"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
Community Art
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.
Refugee Week
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.
Art for Wellbeing
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 … Continue reading Art for Wellbeing
Ancestree Stories
The brief for the Ancestree project at Wales Millennium Centre was very open and inclusive. We asked visitors to write on the leaf templates, or just on paper about their favourite things, family, or nature. Some stayed for longer, but most were families enjoying half term, passing through on their way around Cardiff Bay. Finished … Continue reading Ancestree Stories
Ancestree – Creative Writing Workshops
From Monday to Wednesday, I'm going to be running creative writing workshops with Flow Maugran, the creator of Ancestree, an incredible four-storey crochet tree installation in Glanfa foyer at Wales Millennium Centre. The workshops are free and drop-in - see here for more info - no need to book. Ancestree was the centrepiece during the Your … Continue reading Ancestree – Creative Writing Workshops
New Commission: Photo Poems for NHS Staff
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 … Continue reading New Commission: Photo Poems for NHS Staff
Monumental Woman: A Beacon of Hope
This is the monument to Wales' first black head teacher, Betty Campbell. It is also the first named statue of a woman in Wales. On 29th September, in Cardiff's Central Square, a large crowd gathered to celebrate this momentous occasion, made possible by the dedicated women behind the organisation Monumental Welsh Women. Since 2016, they … Continue reading Monumental Woman: A Beacon of Hope
Diwali Workshop
June, Caroline and I ran a family workshop in the Glanfa area of Wales Millennium Centre yesterday as part of the Diwali celebrations in partnership with Wales Tamil Sangam. Many families came to have a go at making cards using beautiful autumn leaves, bubble wrap to print borders, and styrofoam to etch images decorating with glitter … Continue reading Diwali Workshop
Lantern Making
My colleague Caroline and I were invited to a primary school in Butetown to help the Year 6 children make willow lanterns. They will be carried in a Halloween procession for the community organized by Butetown Arts & Culture Association and Wales Millennium Centre. Caroline demonstrated how to construct the lantern structure from withie or … Continue reading Lantern Making
Sarah J Featherstone 