June 2020 - Ongoing
What began as an online art group during the COVID-19 pandemic has since evolved into monthly in-person sessions. The programme provides NHS staff with a creative outlet and an opportunity to step away from the demands of their work, offering time for rest, reflection and creative exploration.
Each session is inspired by artists, art movements and experimental techniques, with workshops exploring approaches such as Pop Art printing, thumbnail sketching, textured painting, illustration, Surrealist collage, Impressionism, tonal drawing and still life painting.
The group has developed a loyal community of regular participants, creating a welcoming and informal space where staff can experiment with new ideas, share their work and enjoy creative conversation with colleagues.
Feedback:
Participants completed anonymous evaluation reports and here are some of the things they wrote…
'“I have sincerely enjoyed these art classes that really covered a wide spectrum of genre, styles and options. Rhian was an inspiration and really did her best to get our artistic tendencies to flow and be awakened. I recently had my Well-being PDR and I definitely mentioned my looking forward to our fortnightly sessions and that it helped me to have some me-time and do something creative again. I have always had a huge interest in art and this has helped me to find my creative side and explore all the different aspects of creative art.” - anon participant
“The sessions are a positive distraction. This is an activity I would not have done otherwise. I have now started to practice in spare time, definitely helping with emotional and mental well being as I have been working from home. Confidence has improved. Really appreciate that the facilitator is building relationships with people and helping the group and new participants to feel welcome, relaxed and included.” - anon participant
“I have not been doing any creative artwork for many years now and feel my creative juices flowing again since logging into these art sessions. I have my mojo back. I have ordered a whole lot of art materials and am definitely going to get going and stop making excuses for not doing so. appreciate art.” - anon participant
'“The session challenged me and I really appreciate the experience. I feel encouraged to experiment some more. The session allows me good quality time to concentrate on creativity and feel a sense of accomplishment. I like the fact that the sessions are every other week.”- anon participant
“I really enjoyed it - thought it was absolutely brilliant! I’m very new to painting but felt it was very well suited for amateurs like me to people who have been painting go for much longer. It was a really friendly and relaxed atmosphere, and it was fun to see how everyone’s paintings turned out in the end. What I particularly enjoyed were the exercises that we started off with doing - and the emphasis on daring to paint without thinking too much of the end result. It was also really inspiring to do a brief study of a particular artist and to attempt to paint in her kind of style. After the session I felt happy, inspired and relaxed - I would 100% do this again and recommend to any of my colleagues to try.” - anon participant
