Northeast Coordination and Support Hubin Wangaratta has welcomed a splash of colour to one of their interior walls thanks to local teenage creative Aster Forster.

It’s been a long and tedious process for the 14 year old, but admittedly, seeing the mural in context for the first time was a relief.

“I forgot how big it was,” said Aster, who was invited by the disability support service to produce a mural in one of the establishment’s interior walls.

Aster is a neurodiverse young person with a level two autism diagnosis and comorbidities and has been dealing with mental health challenges since early last year.

Working with the business’ colour scheme and through channelling their own creativity, Aster spent about three months working alongside art teacher, Samantha Badrock, founder of Wangaratta Art School, to produce the ocean-themed piece.

Purple, blue and teal hues used in the business logo informed the artwork, and Aster later added highlights in the form of zodiac constellations, framing parts of the tentacles and body.

“I have an obsession with jellyfish,” Aster said.

“My main goal was to keep it within the colours of their logo… and the best thing on my mind at that moment was jellyfish.”

Aster has been attending classes at the Wangaratta Art School since early 2025, undergoing specialist art mentoring with Samantha as part of their NDIS plan.

“Thanks to the ADHD, I tend to stop when I’m about halfway or a third done and then I come back to it, but thanks to doing it this way, I didn’t stop,” Aster said.

In Samantha's eyes, Aster has accomplished something incredible and she endeavoured to offer support in a neuro-affirming way throughout the creative process.

“On the days when all Aster could handle was sitting on the floor, I would sit on the floor too,” Samantha said, noting there were days Aster would shoot to the stars and the moon and paint for two hours straight.

“So we just sort of rolled with it… it’s a human experience that we’re having, so we just pace ourselves.”

Looking towards the future, Aster is working with Samantha on different designs and practising mini courses on tattooing set up by mum, Celine Forster.

Aster eventually wants to open a business tailored to support the sensory experiences of neuro-divergent people.