“Through reflecting on the concrete reality of our immediate experience, and through giving voice to our perceptions, intuitions, and “felt-sense” of things, we create ourselves anew”. – Marlene A. Schiwy from: Taking Things Personally: Women, Journal Writing, and Self-Creation As the new year gets underway, I find myself wondering what to do with the collection … More Creating the Self Anew: The Art of Journalling
the seed is splitting there’s still time to climb the spiral staircase just breathe transformation happens ready or not I find the liminal times around twilight and dawn good for automatic work. I let my hand loose, and try to stay out of the way of whatever wants to emerge, sometimes with eyes closed. Then … More Liminal I
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
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.
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 … More The Magic of Islands
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 … More Transformations
“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
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 … More By a Thread: Weaving the Stories of an Island
Sarah J Featherstone 