In the creative wellbeing sessions this week, I asked participants to create collages and sculptures to represent aspects of themselves. Searching through old magazines for words that resonated seemed to be conducive to both reflection and supportive conversations about elements of participants' lives. I don't initiate these conversations, as I am not an art therapist; … Continue reading Creative Journeys
Art
An Otherworldly Journey
“Suddenly, for a time, the door is open, the magic is working; a channel exists between the page and the shadowy cave in the mind.” ~ Susan Cooper One very hot summer, I went on a journey to meet an artist I have long admired. The artist had put out a call for people to … Continue reading An Otherworldly Journey
Exhibition: Pioneering Abstract Artists
The exhibition Surface Work (11 April - 16 June 2018 at the Victoria Miro, Mayfair) was a rich feast, with abstract work by more than 50 artists, all women, from five continents, spanning every decade between 1918 and 2018. I knew of some of the artists who have "shaped and transformed, and continue to influence … Continue reading Exhibition: Pioneering Abstract Artists
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
Voices on the Wind
For the past five months, I've been a creative practitioner in a primary school, working with a storyteller to produce a record of the stories about the local area surrounding the school. We have covered a vast time period, from the Bronze age, right up to the mid-19th century. I have been using printmaking with … Continue reading Voices on the Wind
Natural Abstracts
Some stunning paintings made in response to two stories from Africa today on the Children's Art and Storytelling course that I am running at Llanover Hall Arts Centre. 'Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky' - a Nigerian folktale, and 'The Lion's Whisker' - an Ethiopian Folktale. Elements by Jim age 9 … Continue reading Natural Abstracts
Awkward Objects: The Work of Alina Szapocznikow
This weekend, I travelled to Wakefield to see Human Landscapes, the first UK retrospective of the work of the much-overlooked Polish artist Alina Szapocznikow (1926–1973). Powerful, innovative, disturbing, these pieces have dark undertones, which isn't surprising when you discover that Szapocznikow survived several of the Nazi camps as a teenager, and bouts of severe illness. … Continue reading Awkward Objects: The Work of Alina Szapocznikow
Folktales from India
Children's Storytelling and Art Course, Week four. The children were interested in the concept of having two heads after hearing the Indian folktale about a bird with two heads that can't agree. They drew pictures of themselves with the head of something or someone they would or would not like to be attached to and … Continue reading Folktales from India
New Creative Course for Children
For this five week course, we are sharing stories, poems and art from ancient cultures around the world. This week, we looked at Māori culture and the story of Maui the demi-god who pulls up Te Ika a Maui (known today as the North Island of New Zealand), with his magic fishing hook. The slashes … Continue reading New Creative Course for Children
WAA Winter Exhibition
I'm exhibiting a digital photo portrait 'Matilda' from my Mothers series of a remarkable woman in this exhibition, accompanied by a poem, 'Goddess - My Mother with Parkinson's who dreams vividly at night', by Toni-Ann La-Crette.
