Hi, my name’s Kerry and I come to Mindful Art Club on a Friday at Moments Café.
Mindful Art Club help so many people through tough times, they help with isolation issues, mental health of all kinds and loneliness, They have personally helped me through all of these challenges and more.
I was extremely isolated lonely and depressed, I found Mindful Art Club, let’s say by chance, but I call it fate personally. Emma, who is one of the owners of Mindful Art Club, asked me if I wanted to join when I was at The Sunflower Women’s Centre, I declined at first saying I can’t draw. Emma said, “You don’t need to be good!” so I decided to be brave and joined in group. I was welcomed with a big smile and felt welcome right away. I left feeling I wanted more, I was extremely isolated, lonely and depressed, and I now I attend other groups on a Wednesday and Friday at different locations.
After about a year of attending I offered my help for volunteering, I feel passionate about making sure Mindful Art continues on a regular basis and I would feel lost, lonely and depressed again without it in my life. I do volunteer and I now see how much work Emma and Peggy have to put into it to keeping it going, I appreciate Emma and Peggy and all the volunteers who work so hard to help others.
A note from Peggy and Emma
We know that Mindful Art Club improves mental health and reduces social isolation in Plymouth, because of many personal stories like Kerry’s, and because of a recent research study done by the psychology department at Plymouth University.
Now we need your help to raise enough funds to carry on this weekly support group at Moments Café, in the centre of Plymouth. So please, donate what you can and share this with your friends. Thank you.
Want to help, but don’t have any money? No problem. Use EasyFundraising and brands will make donations to us when you shop online. You don’t have to pay a penny, and you get to support our work.
Peggy Melmoth from Mindful Art Club asks OJ Borg three questions on her specialist subject, on Midnight Mastermind.
Specialist Subject: The effects of art and creativity on our mental health
1) What three feelings does creativity help with? 2) What is the main aim of art therapy? 3) On our website we say, “Do you remember when you enjoyed art as a child?” Why do you think we say that?
Listen now to find out if OJ got the answers right!
Midnight Mastermind is the part of the show where listeners get to challenge OJ.
OJ Borg
Ask him three questions on your specialist subject, but how many will he get right? It can be questions on absolutely anything! You set the subject, so what would your specialist subject be on Midnight Mastermind? Comment below and let us know.
Are you already in recovery but want to connect with others?
Recovery Art Clubis a free, weekly group at Moments Cafe in Plymouth city centre. The group is upstairs in the Arthur Read room and will be running for two months.
Starts: Wednesday 31st May 1.00pm – 2.30pm
Moments Café, 69a New George Street, Plymouth, PL1 1RJ
Even if you can’t decide whether you have a problem or not, you are welcome to come along. There is no art experience required! Friendly and informal. Just grab a coffee and join in.
Connect with others and discover new ways of practising self-care through easy art and mindfulness exercises. Practice being here in the present moment, and accept where you are right now, without self-judgement. We will also be inviting some inspiring guest speakers to these groups, to talk about addiction and recovery.
The group is hosted by Emma Sprawson and Peggy Melmoth. They are the founders of Mindful Art Club, and have a background of working for many years in addiction treatment centres in Plymouth.
Places are free thanks to a grant from Devon Community Foundation, but booking is essential as we expect this group to be popular.
Mindful Art Session
We start with a brief chat about how everyone is feeling, then a short guided mindfulness session, followed by a simple art activity that anyone can do. Our mission is to make mindfulness more fun! We’re not teaching art techniques, we’re just here to play.
Places are limited, so if you cannot attend please let us know and we can offer your place to someone else. Book now.
Not ready for this group yet? Join our mailing list to hear about other free events.
A new research study has revealed significant social benefits, and improvements to mental health, can be measured in those attending a community art group. The research has been led by Dr Helen Lloyd, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Plymouth, in collaboration with two researchers; Abbie Scott BSc, and Rachel Mullee BSc. The research project was co-designed by a committee which included art club participants, art club volunteers, and the Mindful Art Club directors Peggy Melmoth and Emma Sprawson.
The research was funded by the university’s Get Involved Awards, and the findings were presented at an event at the university on Friday 12th May 2023.
Watch now:
The University of Plymouth used a mix of methods to assess qualitative and quantitative data involving the service-user opinion. They concluded in May 2023:
Our creative activities provide a distraction from negative thoughts and social anxiety. Our art encourages ‘flow’- a relaxing empowering experience- and attending Mindful Art Club can boost confidence and self-esteem while reducing social isolation.
Participants made statistically significant improvements in their mood from attending our sessions. Attendance at Mindful Art club also improved participants’ level of social connect, facilitated emotional regulation strategies and supported positive mental wellbeing.
After presenting our findings we enjoyed drinks and nibbles, and meeting other community organisations who had partnered with academic researchers on different projects, funded by the Get Involved Awards.
Our Offer
We can bring Mindful Art Club into your organisation as a one-off wellbeing session, or a six week course. These can be delivered online or in person. To get proven results for your staff or service users contact us today.
Peggy Melmoth, Kerry Evans, Emma Sprawson, Dr Helen Lloyd, Abbie Scott.
The retreat takes place in the picturesque village of Plympton St Maurice, near Plymouth, in South Devon. Outdoor activities are held in public green spaces; lunch is served in the local Guildhall. Most of the event is outdoors but can be moved to our indoor venue in the case of rain.
Includes coffees, teas and lunch of crusty bread, homemade cakes and a selection of cheeses, houmous, olives and fruit.
Following our fantastic music and poetry launch event on Friday 7th April, at Union Corner, we will be offering art workshops, and our partners will be offering mental health support, mental health talks, radio editing workshops, a vinyl evening and more. Collaborating with other organisations allows us to offer a free programme of creative events to the Plymouth community. The Storytelling Collective is a collaboration between Mindful Art Club, Marbles Lost and Found, WonderZoo and Omnium Radio.
The Storytelling Collective is funded by Plymouth Octopus Project
Did you miss The Storytelling Collective launch gig on Good Friday? We’ll be doing another one in three months time, and in between we will be offering workshops and creative activities to boost mental health and reduce social isolation. Watch our Facebook page for more news, or sign up to our mailing list.
Mindful Art Club, WonderZoo, Omnium Radio and Marbles Lost and Found are working together to create an opening gig, creative workshops and a closing exhibition over three months in 2023. The collaboration is funded by Plymouth Octopus Project. These events will feature a research element, where participants will be asked to talk about what they need to help improve their lives within the changing social and political climate. An independent evaluator will collate the findings in a report, and this will be presented at the exhibition. This will be a pilot research project, hopefully leading to a longer collaboration.
Improving Wellbeing
This is a collaborative pilot project between four groups that aims to tackle social isolation and improve wellbeing. At the heart of the project is fun, laughter and putting a smile on people’s faces, within group settings that foster empathy, trust and acceptance. The project will take place over three months (April-June 2023) with research conducted with the participants that will feed into a report written by an independent evaluator. The ideas gathered from the research will inform a plan to create a two year collaboration between the four groups, with further funding sought from National Lottery or other larger funding bodies. This pilot project will be a testing ground for different ideas using existing expertise and community connections.
The four groups all currently work with diverse individuals, providing opportunities for creativity, skill and knowledge sharing, social interaction and mental health support. The organisations will offer their tried and tested workshop formats, but with the additional offer of letting the participants have a voice that will feed into the research aspect. Participants of the project will be able to express their views and offer ideas for how their current difficulties can be supported better within the community. This will hopefully lead on to create a longer program that is evidence-based and tailored to people’s present experiences, rather than using past models, which may not be suited to current issues.
Good Friday was a collaborative performance event – an opportunity for one representative of The Storytelling Collective to give a short talk about the project, its philosophy, aims and activities. This was followed by several artists who performed comedy, music and spoken word.
There will be three workshops run by each group during April to June 2023, with feedback forms for research. During the sessions, casual conversations will be had with participants that aim to bring out honest perspectives and potential ideas, with notes taken for keywords and phrases. There will be 12 workshops in total, at different locations in Plymouth including Omnium Radio HQ, Union Corner, Oasis Project and The Plot.
The three month project will culminate in an evening showcasing the work that was done during the workshops and the results of the research and evaluation report. It will be an opportunity for participants to get together and hear how their ideas and perspectives have been heard and will feed into a larger project. If this pilot project is successful, with the groups able to work alongside and support one another, there is the possibility of creating a new network within Plymouth that is geared towards tackling social isolation using creative practices.
Working Together
Our four different groups have known of each other as friends for several years, with some of us working together already on various projects. We felt that working together as a collective would allow each of us to gain further knowledge, experience and skills, which will make us more resilient as organisations, leading to greater long term sustainability and positive impact on our community.
Our groups have similar values and aims, as we all work towards tackling social isolation, supporting mental health, giving people a sense of fun and purpose, and providing opportunities to develop friendships. We felt that we’d be able to work together successfully as we all offer unique creative approaches and perspectives, such as performance, radio, visual art, and talks, which can enable mutual support and growth. We hope that this pilot project can lead to longer term collaborations.
There is no Mindful Art Club from Friday 7th April to Friday 14th April inclusive. So our last art group will be Thursday 6th at The London Inn, Plympton. We will return with the Sunflower Women’s Centre session on Monday 17th April.
We were honoured to be invited to a tea party at Lady Nancy Astors house on Plymouth Hoe, where the mayor presented several different community organisations with certificates to recognise their work. Thanks to Plymouth Astor Trust for a grant to continue our weekly support group at The London Inn, Plympton on Thursdays.
We enjoyed meeting all the other community organisations at this event, chatting, and learning about the history of Lady Astor and the house. Lady Astor’s granddaughter Alice was also at the event to tell us a little about the Astor Trust.
A collaboration brought to you by Pillars of Wellness and Wellbeing and the Mindful Art Club, this wellness day will provide sessions to assist you on your journey to wellness. A retreat-style day for anyone wanting to try new practices to help them on their healing path.
Pillars of Wellness and Wellbeing are a local organisation offering practical advice on ways to improve wellbeing.
Lauren from PWW says, “There are many things we can do to improve our mental and physical health that sit outside of the main stream and we understand that these things can often be out of reach for many. Mental health issues can affect anyone, but there are so many things we can do to bring a sense of relief at difficult times. The activities throughout the day have been carefully selected to provide a nourishing and restful experience, with practitioners who are highly experienced in their fields. This event will include sessions in yoga, qigong, sound healing, breathwork, meditation and a talk about the importance of good nutrition. Come along, meet new people, try something new and enjoy a day of wellbeing-focused activities.”
This event by Pillars of Wellness & Wellbeing CIC and Mindful Art Club CIC is at Devonport Guildhall, Ker St, Devonport, Plymouth PL1 4EL
To book your place follow this link, scroll down to ‘Free Ticket +Contribution’ (write a price) and input your contribution as zero (unless you want to donate). Although the top line says free tickets are sold out, please be reassured this is not the case.
