Kids love monsters; they never tire of stories from myth and legend. At the beginning of the Story telling and Art course, we travelled around the world, exploring stories from many different cultures, finding out about the spirits and mythical creatures that populate these tales. We encountered trolls from Iceland, dragons in China, a host … Continue reading Mythical Monsters
Community Art
Printmaking Fun
The children I've been working with from the Gypsy, Roman and Traveller community in Cardiff had a go at etching into styrofoam. They did self-portraits, and things they liked. Then I asked them to draw onto acetates so that I could print their drawings onto material using cyanotype technique. The finished prints.
Structure for a Poem
One participant of the Friday Creative Wellbeing group is a wonderful surrealist poet in the style of Gisèle Prassinos. From one of her poems, 'Reasoning Remains a Wealth', everyone has chosen a line that resonates with them, and created their own print or artwork, taking inspiration from the words of the poem. We are always discovering … Continue reading Structure for a Poem
New Printing Project
Excited to be starting a new printing project with the Gypsy, Romany and Traveller (GRT) community in Cardiff, working with children after school on one of the sites. The Romani Cultural and Arts Company, is a brilliant charity that works through the arts for advocacy and empowerment amongst the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. It … Continue reading New Printing Project
Breathing Space
I'm really looking forward to facilitating a new Creativity and Wellbeing course with Katja Stiller from Valley and Vale Arts. We will be delivering person-centred creative sessions that will combine mindfulness exercises for relaxation with a range of art forms. For people who are in the process of recovery from mental health challenges such as anxiety … Continue reading Breathing Space
Get Well Cart
An old drugs trolley has been repurposed to dispense art making & utopian prescriptions. The trolley has been adapted and fitted with printmaking equipment including a set of brass letters to print words and phrases. Gail Howard and I are delivering pop-up printmaking and basket weaving sessions around the hospital. The aim of the project … Continue reading Get Well Cart
Animating the Aliens
On the after-school Storytelling and Art course at Llanover Hall, the children decided to create a theatre out of cardboard. As our theme for that week was Sci-fi, everyone made alien characters to star in the show. On the first week, the parents got a preview of act one, with one boy being narrator, others … Continue reading Animating the Aliens
Into the Magical Forest: Creative Schools
Dod yn ôl at fynghoed: this is the title of the latest Creative Schools project I am working on in Tonypandy. In Welsh, it translates as "to return to my trees", or "to return to a balanced state of mind". The aim is to bring the children back into contact with nature through outings, stories, … Continue reading Into the Magical Forest: Creative Schools
Printmaking in the Hub
United Welsh Housing invited me to run some printmaking sessions centred around the theme of reconnecting with loved ones through card-making. Libraries in Llanrumney and Ely are transforming into multi-purpose hubs, with a view to connecting and supporting the local community, and we were able to encourage service users of all ages who were there … Continue reading Printmaking in the Hub
Alchemy and Healing
Catherine Lewis has taken over the gallery 1a Inverness Place, an empty shop, as part of her wellspace residency. Cat works with materials that she gathers from her local environment - natural, local plant materials, and uses sustainable print processes and recycled cloths. Catherine had collected water and wood from a nearby healing well site, … Continue reading Alchemy and Healing
