Katja Stiller and I have been able to set up a weekly Arts for Wellbeing group to work with Ukrainian refugees. The Arts for Wellbeing organization that we both work for, Breathe Creative, was successful in securing funding from Arts Council Wales and the National Lottery fund to run a series of groups, one of … Continue reading Creative Wellbeing for Ukraine
Happy Diwali!
Diwali celebrations at Wales Millennium Centre this evening, a vibrant celebration of the Festival of Lights and Indian culture in Wales. My card making workshop with leaves, stencils and stamps using water-based ink was enjoyed by the children after their performances, and by visitors passing through.
The Magic of Islands
Rocks breathe, springs circulate; now is the change complete. She is absorbed into the body of the island, visible to the seer's eye alone. The Myth of Santa Warner, Ithell Colquhoun, 1947 When I was researching our recent visit to the island of Crete I remembered that one of my favourite artists, Ithell Colquhoun, was … Continue reading The Magic of Islands
Transformations
It was wonderful to see the work of Frances Richards on display again at the Glynn Vivian Gallery in Swansea this weekend. I became aware of her work after the retrospective I visited back in 2019 - see here. This time, just one painting: Metamorphosis, 1967 was the inspiration for three of the works commissioned … Continue reading Transformations
The Art of Growing Strong
"At least one third of GP appointments are, in part, due to isolation. Through social prescribing and community resilience programmes, creative arts can have a significant impact on reducing isolation and enabling wellbeing in communities." - Dr Jane Povey GP, Director, Creative Inspiration Shropshire Community Interest Company; All-Party Parliamentary on Arts, Health and Wellbeing Inquiry … Continue reading The Art of Growing Strong
By a Thread: Weaving the Stories of an Island
In the Odyssey, Homer describes Crete as a rich land, filled with people of different races who speak several languages. As the island is located in the eastern Mediterranean at a crossroad of three continents, the cultural influences are many. In Rethymno town on the north coast of Crete, this wonderful museum housed in a 17th century Venetian mansion … Continue reading By a Thread: Weaving the Stories of an Island
Seeing Beyond: Reclaiming the Sacred Ground
There is so much healing to be done. Globally, ancestrally, ecologically: healing from the wounds of patriarchy, imperialist and colonial iniquities - the list is long, and the legacy is profound. It effects all of us on so many levels, and it keeps on resurfacing in different forms. The healing work is ongoing, often being … Continue reading Seeing Beyond: Reclaiming the Sacred Ground
Expansion
Six online somatic sessions as a beginning to the creation of a new performance work by Zosia Jo of Joon Dance. This follows on from Zosia’s amazing 2019/20 solo research project, Fabulous Animal. the closer to the ground/sea level you are/the slower time goes mapping the landscape of the body and emotions as a drawing practice/ visualising … Continue reading Expansion
Hope
This is Ninel. She is six years old. She has recently escaped with her family from the war that is ravaging her home country, Ukraine, and now she is here in Wales. She does not speak any Welsh or English yet, but she comes to the after-school art class, and she paints and makes things … Continue reading Hope
Healing Mandalas
Some wonderful mandalas made in the workshop at Cardiff central library today for Refugee Week. I gave participants a choice of A4 or A3 circle templates to create their mandala within. Working with paint, pens, collage or stamps, visitors created individual healing images to take home with them.
Sarah J Featherstone 