Mini Makers – encouraging tiny tots to explore their creativity

02/04/2020

Messy play is so important for a young child’s development, inspiring curiosity and providing a sensory experience enabling them to explore the world around them. It helps with the development of fine motor skills, gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness.

Many Creative Minds Artists are now running Mini Makers art sessions in their local community, providing a space to nurture children’s imagination and encouraging parents to enjoy a creative experience with their children. These sessions are aimed at pre-schoolers who are encouraged to explore a wide range of materials in a playful and experimental way.

CM Artist Grace based in Wiltshire, ran a weekly session throughout 2019 at West Wilts Vineyard Church. These proved to be a huge hit, and some weeks saw over 40 attendees!

Grace ran a different theme each week, some of which included; the colours of the rainbow, under-the-sea, on the farm and outer space. She set the room up with different areas for little ones to explore, incorporating a variety of sensory objects and creative materials.

After attending one of Grace’s sessions, one mum messaged the following day with; “Oh my word. The creative group yesterday blew my mind with how amazing it was! Thank you Grace – such a rich and sensory experience for our little ones.”

Meanwhile over in Cambridge CM Artist Laura has formed a partnership with a local soft play centre, where pre-schoolers can gain access to the centre, and then join her for a creative session. Each week she brings along different creative materials for the toddlers to enjoy, so they can create a piece of art to take home.

At Creative Minds we provide full support and training to artists who are keen to bring Mini Makers sessions to their local community.

If you want to find out about our franchise opportunity and how you can earn an income delivering Mini Maker sessions near you click here.

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once you grow up!” – Pablo Picasso

A Day in the Life of Creative Minds Artist: Sarah Jane

11/04/2019

How long have you been a Creative Minds Artist?

I joined in February 2016, so approaching 4 years.

Tell us what you’ve been up to today.

Today has been really varied: this morning I delivered a session for the lovely MindforYou supported holidays (for people living with dementia and their relatives/carers), in Corfe Castle, East Dorset.

This afternoon I was at one of my regular homes near Dorchester, then did my third session of the day with two young chaps, in a local, supported living home.

In their art session they choose the music too, which can vary from Johnny Cash to Pink Floyd! Sometimes we theme it to the session: we painted peacocks, so the music was The Byrds!

What would a typical week look like to you?

I deliver 6 or 7 sessions a week, normally leaving the house about 9.45am – this gives me time to walk our dog by the river (invaluable contemplation time!).

I tend to stay local or travel West, towards Lyme Regis, on a Tuesday, then East (Dorchester, Weymouth) on Wednesdays and Thursdays. But there really isn’t a typical week, each one is different, which I love! I probably spend about half a day a week on admin – planning sessions, invoicing, sourcing supplies etc.

Organising my sessions like this also gives me at least one day a week to work in my studio on my own practice.

Tell us a little about your own personal creative practice as an artist.

I’m a mixed media artist and just taken part in our local, Bridport, Open Studios event, with a friend. My conservatory is transformed into a gallery space and the public can peek inside my garden studio! We had over 120 visitors and I sold quite a few pieces of work including mixed media, printmaking and jewellery.

My abstract work is playful and humorous, bold and experimental. Bright colours, industrial lines and texture are at the core of my sculptural and mixed media work. The nearby Jurassic coastline heavily influences my work.

What first attracted you to the franchise opportunity?

The flexibility and being able to use art in a fun, therapeutic way. Being able to manage my own diary – I’ve been self-employed for years now and enjoy the autonomy, but relish the fantastic support and community you gain as a Creative Minds Artist.

What do you like most about being a Creative Minds Artist?

The moment when folks smile at seeing their finished work! All the lovely feedback, that it’s “relaxing”, “takes me out of myself”, “I didn’t realize I could paint!” It really can change people in a positive way. I often say, even if I won the lottery, I’d still want to deliver the art sessions!

Read ‘A Day in the Life of Creative Minds Artist: Laura Novak’ here: http://159.65.94.31/creative-minds-artist-laura-novak/

Creative Minds celebrates Arts in Care Homes Day!

10/01/2019

On Tuesday 24^th September we welcomed the first ever National Arts in Care Homes Day. We were thrilled to see the value of the Arts in Care being recognised across the country and many organisations got involved to celebrate. CM Artists ran sessions in care homes to mark the occasion, and for us, it was the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the amazing work our artists do in care settings across the country, empowering people through their sessions and spreading joy through creativity.

On the day, residents at Ardath Care Home in Bexhill (Sussex Housing) had fun with CM Artist Sarah working in wool to create bright and colourful Mexican-style wall hangings.

Up in Birmingham residents at Wilson Lodge had a messy but fabulous morning using printing inks with wooden blocks with CM Artist Deborah.

In High Wycombe, residents at Catherine Court Care Home had a relaxing morning with CM Artist Karen, creating aboriginal-style autumn leaves.

In Weston-super-Mare residents at Park House Residential Home created cocktails to decorate the home’s golden drinks cabinet with CM Artist Susannah.

Over in Derby, residents at The Laurels Nursing Home laughed and sang as they worked together to create a striking communal sunflower collage. It looks wonderful on display!

Sigita, the Manager at Ardath Care Home told us how she feels the art sessions are benefitting the residents at the home:

“The residents get so much from their art sessions – especially those living with dementia. Often relatives join in the sessions, as it gives them the chance to spend some quality time with loved ones. The social aspect really benefits the residents with lots of conversations, stories shared, plus fun and laughter.

“Many residents have never even painted before, but Sarah encourages them to give it a go, and not be too concerned with the outcome. They are always surprised and proud of what they have accomplished. We have one resident who is now blind, but Sarah kindly encouraged her to take part in a recent session and guided her along the way. She produced a truly beautiful painting and was delighted with what she had achieved!”

“The art sessions really lift the resident’s spirits and they look forward to them every week.”

To find out more about the Arts in Care Homes Day visit:
https://artsincarehomes.org.uk/

Residents at The Millings excel with CM Artist Lily!

08/21/2019

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!”

CM Artist becomes Artist-In-Residence for KRAN!

07/15/2019

CM Artist Rhiannon was thrilled to have recently secured National Lottery funding to run weekly art sessions at KRAN (Kent Refugee Action Network) for the next 12 months. She spent time living in the Middle East a few years back, and upon her return home, she felt inspired to help those who had traveled to the UK to seek refuge.

She began running art sessions at KRAN in October 2018, and was running them once a month. The sessions were a huge success, and participants really engaged with their creative activity. Now the funding is in place, she has been made their official Artist-In-Residence and will run a weekly art club at KRAN.

Many of the refugees are teenagers who have had little or no access to art education. Each week she will be providing a variety of different mediums for them to explore, whilst teaching them new artistic techniques. Rhiannon is also planning on running a number of Art Trips to local galleries to help them learn more about the work of famous artists.

Rhiannon has also secured an exhibition next summer at the Beany Museum & Gallery, Canterbury to showcase the artwork created by the refugees. She is making plans with a local school in Canterbury so that the A-Level Art pupils can work with the refugees at KRAN on collaborative pieces for the art exhibition next summer. We can’t wait to see how it all comes together!

Here’s some examples of some of the projects they’ve worked on so far…

They recently redecorated the reception area at the centre and wanted it to incorporate patterns from the various cultures of refugees at KRAN. Rhiannon cut out the shapes and they decorated each one in a traditional cultural pattern. Each of the colourful pieces were then tessellated across the reception desk to give this lovely vibrant finish. Everyone loves the end result!

In another session Rhiannon got them to have a go at observational painting. They studied images of birds, which they then recreated in paint. Rhiannon was astounded at their level of creativity and some beautiful paintings were produced.

In another fun session Rhiannon encouraged them to create more abstract work. In this session they created geometric portraits where prints of faces were placed over watercolour and tissue paper-bleed backgrounds. These vibrant colourful works looked really striking, and they had great fun trying out this new technique.

Rhiannon says; “I really enjoy working with the refugees at KRAN. There is so much talent waiting to be wriggled out of this bunch. They’ve been creating some amazing work and I’m excited to see them grow in confidence over the next year.”

A Day In The Life of Creative Minds Artist: Laura Novak

06/25/2019

When did you join Creative Minds?
October 2018

What attracted you most to the franchise opportunity?
The opportunity to combine my love for helping people with my love for art, all in the time my children would be at school.

Tell us what you’ve been up to today…
Today I have been running my Mini Makers art session at the Whale of a Time Soft Play in Bar Hill, Cambridgeshire. They have a perfect party room that runs along side the soft play, decorated with a fun mural. The children can come to me and go crazy with all my art materials, having lots of fun and parents don’t need to do any tidying up! I always set up paints, stickers, pastels and bring a various amount of tools to paint with. The most popular being wheels to roll with, mixed with glitter! Each week I will also bring new ideas and mediums to experiment with.

I absolutely love drawing animations so I often ask the little ones who their favourite character is and we draw it together, they can then experiment with different mediums to finish off their artwork! I encourage mixing up the colours, playing around with lots of mediums and just generally having lots of fun!

How do you fit work around your two young boys and busy family life?
Being a Creative Minds Artist fits really well around family life. I am still able to do every school run, which I want to do while my children are young. Being mummy is and will always be my most important role in life. I plan my art sessions in advance and prepare anything that needs doing before the session either in the evening or a day I’ll have at home for administration and playing with my equipment.

What inspires the themes that you run in your art sessions?
It could be the time of year with what season it is, or if it’s Christmas etc. We have a wonderful Creative Minds network, where the artists share their art sessions and ideas. This is very inspiring. I also ask the participants if there is anything they would like to try in the next session.

What do you like best about being a Creative Minds Artist?
Seeing the joy and happiness on participant’s faces during an art session. It’s the most rewarding feeling in the world!

Read ‘Day in the Life of Creative Minds Artist: Sarah Bryant’ here: http://159.65.94.31/creative-minds-artist-sarah-bryant/

A Day in the life of a Creative Minds Artist: Sarah Bryant

04/16/2019

How long have you been a Creative Minds Artist?
Just over three and a half years. I started in October 2015, and have renewed my franchise for another 3 years.

Tell us what you have been up to today?
I like to start early so by 7:45am I was enjoying a coffee, listening to Classic FM in my PJs whist beginning my prep work for today’s art sessions. I had two floral-themed sessions planned, so cut out templates, created a prototype and prepared some musical playlists to take along to the sessions. This took around an hour. I then got myself dressed and ready to leave the house by around 10:15am. I’m lucky because all of the Care Homes where I am based are all close to where I live.

I arrived at St Dominics Care Home in St Leonards-On-Sea and started the session around 10:30am. I worked with eight residents to create their own tulip collages. I got them to paint the flowers using watercolours, demonstrating different techniques for them to try. We then mounted the tulips onto card adding the vases to create a collage. I love engaging with the residents and chatting about memories that may stem from the theme of the sessions. There’s often lots and fun and laughter.

The session finished around 12pm, and all were thrilled with their work. I drove home for lunch and an hour of downtime before I headed out for the afternoon.

I arrived at Whitebeach Care Home in St Leonards-On-Sea around 1:30pm. The home had booked an extended session with me, as work was being carried out on the building. A group of residents worked on a collaborative “funky flower’ wall display. They all enjoyed painting the backdrop using acrylics, then each created their own 3D flower out of paper plates. The music I prepared was playing in the background, and it was all very upbeat and fun. Once the completed piece was up on the wall, one lady who took part came and hugged me with a tear in her eye. She was so thrilled with the outcome. It’s moments like this that make me really love my job!

It is great when homes display the artwork that the residents create. Not only does it brighten the surroundings, but relatives and visitors always appreciate seeing their creations when they come to visit.

I arrived home by around 4:30pm to finish my working day, and grabbed myself a cuppa whilst popping onto the Creative Minds Community Facebook group to share a few pics from the day. The support from the artists is incredible, and it is a great resource to tap into for ideas and advice.

What would a typical week look like to you?
I’d normally run on average around five-six sessions per week. Sometimes weeks are busier but that is around how many sessions I’d aim for.

How many hours do you normally work in a week?
Including prep time, around 23-24 hours per week.

Where do you get inspiration from on how to carry out your art sessions?
Previous artwork that I’ve created, other artists, exhibitions I have visited, the fact that I live by the sea! I can base my sessions around nature, seasons or topical themes. Anything that is happening in the wider world. I also tailor themes of sessions to client’s interests and hobbies. I tap into the Creative Minds Community who share great ideas with each other. I also like to work with recycled/up-cycled materials.

What first attracted you to the Creative Minds franchise opportunity?
The opportunity to run my own business with full support. I wanted to be able to get creative again with a care group that I am passionate about having lost both of my parents to dementia.

I was also attracted to the opportunity to be able to work flexibly, and work hours that would fit in better with family life. I wanted to be around for my daughter more and being a Creative Minds Artist offered a working solution that would let me choose the hours I wish to work.

What do you like best about being a Creative Minds Artist?
The job satisfaction I gain.
I love to see the reactions from clients and pride at what they can achieve. It’s so rewarding to see how pleased they are to see me when I arrive. This type of feedback is the best motivation anyone could ask for. Knowing I’m making a difference to people’s days.

Read ‘A Day in the Life of Creative Minds Artist: Laura Novak’ here: http://159.65.94.31/creative-minds-artist-laura-novak/

Resident Amazes With Stunning Paintings!

02/18/2019

After a 16-year break from art, Derrick Waller, resident at Saxonwood Care Home in Battle has re-ignited his creative flair since participating in the art sessions. The staff are delighted to see such beautiful artwork produced by a resident.

Derrick had a long career as an artist and illustrator and regularly exhibited work. Sadly, following the loss of his wife, he lost his creative passion and no longer felt inspired to continue his artistic practice. His daughter tried to encourage him to attend local art classes, but he was not interested. Then at the beginning of last year, he moved to Saxonwood Care Home where Creative Minds artist Sarah Bryant persuaded him to join her art session. For the first time in 16 years he picked up a paintbrush again, and has once again become immersed in his creative practice. With a sparkle in his eyes, Derrick proudly shares the artwork he produces with residents at Saxonwood. All thoroughly enjoy viewing his diverse collection of work, which includes paintings, sketches and ceramics.

His daughter Susan has said; “My sister and I are thrilled to see him producing such beautiful artwork again.”

Creative Minds artist Sarah says; “It is a pleasure and privilege to work with Derrick and to see him creating stunning artwork again. To see the impact our sessions bring to clients, such as Derrick is so empowering. Knowing that you can make a difference gives me incredible job satisfaction,”

Children at a Kenyan School Get Creative!

12/07/2018

Our CM Artist Grace is a trustee of Dominion Schools Africa – a charity that provides financial support to a Kenyan school and helps to assist the school in providing high-quality education. In November, she went out to Gachie, in Nairobi to visit the school. The school year runs from January – November, so she arrived just as they were preparing for their end of year graduation which celebrates the 6-7 year old’s moving up to the junior school.

Grace saw this as a perfect opportunity for the children to get creative in preparation for graduation day. There is very little creative work in their school curriculum, and the school didn’t have many artistic resources. Grace had taken over some paint brushes and the school had pots of powder paint. That morning, Grace went shopping with the school’s head teacher and purchased some sturdy material to paint on. They decided to make some wall hangings on the theme of the biblical creation story.

Children from the school dropped in and out throughout the day and absolutely loved getting involved! Many had never had the opportunity to paint on such a large scale before. They even made some of their own paint using local earth mixed with water. The teachers were absolutely blown away by their efforts and thrilled to see how enthusiastic the children were.

Grace wanted every child in the school to have a go at creating their own self-portrait to hang up on graduation day. They experimented with mixed media and used paint, crayons and collage to create their own personal portrait. All were thrilled with the results!

The school is generally very structured with little opportunity for creative expression. At the end of the session, Grace allowed the children to have free reign to explore ways of using the artistic materials, and create whatever they wanted to. They all went wild and loved the freedom of the activity, saying how much fun they were having.

The school had never displayed artwork on the walls before, but the teachers loved the difference it made to the building. The teachers were thrilled to see how happy the children were during the art session, and chatted to Grace to discuss ways in which art could be brought into other subjects such as history and geography.

The children were so proud of their work at the end of the day, and were delighted to see it hung up on display. Before she left, one little boy came to Grace and said he’d had the “happiest day ever”!

Competition Winning Artist for Learning Disability Week 2017

10/10/2017

*Competition winner, Dele, being presented with his T-shirt printed with his artwork*

A talented resident from an East London residential home for adults with learning disabilities, won a local competition to create a spectacular piece of art to promote a Learning Disability Week Celebration Event in the London borough of Newham. The winning artist, Dele, created an abstract artwork in pastel, that was printed on T-shirts and presented to him at the launch party of the event at Stratford Circus Arts Centre on 29 June 2017.

Community Artist, Elaine Harper-Gay, who delivers art sessions at the small residential home where the young artist is a resident, spoke of how proud she was of his achievement and was thrilled to see him on stage to receive a T-shirt with his very own artwork printed on it. The compères of the stage show also wore the artwork on their T-shirts.

An exhibition of artwork in celebration of Learning Disability Week was on display at Stratford Circus from 16 June – 13 July 2017, where a total of four residents from the residential home also had their work included.

Elaine Harper-Gay has been delivering art sessions to the residential home for 18 months and seen the residents grow and develop throughout this period. The residents have found the art sessions incredibly beneficial and enjoy the variety of ways they are able to express themselves. Congratulations to Dele for winning the competition and the residents who exhibited their work. We’re looking forward to seeing what the residents create next in future art sessions.

Exhibition of artwork from the Learning Disabled community at Stratford Circus

Photography credit: Andrew Baker