If you (or the people you work with) are free on Friday afternoons, we’d love you to join us in our new venue, Burgess Hall, behind the Unitarian Church in Plymouth city centre. Each 90 minute session includes five minutes of guided mindfulness, five minutes of mindful drawing, a simple art project, and the opportunity to chat and relax. These sessions are funded by our Crowdfunder campaign, but if you want to donate, to help us continue delivering our service for longer, you can easily do so online.
Burgess Hall is behind the Unitarian Church accessed from Catherine Street, (next to The Treasury bar and restaurant, on Royal Parade). The first session at the new place is at 1.00pm Friday 12th April 2024.
As a reminder, we also offer these free mindful art groups:
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.
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.
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
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 are pleased to be offering a new weekly mindful art group that offers peer support for mental health and teaches participants how to use mindfulness and art as coping strategies.
The format of this group will be a check-in at the beginning where people can talk about how the cost of living is affecting them, 10 minutes of guided mindfulness and a simple art project that anyone can do. We will offer practical solutions to the problems that people are going through such as sign-posting to other mental health organisations, help with form filling, advice about financial help, stress management, healthy eating on a budget and sign-posting to food banks. It is the peer support that makes all the difference at Mindful Art Club.
Want to learn to practice relaxation exercises, and art for self-care?
We are looking forward to working with Devon Recovery Learning Community again in May to deliver another six week course, on Zoom.
This recovery college is provided by Devon Partnership NHS Trust to support mental health and wellbeing. Their students are people with experience of mental health difficulties, their family and friends, and the professionals who support them.
Each session of our new course includes five minutes of guided mindfulness, five minutes of mindful drawing, a simple art project, and the opportunity to chat and relax.
‘Create Your Recovery’ gives people the opportunity to share their feelings, practice mindfulness, create art, relax and chat. This course:
Improves mental health
Improves social connection
Teaches new skills (relaxation exercises and art for self- care)
We start with a ‘check in’ to see how everyone is feeling. There is no obligation to speak if you don’t want to. This is followed by some guided mindfulness, then a simple art project e.g. drawing a mandala or making a collage. This course is very similar to our ‘Doodle Your Recovery’ course, but consists of different art projects.
We end the group with a ‘check out’ to share how everyone is feeling after practicing mindfulness and making art.
This six week, online course starts at 10am on Monday 15th May 2023
Want to learn to practice relaxation exercises, and art for self-care?
We are looking forward to working with Devon Recovery Learning Community in 2023 to deliver a six week course, on Zoom.
This recovery college is provided by Devon Partnership NHS Trust to support mental health and wellbeing. Their students are people with experience of mental health difficulties, their family and friends, and the professionals who support them.
Each session of our new course includes five minutes of guided mindfulness, five minutes of mindful drawing, a simple art project, and the opportunity to chat and relax.
‘Doodle Your Recovery’ gives people the opportunity to share their feelings, practice mindfulness, create art, relax and chat. This course:
Improves mental health
Improves social connection
Teaches new skills (relaxation exercises and art for self- care)
We start with a ‘check in’ to see how everyone is feeling. There is no obligation to speak if you don’t want to. This is followed by some guided mindfulness, then a simple art project e.g. drawing Zentangles or paisley, or making a greetings card.
We end the group with a ‘check out’ to share how everyone is feeling after practicing mindfulness and making art.
This 6 week, online course starts on Monday 16th January 2023
We are pleased to have been granted new funding to offer mindful art sessions to any Plymouth woman in need of support.
This funding will allow us to deliver 26 weekly mindful art groups at The Sunflower Women’s Centre. The issues being tackled are social isolation and poor mental health. We address these problems by using creative activities to make it easier for clients to engage in meaningful conversations.
The Sunflower is a trauma-informed women’s wellbeing hub, providing opportunities for any woman who has support needs. Women receive support in addressing and resolving substance abuse, childhood trauma, criminogenic behaviours, domestic violence or poor mental health. The centre offers a range of therapeutic activities, accredited programmes and practical support in a safe, nurturing, substance-free and valuing space for women to move from their pasts, develop their skills, regain their self-worth and go on to flourish and thrive. The Sunflower Centre has over 700 registered service users.
Mindful Art Club will offer these women peer support for common mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. New friendships are formed in our groups which combat social isolation, and we will also teach new skills such as how to use mindfulness and art for self care.
If you’d like a place you will need to register with The Sunflower Women’s Centre and ask to be added to the waiting list for Mindful Art Club. You can leave a message at 01752 977614 .
“I have found this group very helpful in my recovery. My biggest problem is ISOLATION. So to have this group is a lifeline. I also struggle with substance misuse, although, (thanks to help), I am clean and sober. It is nice to have a space that is non-judgmental where we can check in and connect. I love art anyway, and find it very relaxing and engaging. But it’s so much more therapeutic to do it with others. Many thanks.”
![New Art Group: Greenbank [Free]](https://mindfulartclub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/onward-house-new.jpg)
