Before going into the school today, I did some preparation for our printmaking session. I knew it was important to keep it as simple as possible, but for the children to have the chance to try a few different printing methods. I collected some dried leaves in the park to use for mono prints, and … Continue reading Project Preparation
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A Brief History of Healing
Opening of the sister exhibition at Hearth Gallery, Llandough. See ArcadeCampfa website for more details. A Brief History of Healing is a collaborative partnership project between ArcadeCampfa, the Cardiff and Vale University Health board and visual artist and mental health service user Gail Howard. For the last two months Gail and artist/writer Sarah Featherstone have … Continue reading A Brief History of Healing
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
Chance and Creativity
Using the notion of chance in art and writing has been a useful and popular tool in creative wellbeing sessions. Participants like the way feelings can be expressed indirectly, for example by using pre-existing text and cutting it up to form their own poem, or drawing with eyes closed. This group piece was created from … Continue reading Chance and Creativity
Ibrahim El-Salahi: A Visionary Modernist
I first came across this artist at Tate Modern in 2013, surprised that this was the first exhibition there dedicated to African Modernism. Ibrahim El-Salahi has recently had a solo exhibition at the Ashmolean, Oxford where he now lives. I stood in front of this 8 foot square painting: Reborn Sounds of Childhood Dreams I (1961–5) … Continue reading Ibrahim El-Salahi: A Visionary Modernist
Whatever the Weather
The sessions that I am running at the lovely new mental health unit Hafan Y Coed have evolved into a combination of writing and art. As this is a new venture for me, it has been interesting to see how the planning of the course translates into practice. We have taken a generic theme for … Continue reading Whatever the Weather