Join our Community in 2021!

05/26/2021

We’re happy to announce that Creative Minds is back and ready to rock and roll!

It’s fair say that the last 18 months have been a bit of a disaster for Creative Minds (as it has been for many small businesses). Last March our CM Artists and their sessions were cancelled with immediate effect as the care sector and then the whole of the UK (or world for that matter) was plunged into Lockdown as the pandemic started to take hold. Fear, uncertainty and despair started to take hold and was further compounded when we all understood what was going on much more clearly, and thus realised that this not going to be a quick recovery. There is however the promise of recovery and the light at the end of tunnel certainly feels within reach now due to the fantastic vaccination rollout.

Creative Minds is a wee bit smaller in size than it was prior to the pandemic, but we still have some wonderful artists that have stuck by the organisation, me, Sarah and the community and we’re really thankful that they’ve stayed! Creative Minds wouldn’t be here without – you. Like many people throughout the pandemic, I’ve had the opportunity to reflect an think deeply about what has happened, what I could have done better and what can be changed to improve Creative Minds for the future and as we move into this ‘new normal’ (that people keep harping on about 😉).

For Creative Minds to grow, prosper and scale, which has always been my vision for the company, it’s model will need to adapt to this new digital landscape we’re in. Gone is the Franchise and in is the Membership. This is part of my new vision of what a franchise is or can be, something that’s much more affordable for people, therefore much more accessible but yet retains some of the fantastic elements that made Creative Minds great – the community, and that support network. One of the key differences is that artists can become ‘members’ i.e. Creative Minds Artists, across the world and can leverage the Artsflow platform (booking and payment system) whilst they build their creative businesses.

So without further or do, I’ll go into the details of the Creative Minds Membership…

Our Training Costs £250 and will be delivered by Sarah, Head of Community Development.

In our online training you will learn how to:

Build your Creative Minds business.
Market & Sell yourself to prospective clients.
Learn about best practices when delivering your art sessions.
How to diversify your business by approaching and working with different clients.
Learn about the various marketing tools & means to build your business.
Learn about the Artsflow platform and how to onboard your clients.
Administer your business using the various tools & templates we’ve created.

Our monthly Membership fee is £25 & includes our Membership Pack:

Creative Minds Email Address (via Google Workspace)
Bi-weekly calls & messaging support from Sarah for first 3 months (conference/video calls)
Access to files, docs & templates (via Google Drive)
Access to our two Facebook Community Groups
Branded Apron & Name Badge

Marketing materials will need to be ordered separately by artists, and all of our templates will be available in Google Drive.

Business cards, facebook profile & cover images can be ordered separately by artists and are designed by a freelance graphic designer.

Our first training of the year is on Thursday 1st & Friday 2nd July and if you’d like to join us and the other artists please get in touch by completing a ‘Membership Application Form’ on our Membership page (this page and the form will be changing soon to reflect the above changes).

We really look forward to hearing from you and helping you to start your creative journey with Creative Minds!

Thank you for reading. 😊

James.

Christmas Card Competition WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT!

12/04/2019

The winning designs have been announced for our Christmas Card Competition #CreateYourChristmasCard that was open to people living with dementia, ran in partnership with MindForYou.

We were overwhelmed by the response, with so many beautiful and creative entries. We were thrilled to welcome celebrity judge, singer and actor Tony Christie to choose the winners, and he picked these two designs.

The winners were chosen based on the ‘humorous side’ to the Santa and Snowman scene, as well as the ‘cool atmosphere and background’ created in the Polar Bear design.

The competition winners will receive a free supported holiday to any of the MindForYou UK destinations as well as in-house Creative Minds art sessions.

Our Etsy shop is up and running so you can now buy our winning Christmas Card designs! £2.50 of every pack of 10 cards sold will go to the MindforYou and Creative Minds fund, helping to offer more arts sessions on our supported holidays for people living with dementia and their carers.

Follow the link below to buy our Christmas cards!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/DementiaXmasCards?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

Alison’s Creative Meet Up!

11/19/2019

CM Artist Alison, based in Warwickshire has been delivering art sessions to The Ashton Care Home in Hinkley and Aldersgate Retirement Flats in Nuneaton for over two years.

Since delivering sessions there, Alison encouraged The Ashton residents Dot, aged 97 and Cedric who has MS, to get back into their creative practice. Staff and residents have been amazed at the beauty of the work that they are now producing.

Alison has also been blown away by the work of 96 year old Cecily, a resident at Aldersgate Retirement Flats. Cecily had a creative history and has been painting since the 1930s. She now produces stunning watercolour landscape paintings in Alison’s art sessions.

Alison and Janice, the Activity Coordinator at The Ashton decided it would be a lovely idea to organise a get-together with the residents from both settings. This would give them the opportunity to meet and share their passion for art while admiring each others work. So, on the 17^th October, Alison organised a mini exhibition of Dot and Cedric’s work at The Ashton. She brought Cecily over from Nuneaton to enjoy a spot of lunch with fellow artists whilst viewing their work.

“It was wonderful to listen to them share stories, and admire each others work. After lunch we visited Dot & Cedric’s bedrooms to enjoy some more of their artworks. It made for a lovely social occasion they shared ideas and techniques whilst we all chatted about our love for art!” – Alison.

Afterwards Dot said “I like meeting new people, especially people who share interests, so it was great to chat about our artwork.”

Cecily commented; “I thoroughly enjoyed the meet up. Dot and Cedric were so enthusiastic. I would be lovely to go and meet them again to discuss our latest paintings.”

Janice, the Activity Coordinator from The Ashton said: “After the meet up, the residents said how fabulous it was! It was a real clicking of minds and wonderful that Dot and Cedric got to meet others with the same interests and passions.”

The residents are all keen to meet up again, and have formed a lovely friendship, so Alison is looking to arrange another get together soon so that they can admire each other’s latest masterpieces.

Create your Christmas Card Competition!

11/06/2019

This year we’ve partnered with our lovely friends at MindForYou to host a #createyourchristmascard competition! This competition is specifically for anybody living with dementia to enter and get creative with a festive card design!

Closing date for entries is Wednesday 27th November with the winning designs announced on SUNDAY 1ST DECEMBER. We are very excited to announce we have a celebrity judge to decide the winners of the competition…. none other than THE Tony Christie!

The lucky winner will experience a MindforYou holiday at NO COST, in-house art therapy sessions with Creative Minds, along with their Christmas Card design being printed and sent out to them and their family, as well as to all MindforYou guests! The winning designs will also be made available for anyone to purchase online, with all proceeds going to Creative Minds and MindforYou, allowing us both to benefit more people living with dementia!

Go on, get creative, YULE LOVE IT! Remember to tag us in your designs on social media (@creativemindsan) and Mind for You (@MindForYou1) and don’t forget to use the hashtag #createyourchristmascard in your posts.

Competition rules:

All designs must be done on A5 paper or larger
You can use ANY medium to create your design
Applicants must take a photo of their artwork and either send it to MindforYou, 5 The Willows, Burton on the Wolds, Loughborough, LE12 5AP or via email to creativemindsforyou1@gmail.com
Please either scribble on the back of the photo or in your email a short answer to ‘Why you have you chosen to enter the competition?’ along with your name and age
If you are announced as one of the 12 short-listed, we will be in touch to ask for a small blurb about yourself to go along with your design for judging

Right click on our flyer consent forms below and ‘Save image as…’ to download them for printing. Or request a PDF from creativemindsforyou1@gmail.com

Exciting new partnerships for Creative Minds in 2019!

11/04/2019

Throughout the year we’ve formed some exciting new partnerships with a number of organisations that are passionate about the benefits that creativity brings to people’s wellbeing. These have opened up some great opportunities for our artists to expand their businesses into new fields and reach out and touch the lives of others.

Colostomy UK

Since the beginning of this year, we’ve been working closely with Colostomy UK, delivering therapeutic art sessions to Stoma Support Groups across the country as part of their “active ostomates” programme – designed to empower people with a stoma to participate in activities to increase both physical and mental wellbeing.

These sessions have been hugely popular – some with as many as 35 participants attending! These always make for a wonderful social occasion, and we’ve had some great feedback from attendees on how much they’ve enjoyed it, and how therapeutic the sessions are. Our artists have thoroughly enjoyed delivering sessions at the Stoma Support Groups too.

partnerships — Giovanni, the Fundraising & Development Manager with Karen U, CM Artist

CM Artist David delivered a session in Salisbury and said; “Everyone loved working with watercolours – it was a lovely atmosphere with lots of fun and banter.”

CM Artist Rhiannon delivered a session in Sheppy and she said; “It was a pleasure working with the Stoma Support Group in Sheppy. They astounded me with their positivity and creativity. They really encouraged each other and gave great feedback on each other’s work. Some fabulous art was created!”

To find out more about Colostomy UK, visit: http://www.colostomyuk.org/

MindForYou

Back in the summer, we formed a partnership with MindForYou, a wonderful company who organise holidays for folks living with dementia to enjoy with their nearest and dearest. Their holidays span across England, Scotland and Wales.

CM Artist Tracy ran a session in Hathersage, Derbyshire. Holiday goers used soft pastels and inktense pencils to draw views of the beautiful Derbyshire countryside.

CM Artist Liz ran a lovely session near Honiton in Devon. The sun shone into the room as holiday goers had a great time creating bold sunflower canvases.

Throughout the summer we delivered sessions at holidays across the country, with groups from anywhere from 15-35 participants, and our artists will be delivering sessions at many future holidays to come!

To find out more about Mindforyou, visit: http://www.mindforyou.co.uk/

Chatty Art Cafe

The Chatty Café Scheme is a brilliant initiative, founded by Alex Hoskyns, in which cafes can join the scheme and allocate a table or two within the establishment to be a ‘chatter and natter’ table to encourage people in the community to talk to one another reducing loneliness and isolation.

The scheme has really off and in just two years, there are now over 1000 cafes across the UK and globally, in the US, Canada, Gibraltar, Malta, Australia and more!

CM Artists Caroline and Judy set up their own Chatty Art Café at Greengages Coffee Shop in Salisbury earlier in the year. Since then, Creative Minds founder James got in touch with the founders of the Chatty Café Scheme and they loved the idea of forming a partnership to run Chatty Art Cafés as part of the initiative. This has opened up another exciting avenue for CM Artists to pursue and we’re looking forward to seeing Chatty Art Cafes popping up across the country in the coming months.

In the meantime, CM Artists Caroline and Judy’s Chatty Art Café in Salisbury is continuing to grow from strength to strength. They have a solid group of regular attendees and some wonderful new friendships have formed. It’s lovely to hear that some of the regulars are already making Christmas plans together!

To find out more about the Chatty Cafe Scheme, visit: https://thechattycafescheme.co.uk/

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/

Charmaine, Arnold House’s shining star!

10/01/2019

For two and half years, CM Artist Hanna has been running art sessions at Arnold House, Leonard Cheshire, a facility for people with profound physical disabilities. During that time she formed a strong bond with one resident, Charmaine, who’s sheer determination and strength of character never ceased to amaze her. Charmaine has cerebral palsy and is unable to move from the neck down. Despite her physical challenges, she is always enthusiastic and willing to give anything a go.

When they first met, Hanna gently encouraged her to try holding a paintbrush in her mouth and experiment with mark-making, as she held out the paper for her to paint on. At the end of her first session she was thrilled with what she had achieved. Since then, Hanna has been delighted to see Charmaine’s confidence in her creative ability blossom. Each week she loves learning about different creative mediums and is always enthusiastic to try something new.

Charmaine attended our recent workshop at the Tate Exchange and really got stuck in, painting feathers for a peacock sculpture and flowers for the installation. She couldn’t have been more excited to see some of her own creations on display at the Tate. The look of pure joy and happiness at what she had achieved at the end of the day was absolutely priceless!

CM Artist Hanna commented; “Charmaine is such a vibrant, fun and happy person. She is like a shining star and always makes me feel incredibly humble.”

The Tate Exchange project took place from Wednesday 15th to Friday 17th May and was a huge success! Thank you again to all of the CM Artists and their clients that attended.

You can find our earlier Tate Exchange blog post here:
http://159.65.94.31/creative-minds-at-the-tate-exchange/

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!”

Care Home Open Day 2019

08/21/2019

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…

Creative Minds at the Alzheimer’s Show 2019

07/15/2019

The Alzheimer’s Show is an annual event held at London Olympia and is the UK’s leading event for dementia help, advice and information. The show is attended by family carers, healthcare professionals and members of the public who want to learn more.

We exhibited at this year’s event on June 7th & 8th and ran a number of art sessions for attendees to come along and get involved. Participants had the opportunity to create drawings using soft pastels and have a go at print making using cardboard blocks. There was also a giant communal canvas, which people could come and add their own mark to. It was a great opportunity for people to come explore their own creativity whilst finding out more about what we do, and the benefits that our art sessions have on those in care or living with dementia.

Attendees really got stuck in, and the gentleman pictured (with the daisy drawing) had never worked in pastels before in his life! After being diagnosed with early onset dementia, he attended the show with his daughter. He said he’d been advised to try some creative activity as it would be beneficial to him, so he bought a book on art but found it too much information. He also bought an adult colouring book, but never used it. Then when he attended the show, and visited our stand he plucked up the courage to attend our art session – he went on to produce this beautiful daisy drawing! Every participant at the session couldn’t believe he had never drawn before and all wanted a photo of him with his artwork. He was so proud and emotional by the end of the session.

CM Artists really enjoyed attending the Alzheimer’s Show too. CM Artist Laura commented; “What an amazing experience! Getting to meet so many caring people all wanting to help others, it was just so humbling. The response was brilliant, one lady said to me it was the best part of her day! The soft pastels went down a storm with lots of great work. Everyone was so pleased with their efforts. It was a very rewarding session!”.

Many industry professionals visited our stand during the day, and one of the tutors from the Reigate School of Art commented that our art sessions gave them loads more ideas and inspiration on how they can do more work to engage the local community.

We are also delighted to announce that following the Alzheimer’s Show, we have formed a partnership with a wonderful organisation, MindForYou, who run holidays for people living with dementia to enjoy with their nearest and dearest. Holiday goers will be able to enjoy fun, relaxing and therapeutic art sessions during their UK breaks, ran by our specially trained artists!