Brightening up Care Homes with Marvelous Murals!

03/08/2017

Our Creative Minds (CM) Artist’s visit a huge variety of care homes and other venues every month reaching over 1000 participants in their Art Sessions. Lots of artwork is created by the participants and so we try to encourage all of the care homes and other venues we work with to display the artwork on the walls to help create a vibrant and stimulating environment. All of the care homes that have displayed the residents artwork on their wall have noted not only the positive impact its had on the residents but the impact its had on the care environment, giving the home more vitality. Care homes are now looking at other ways they can liven up communal areas and corridors and the staff at Hammonds Care Home in Bognor Regis decided to approach Jenny S, their CM Artist based in Chichester about painting a mural to brighten up their entrance and hallway. James Hodge, Manager of Hammonds Care Home, explains to us the thought behind the wild flower mural project and how the home has reacted to their fabulous custom artwork!

What made you decide to have a mural at Hammonds Care Home?

“Hammonds is a residential and respite service for adults with learning disabilities. Hammonds has a lovely homely and fun feel to it and we like to keep the place looking bright by displaying the art of the people that live or stay with us here. We have always felt that the entrance and hallway to the home didn’t reflect the atmosphere of the home being quite cold and dull with brown doors to cupboards and noticeboards. It looked more like an office than a home.”

“Jenny S, has been coming to us delivering Art Sessions with some of the people that live here and we discussed what we could do. The Art Sessions participants started off by making `Welcome to Hammonds’ bunting. This looked great but then really got us thinking about doing something more. It then just happened quickly. We looked at some designs, a bit of base painting and hey presto we were underway….and now we have a lovely wild meadow instead of a dull hallway. The Art Sessions group are going to paint some meadow animals and insects to really give it a 3D effect.”

How have the residents and staff reacted to the mural?

“Everyone loves it, visitors, staff and residents. Every time someone comes through the door they comment on it and how much they like it. It seems like everyone has a favourite flower. I find I am often in the hallway with people picking out our favourite ones. One lady has just done her own drawing of her favourite `the daffodil’.”

James asked another resident who lives at the home and they said, “I just like it. I like the colours and it looks much nicer.”

What’s your opinion on the artwork?

“I am a great believer in the influence of environment on people and this has a really positive effect. Our entrance and hallway now reflects the positive and welcoming atmosphere of the home. It gives everyone a lift, is a talking point and it makes me smile every time I walk through the door. The mural is better than I could have hoped for as is the response to it. I had high hopes for the mural and even with these I have been surprised just how much a difference it has made.”

James Hodge Manager, Hammonds Care Home.

“I had a lovely time working on the mural at Hammonds Care Home, the staff and residents were so on board about wanting a piece to brighten up the space. The flowers work so well and It’s great to give them a piece of art that welcomes both them and visitors.”

Jenny S, CM Artist.

We’ve seen a rise in the number of care homes requesting mural’s and this is a service that our community of experienced CM Artists are more happy to provide.

Thanks for reading,

Kayleigh.

Care Roadshow London & Care England Conference

12/06/2016

We had a brilliant time exhibiting at the Care Roadshow London and Care England Conference but before we delve into our experiences at those events we just want to briefly reminisce on all of the events of this year.

2016 has been a great year for us regarding events; starting with James’ attendance at the ‘National Arts & Health Conference’ organised by Aesop on February 5th, which was a real eye opener for us in how diverse the arts and health space was. However most of the events we’ve attended this year we’ve also participated such as the ‘Celebrating the Arts in Care Homes Conference’ on May 24th organised by Care England, where James delivered a presentation on Creative Minds in front of around 200 care workers, care managers and Directors.

Then we were invited by Richmond Council to participate in the Full of Life Fair 2016, which attracts nearly 1500 over 55’s ever year. We were blown away by both the popularity of the event and its fantastic organisation by the Richmond Borough Council. Plenty of volunteers were on hand to guide, advise and support people during the event.

On November 15th and 16th we attended and exhibited at the Care Roadshow London held at Epsom Downs Racecourse and the Care England Conference held at Church House in Westminster.

The Care Roadshow London event was attended by James, Sarah and Hanna who had a great day speaking to care providers, home care providers, local authorities and other organisations about our wonderful service. The stand was so busy at times they had people waiting to speak to them to find out more about Creative Minds. A fantastic experience and as a result we’ve already booked our space at the Care Roadshow Birmingham in July 2017!

Held at the Church House in Westminster the Care England Conference is thee must attend event for Directors and key decision makers of care providers and learning disability services in the care sector. James and Sarah attended and exhibited at the event and they very quickly had people approaching the stand to see what Creative Minds was all about. Another fantastic event for us and we’ll definitely be attending next year!

We hope to attend even more Arts & Health and Care Sector related events in 2017, we’ll keep you posted! ?

Full of Life Fair 2016!

12/06/2016

On the Friday 7^th October 2016 we experienced our first Full of Life Fair at Twickenham Stadium in Twickenham, London and what a fantastic busy event it was! The Full of Life Fair is held at a venue every year and is run by Richmond Council to connect local over 55’s with over 75 local business in the area. The event was a roaring success with over 1200 residents and carers attending the annual event and James and Elaine we’re there on behalf of Creative Minds!

As part of the Creative Minds contribution to the event James and Elaine delivered a morning and afternoon Art Session to 30 participants with many more spectators walking around the table, chatting and watching the artists at work. The participants had a choice between British landscapes and flowers and the choice between using soft pastels or watercolour for their artwork.

Have a look at the wonderful artwork created…

Everyone who attended our sessions by the café thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were keen to attend Art Sessions in the local area. At present, we don’t currently deliver sessions to residents in the Richmond area but watch this space! In early 2017 we hope to be able to deliver regular sessions in the Richmond community with the help of local partners.

The Appleby Tate, one year on!

08/17/2016

Its been over a year since the opening of the Appleby Tate art gallery at Appleby House Care Home (Care UK) in Epsom, Surrey, which was officially opened by the Mayor and Mayoress of Epsom on Care Home Open Day 2015. The ‘Appleby Tate’ is an incredible gallery space that has been created to display all of the fantastic artwork created in Art Sessions by the residents. We have been delivering Art Sessions to Appleby House for nearly 2 years now, and the residents most of whom have dementia, have created wonderful art, crafts and sculpture over that time.

James the founder of Creative Minds use to deliver Art Sessions to Appleby House, which inspired the manager Shona Bradbury and the activities team to transform the space. He explains; “The Art Sessions are hugely popular at Appleby House and all of the residents that participate create fantastic artwork, and really immerse themselves in the creative process. The Appleby Tate started out as a vision to display the resident’s artwork by utilising unused wall space, but with the hard work of Shona and the activities team they have transformed it into an amazing gallery space to showcase all of the resident’s artwork. Its awe inspiring to see and it doesn’t stop at the seating area it continues down the hallway!

The Art Sessions have had a profound effect on Appleby House and will continue to do so as the artwork displayed in the gallery is rotated. Recent changes include the brightly coloured gallery walls and the creation of giant flowers on display near the seating area.

The gallery has also had a profound effect on the care home environment, Shona, Manager at Appleby House, comments; ‘The art sessions have had such a positive impact on the home that we were also inspired to have vibrant feature walls that have carried on to all the suites. With each phase of our growing appreciation of art and colour we see at the same time increased wellbeing for the residents and staff. One GP recently said “What’s happened to the home, the residents used to sit around and now they are all so lively”. We are so inspired by the effect of the art that we are renaming the suites in the home after famous artists. The residents are currently creating a signature art piece from each of their chosen artists to be displayed in the suites. This is part of our commitment to becoming a home driven by artistic and creative therapies. The look on visitors faces is priceless and we love to tell them that we like to focus on what people living with dementia can do and not what they can’t. Our recent CQC inspection awarded us as ‘Outstanding’ for all our activities and they were blown away by the Appleby Tate and the artwork.”

It is known in health care that participation in an array of activities in care homes is vital in maintaining an individual’s health and well-being. Our Art Sessions provide a relaxing environment for the residents to explore their creativity and feel engaged and empowered through the use of various materials and mediums to create their art. Residents, staff and family members have noted that our sessions help to reduce agitation, improve mood, dexterity, social cohesion and boost levels of self-esteem and confidence. In addition, residents regularly produce beautiful artwork, which can be displayed, like the Appleby Tate, throughout the care home.

In the Appleby Tate’s case the display of the artwork increases its impact not only on those who participate but other residents in the home, James comments; “We’ve proven that our Art Sessions empower and enhance the lives of the participants and I think displaying the artwork as Appleby House have done amplifies that impact, reaching those who haven’t participated in the sessions, the staff, the relatives, it enhances the whole care environment.”

The Appleby Tate is a testament to the impact that the Art Sessions can have on a care home and an indication as to how they can impact other types of venue. Our goal is to continue to nuture and encourage the venues we work with to display the artwork created by the participants, and we’re certain more Appleby Tate like art galleries will emerge as a result.

Care Home Open Day 2016!

08/15/2016

On Care Home Open Day (CHOD) last year, we opened the amazing Appleby Tate gallery at Appleby House Care Home in Epsom, arguably the first art gallery in a care home setting, along with other Art Sessions taking place across the South East. Since then our community of artists has grown dramatically and so this year CHOD was even more eventful and jam packed! We had various Art Projects taking place throughout May and June in preparation for their unveiling on CHOD and Art Sessions taking place across the country on CHOD itself.

Here’s some of the wonderful artwork created by the residents in our Art Sessions for CHOD 2016…

Jubilee House Care Home (Care UK) in Godalming, Surrey celebrated Care Home Open Day in Wonderland, creating a fabulous Alice in Wonderland display! The residents enjoyed creating all the elements of the display with the help of Sarah, our experienced Creative Minds Artist. The residents had a wonderful array of activities running throughout the day, everyone enjoyed a BBQ lunch and it was great to see the staff in costume. The Director of Creative Minds, James Cropper and the Mayor of Waverley, Councillor Chris Storey dropped by to admire the display. Congratulations to Totka the manager and the team for organising such a fantastic event.

The residents at Wellesley Road Care Home (Shaw Healthcare) in North London created personal story pictures using images sources from the internet. It was great for the residents to reminisce about their childhood and the bygone days of the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. All the artwork created by the residents in the sessions was put on display for CHOD for visitors and relatives to see.

Sunrise of Fleet (Sunrise Senior Living UK) in Fleet, Hampshire had some very productive and fun sessions making artwork and props for their “Best of British” theme for Care Home Open Day. All the residents were involved in creating different elements of the display from the bunting to a life size figure of a Grenadier Guard. The “Best of British” themed day was a great success and enjoyed by all who visited the home on CHOD.

The residents at Grosvenor Park Care Home (Bupa) in Bexhill, East Sussex had a big tea party planned for Saturday to celebrate the Queens 90th and Care Home Open Day so they made a collage using pictures of the Queen through out her life. The residents made little crowns our of felt and sequins and stuck on union jacks to further decorate their pictures. Everyone was very impressed with what had been achieved and no sooner had the picture been finished it was on display for all to see.

The residents at Puttenham Hill House Care Home (Bupa) in Guildford, Surrey enjoyed creating the props for their ‘Day at the Races’ Theme for Care Home Open Day. They loved decorating their hats, making felt brooches and flowers for the winner’s enclosure, as well as a large horse and jockey sculpture. Everyone worked really well as team to create all the props for CHOD and from what we’ve heard they had a lovely day!

Finally all of the artwork created by the residents at Greys Residential Home in Woking, Surrey was framed and put on display for CHOD for all the visitors and relatives to admire. What an amazing variety of work they’ve created!

All of the residents featured in this blog post have given their consent.

Displaying Artwork

07/16/2016

Displaying Artwork – How to effectively display artwork created by the residents or participants around your care home or venue…

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” ~ Edgar Degas

From calming pastel paintings to vibrant acrylics residents create amazing artwork at Creative Minds sessions. But then what? The last thing anyone wants is for that wonderful expression of creativity to end up neglected in a corner.

Research shows that experiencing art decreases stress levels: visibility leads to value!

Both creating and subsequently displaying artwork offers many benefits:

Residents’ sense of pride at seeing their work on display
Raises residents’ self-esteem
Shows family and friends what activities residents have been doing
Can impress visitors to the home
Provides a positive talking point
Can provide a memory jog for the residents, back to the point of creating when there was a sense of relaxation, joyfulness and fun.

How to Display Artwork

There are plenty of options for displaying artwork. It helps to ensure its cohesive (e.g. similar pieces together). Do set a time-frame too – you don’t have to display everything at once – freshening up the space by regularly changing the artwork gives a new perspective and improved sensory experience.

Framing Artwork

Framing a piece of artwork totally elevates its status. Cheap frames are readily available, either from charity or discount shops (such as The Range or Ikea).

I have been working with one lady, in her 90s, who’s been telling me: “I can’t draw Sarah Jane, you do it for me.” Recently, she created a beautiful watercolour flower painting. I suggested we frame it – to say she was pleased with the result is an understatement! She’s since created a lovely oil pastel painting of a pheasant – again, the frame made it sing and she is absolutely thrilled with it. From someone who insisted they couldn’t draw (and believed it for over 90 years) to someone whose self-esteem has improved dramatically – achieved by just framing the work!

Wall Displays

The simplest way is to put the work up with blu-tak. Creating a paper or cardboard mount will also frame the work nicely. You could create a project, such as a garden theme, to cheer up a bare wall.

Display on Shelves or Cabinets

Sometimes space is at a premium so a row of pictures on a shelf can really brighten up a room. Also, using display cabinets, particularly for models, is an effective method. Small display easels are a fun idea for smaller pictures too and can easily be moved around.

Pinboards or Mobile Wall Displays

A large pinboard or mobile wall allows you to display work simply and can be refreshed regularly.

Portfolio case

Presenting some work in an A3 portfolio case is also a good option, especially by the entrance to show visitors on arrival.

Useable artwork

Items such as clay pots and coasters are a lovely way to create art that can also be used in the care home environment.

Other artwork

Other creations, such as fun mobiles, can be shown off using fishing line and hung up, and suncatchers look beautiful on a window.

Ideally, a combination of the above can really help make a home a vibrant, fun, stimulating environment. One fantastic example is the ‘Appleby Tate’. Appleby House Care Home in Epsom, Surrey held an open day where the Mayor and Mayoress of Epson and Ewell officially opened the ‘Appleby Tate’ gallery.

The ‘Appleby Tate’ is a stunning gallery space within the care home, which is used to display all the fantastic artwork created by the residents in the Art Sessions. The Appleby Tate gallery provides a therapeutic space within the care home where the residents can relax, admire and meet with their relatives and visitors. It also provides a talking point for residents, encourages a social atmosphere, creates a lovely environment for the residents to live and seeing their artwork on display gives them a real sense of achievement and, we believe, empowerment.

One last thing to remember…“It’s not our art, but our heart that’s on display.” ~ Gary Holland

Thanks for reading!

Blog post by Sarah Jane, CM Artist.

Alice in Wonderland

04/13/2016

Its January and its another grey and dreary day in Woking and all I can think about is the tropics, joy and colour for my clients and the creation of a wonderful spring garden indoors!

Then I start thinking about my daughters wedding in May and the hen party I need to organise. She’s an English teacher and loves literature and here we are in the land of Alice, Lewis Carrol was born in Guildford and the world is currently celebrating the 150^th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland being written. Thus what started as an idea for a little window garden display led us down the path to Alices garden!!

In for a penny in for a pound I put forward my idea to Katie at the Park Barn Centre in Guildford, Surrey: An Alice in Wonderland display in time for Easter and what about a Mad Hatters Tea Party?

Yes why not!!! She said.

And so began the transformation of my sitting room into cardboard construction sight and my family never quite knowing which character they would be sharing tea with!

When I proposed the idea to the wonderful folks at the centre they were thrilled and ready and willing to get stuck in to whatever I set before them. Whether it be 5ft cardboard trees; lime green flamingos, pink grinning cats, soldiers made of playing cards, flowers with lion and tiger faces, not to mention all the main characters encountered in the curious of world of Alice in Wonderland, all destined to make up our display.

The Park Barn Four Seasons dementia centre were not to be ignored and embraced the mess and challenges of creating the foliage for the garden, rolling papier mache caterpillar segments and even making crockery for the Mad Hatter himself.

Every session had jubilant reactions for those participating to onlookers, as different characters and parts of the display were completed. There have been wonderful jovial shakes of the head from passers-by at the absolute absurdity, it is Alice in Wonderland after all.

Even the Park Barn Centre staff got involved in the project and throughout the process amongst the organised chaos of tissue paper, acrylic paint, pipe cleaners, clay, card, glue, fabric and fur, Cornelia and I have tried to capture moments from each session as the concept grew. Meanwhile Amanda and other staff continued with cutting hearts and building an army of playing card soldiers and Four Seasons participants soldiered on with creating colourful pompoms, an essential part of wonderland.

After many sessions working on the project the Alice in Wonderland display is now been complete and was launched at the Mad Hatters Tea Easter Feast on Wednesday 23rd March and will be available for all to appreciate in the following weeks.

It was even featured in the Surrey Advertiser…

Some comments from those involved and at the event…

“At our social centres we ensure that visitors have the opportunity to enjoy a whole range of fun and interesting activities. Arts and crafts are very popular and this Easter project provided a brilliant theme for everyone to take part in. The mural is a testament to the creative work of older people and I would like to thank Creative Minds for their involvement in such a worthwhile project.”

Quote from Cllr Tony Rooth, Lead Councillor for Housing and Social Welfare.

“Sarah’s Creative Minds is a wonderful addition to the activities on offer at Park Barn, particularly the long term Alice project that has kept all the service users/clients engaged.”

Amanda, Support Officer

“A year ago you would never have convinced me I would enjoy doing art but now im thoroughly enjoying it.”

Barbara (service user)

Thanks for reading,

Sarah.

The Appleby Tate!

10/04/2015

On the 19th June 2015, Appleby House Care Home in Epsom, Surrey held an open day where the Mayor and Mayoress of Epson and Ewell officially opened the ‘Appleby Tate’ gallery.

The ‘Appleby Tate’ is an stunning gallery space within the care home, which is used to display all the fantastic artwork created by the residents in the Art Sessions. The Appleby Tate gallery provides a therapeutic space within the care home where the residents can relax, admire and meet with their relatives and visitors. It also provides a talking point for residents, encourages a social atmosphere, creates a lovely environment for the residents to live and seeing their artwork on display gives them a real sense of achievement and we believe empowerment.

Undoubtedly one of the most impressive pieces of art in the exhibition is the huge pastel landscape (picture featured) that took the residents five Art Sessions to complete; it is now beautifully framed and proudly on display for all to admire. James Cropper the Founder and Director of Creative Minds, has been delivering Art Sessions to Appleby House, part of Care UK, for over a year and the residents have created a vast amount of artwork during the sessions exploring different mediums and materials.

James said; “The Art Sessions are hugely popular at Appleby House and all of the residents that participate create fantastic artwork, and really immerse themselves in the creative process. An important aspect of the Art Sessions is their accessibility, but we also want the residents to have fun, relax and feel supported with a professional artist on hand. When I saw the Appleby Tate it brought a tear to my eye, it is the most incredible exhibit of the resident’s artwork I’ve seen.”

Shona, Manager at Appleby House, commented at the opening; “James sees the creative potential in everyone, but what makes the difference is that he makes the art sessions easy, fun and engaging for residents, all of whom are living with different types of dementia and at various stages of the condition. We were so proud of what the residents had created that we began removing pictures from the home’s walls and replacing them with their paintings, so we’ve now launched the Appleby Tate.”

It is known in health care that participation in an array of activities in care homes is vital in maintaining an individual’s health and wellbeing. Our Art Sessions provide a relaxing environment for the residents to explore their creativity and feel engaged and empowered through the use of various materials and mediums to create works of art. Residents, staff and family members have noted that our sessions help to reduce agitation, improve mood, dexterity, social cohesion and boost levels of self-esteem and confidence. In addition, residents regularly produce beautiful artwork, which can be displayed just like the Appleby Tate, throughout the care home.

It is our aim as a growing community is to enrich the lives of as many people as possible through our empowering and enhancing Art Sessions across the UK every day!

photo credit and addtional article: http://www.careukgroup.com/news/care-home-showcases-residents-art-skills-in-new-gallery

Surrey Life Feature

02/08/2015

Creative Minds had a great year in 2014. Lots of Art Sessions were delivered, art work created and art projects completed and we received some amazing publicity in local and regional news. And in December 2014 we had an amazing feature in the Surrey Life Magazine Christmas Edition in time for the Christmas hols!

“Its fantastic publicity and recognition for Creative Minds to be featured in the Surrey Life Magazine, especially in the Christmas Edition which may have been seen by 1000’s of people” says James. James was interviewed in November by the magazines art editor Tinx Newton who has her own section in the magazine called Art Life where she reports on new exhibitions and profiles local artists.

Have a read of our feature below…

James and Creative Minds wants to thank Surrey Life for our feature and helping to raise awareness of the valuable work that we do with vulnerable people in Surrey.

For more about the magazine visit http://www.surreylife.co.uk/

Thank you for reading…

Hydon Hill get creative!

02/08/2015

James has been been visiting Hydon Hill, a Leonard Cheshire Care Home on the edge of Godalming for nearly 2 years now, and in that time they have created some fantastic artwork and sculptures together. The residents whom mostly have physical impairments and handicaps absolutely love and look forward to the Art Sessions delivered by James.

“We like to explore as many different mediums, materials and ideas as possible” says James, “At Hydon Hill I am very lucky to have some amazing staff like Robbie to help support me and the residents to create lovely art”. In the time that James has been visiting Hydon Hill they have created a lot of art in the Art Sessions and have completed some spectacular art projects. The most recent art projects completed at Hydon Hill have been some Halloween sculptures and a large Christmas Tree advent calendar.

Leonard Cheshire kindly posted an article about Hydon Hill and their creative efforts on the staff intranet for all to see! Take a look… ere it is….

“Its fantastic that the residents at Hydon Hill have been given some well deserved recognition” stated James. Well done to all residents and staff at Hydon Hill and James for this fantastic feature!

Thank you for reading.