August 2019 - Creative Minds

Lily, CM Artist based in North Yorkshire has been delivering regular art sessions at The Millings Care Home in Bedale. Some of the residents have been displaying remarkable talent since getting involved in Lily’s sessions and the Managers of the home are thrilled with what they have achieved.

During the 1970’s and 80’s, resident Ivy used to be an avid painter, and enjoyed painting ceramic plates. Unfortunately personal circumstances prevented her from continuing her passion and she hadn’t picked up a paintbrush since. A year ago she moved to The Millings, and jumped at the chance to join Lily’s art sessions, and was surprised to discover that she could still paint!

When Ivy attends the sessions she becomes really absorbed in her work; it gives her great pleasure and a huge sense of pride, and Lily has been thrilled to see how much her confidence has grown. Lily says; “Ivy is a delicate Yorkshire woman and is always so happy to learn new techniques. It has been a pleasure working with her and getting to know her.”

On 28^th June Ivy made local press and was featured in the Darlington and Stockton Times for all she has achieved since getting back into her creative activity.

Eric another resident has shown incredible talent since Lily encouraged him to start painting. Eric says “It’s never too late to start a new hobby” and at nearly 94, he painted his first watercolour painting in a session with Lily. He enjoyed sketching as a young man and during his school years, so was thrilled at how his painting turned out. He’s been creating beautiful watercolour paintings ever since!

Back in springtime, Lily decided to work with residents and managers from The Millings along with a selection of local schools and nurseries to put together a community art exhibition at the home. Residents got to showcase the beautiful artwork created during their Creative Minds Art Sessions. Then children from local pre-schools, infant, primary and secondary schools all created their own work for the exhibition to the theme of sunflowers and rainbows.

The exhibition opened on the 12^th July, and the home was decorated in beautiful artwork running all the way from the front door through to the back of the house. There was an excellent turn-out on the day and the event brought together people of all ages to come and enjoy the results of their creative efforts whilst enjoying a glass of Prosecco with the residents.

Sandy, the Activity Coordinator at The Millings said; “Our residents have really excelled with Lily from Creative Minds. She really motivates, stimulates and enthuses our residents!”

Care Home Open Day is an annual event across the country and encourages care homes to open their doors and celebrate a different theme each year. The key values at its heart are friendship, making connections and celebrating older and vulnerable people. This year’s event fell on Friday 28^th June.

We were thrilled when we found out that the theme for this year’s Care Home Open Day was the Role of the Arts in Care. It couldn’t be a more fitting theme for Creative Minds! It was the perfect opportunity for many Care Homes to showcase the work created during Creative Minds Art Sessions, and on the day many CM Artists ran sessions in Care Home so that residents and visitors could have fun getting creative.

CM Artist Karen worked with residents at Kingsleigh Care Home in Woking to decorate these pretty flower pots for the garden. On the day, they were visited by school children, who sang and recited poems. They also celebrated the work that Karen has been doing in the home and awarded her with a card and bottle of bubbly at the end of the session to show their thanks!

CM Artist Sarah Jane created a striking sealife installation with residents at The Hyde in Bridgeport, using local Bridgeport net. They had great fun painting tropical fish and creating starfish.

CM Artist Hanna had a busy day at Bentley House in Hertford where she worked with residents to create these two stunning canvases which they proudly displayed alongside some smaller painted boards. All were delighted with the outcome of the session, and so proud to see their work on display!

Then on the run up to their open day, residents at Kew House in Wimbledon worked with CM Artist Kirsteen to create this vibrant, colourful sign. It was used on the open day to direct visitors to the home to their garden. It looked stunning hung up on the wall, and they had great fun working on this communal collage exploring a variety of different artistic mediums.

CM Artist Kim worked on a huge project with residents at Appleby House. On their open day they revealed a series of new garden sculptures titled “The Pillars of the Community.” Local groups and individuals were invited along to design a section of the pillar, exploring topics that were close to their heart. During their art sessions, the residents worked on each section of the pillars using clay. These pieces were later installed onto each of the pillars.

The unveiling took place on the open day, and all were delighted to see how the finished sculpture garden turned out. Many people came along to visit on the day including children from local primary and secondary schools, the Mayor of Epsom, NAPA, Care England, plus local paramedics and police! This had been a massive project for both residents at Appleby House, staff and CM Artist Kim and we are all incredibly proud at the outcome! Take a look…

Month: August 2019

Residents at The Millings excel with CM Artist Lily!

Care Home Open Day 2019