in harmony — small pieces making a whole.”
The project’s success was supported by Rafael Melgar, Teresa Burgess, Iris Vukelic, Paula Lunt, Geoffrey Lau, and local tiler Rasul Ramazani, who helped bring the vision to life.