I Becomes We
Collaborative poems featuring the voices of members of the Growing Strong Group in Bridgend.
Collaborative poems featuring the voices of members of the Growing Strong Group in Bridgend.
Some of the people who have attended my Art for Wellbeing classes over the years have a unique and idiosyncratic style. Over terms of weekly attendance, they determinedly pursue their vision to the exclusion of all suggestions and themes offered by me, or influences of others attending. In doing so, an important collection of work … More Bodies of Work
The Arts for Wellbeing organization I 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 which is the Growing Strong group with Mental Health Matters that I run in Bridgend every Friday. In my other role as Refugee … More Creative Wellbeing for Ukraine
“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 … More The Art of Growing Strong
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.
I’II be running a Mindful Art session for Refugee Week on 23rd June in Cardiff Central Library. We will be creating healing mandalas. Free for all.
I’m facilitating a new 11 week course for adults at Llanover Hall. This week, participants explored shapes and colour, beginning with the three primary colours, mixing to create new hues and tones and jotting down how each one made them feel. We spoke about the psychology of colour and its power to effect mood, and … More Art for Wellbeing
More photo poems for the Arts Council of Wales/NHS Creative Cwtsh commission. I haven’t been strict about the 5,7,5 syllable structure with these, but they are inspired by the Haiku form. Also, having fun with cut-up collaging of letters: In Japanese poetry, kigo (季語) is the word or phrase used to indicate the season and it is often … More Photo Poems
I have been commissioned by Arts Council Wales to create a short video of a creative activity for NHS staff, to be uploaded to their Creative Cwtsh website. I am particularly pleased to be able to do this, having trained as a nurse back in the 90’s, and also having accessed healthcare during lockdown. I … More New Commission: Photo Poems for NHS Staff
Online launch of the wonderful work produced over lockdown by participants of Breathing Space, a group that Katja Stiller and I have been facilitating for the past two years. Transferring onto Zoom during the pandemic, the weekly sessions consist of mindfulness, creative writing and art for people with mild to medium mental health issues. Taking … More Celebrating Breathing Space