We recently received this great feedback via LinkedIn.
Well done on setting up such an amazing project. I’ve been to a couple of sessions and found them to be really friendly, fun, informative and relaxing and it really helped me deal with my anxiety. The way you run them allowed me to have a go at art and leave behind the self criticism that so often affects me. The great thing about it is you’re giving people ideas that they can take away with them and continue at home. A big thank you Peggy and Emma, I wish you every success in the future.
Looking for a fun and easy way to learn mindfulness?
Tickets are now available for our next eight-week Mindful Art Wellbeing Course.
The next course begins on Monday 9th May 2022 and will be at a venue in Plymouth city centre. Places are limited so it will be first-come, first-served.
At the moment I’m listening to Brene Brown’s audio book, ‘Daring Greatly.’ Brené Brown is an American research professor, lecturer, author, and podcast host, known for her research on shame, vulnerability, and leadership. She became famous in 2010 for her TED Talk, The Power of Vulnerability.
In ‘Daring Greatly’ she says that if we want to fully experience love and belonging we must believe that we are worthy of love and belonging. I thought that her definitions of connection and belonging really describe what happens at Mindful Art Club.
Connection is the energy that is created between people when they feel seen, heard and valued. When they can give and receive without judgement. Belonging is the innate human desire to be part of something larger than us. Because this yearning is so primal we often try to acquire it by fitting in and seeking approval, which are not only hollow substitutes for belonging but often barriers to it. Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.
On Friday 4th March 2022 The Lord Mayor and Consort visited our weekly art group, held upstairs in Moments Cafe, in Plymouth City Centre.
It was a pleasure to meet The Lord Mayor Mrs Terri Beer, and Consort, Mr Colin Beer, who joined us for coffee and a chat, and then took part in the mindful art session, with ten other participants.
The session included a check-in, guided mindfulness, mindful art, and then a simple art project, with the opportunity to chat and relax. The Mayor and Consort engaged in the group discussions and enjoyed the activities.
Terri Beer was born and raised in Plymouth and has lived in the city all her life. She was educated at St. Maurice Primary School and Plympton Secondary Modern School (now Plympton Academy). Our very first Mindful Art Club was founded in Plympton and still takes place at The Brook Inn on Thursdays. Mindful Art Club has now grown to offer sessions in community services all over Plymouth. We also offer one day retreats, staff wellbeing sessions and evening classes.
Join our club by signing up here to find out what we offer in your area.
We recently offered a six week course at Plympton Guildhall, called ‘Doodle Your Recovery’ – thanks to funding from Devon Recovery Learning Community.
Initial feedback indicates that one hundred percent of the participants enjoyed the course. When asked what they had learned on the course people wrote:
To relax and just let creativity flow
Mindfulness
To breathe better
Empathy
To give time to myself
Communication
How to think of myself as well as others
To not dwell on problems so much
To express feelings through art
That I am not alone and it’s OK to feel how I feel
Some suggestions to make the course better included:
Maybe more meditation
Qi Gong
Name badges
Increase it to two hours, with a break
One hundred percent of survey respondents said they would recommend the course to other people.
If you would like to try using creativity to improve your mental health we will be at The Brook Inn, 33 Longbrook Street, Plympton, PL7 1NJ from Thursday 3rd March 2022.
We started the New Year in a new venue: The historic Guildhall in Plympton St Maurice.
Doodle your Recovery is a six week course giving people the opportunity to share their feelings, practice mindfulness, create art, relax and chat.
This course is free to attend thanks to funding from Devon Recovery Learning Community. DRLC is a recovery college provided by Devon Partnership NHS Trust to promote mental health and wellbeing. Their students are people with lived experience of mental health difficulties, their family and friends, and the professionals who support them.
Missed enrolment for this six week course? Join our mailing list and get free colouring pages to use at home, and news of our next free mindful art events in the Plymouth area.
Have you ever attempted to create massive changes in your life at New Year, only to be left feeling disappointed by February? Here’s a simple solution. Use a habit tracker to make small, achievable tweaks to your daily routine.
Here are 5 things I love about using a habit tracker:
1) You can customise it.
You use one A4 page per month and choose your own goals or habits.
2) It’s satisfying and motivating.
You can tick off the squares or colour them in. By the end of the month you will see how many things you have achieved.
3) You can add something easy that you would do every day anyway.
This could be brushing your teeth, making a coffee or checking your emails. Adding a habit that you already have builds in some guaranteed success to your day; it’s so motivating to tick something off straight away!
4) You can add self-care reminders…
…alongside your personal, family, creative, health and career goals. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. You could choose ‘Watch a movie once a week,’ ‘Coffee with a friend’ or ‘Buy myself a treat’.
5) You can drop a habit.
If you find that you didn’t do well at maintaining one of the habits, consider just leaving it off next month. Add something else that you really do want to do! Go easy on yourself.
Get your free printable Habit Tracker when you sign up to receive our monthly newsletter. Your first email also comes with quirky colouring pages to calm your consciousness, and tickle your fancy. Sign up below to get your habit tracker now and we’ll keep you updated whenever we launch a new art group.
This offer is only open until the end of January 2022, so get your habit tracker today!
Free printable habit tracker
Please note that all freebies on this site are for personal use only, and may not be sold. Feel free to share this freebie, but please credit us and link back to this page when placing our images on your blog or social media. Thank you for your cooperation!
Now I’d like to hear from you. What ONE habit would you love to add to your day this month?
How to book your place at Mindful Art Club in 2022
We have three new mindful art groups starting in the new year. We have a number of free places available thanks to our funders and partners, but places are limited, so book now to avoid disappointment.
Mondays 10.00am at Devon Mind in Greenbank: A six week course funded by Devon Mind. Book here.
Mondays 1.00pm at The Sunflower Women’s Centre continues in the New Year. Book your place by phoning the Sunflower 01752 977614.
Thursdays 11.00am at Plympton St Maurice Guildhall: A six week course funded by Devon Recovery Learning Community. Book here.
Fridays 1.00pm at Moments Cafe, 69a New George Street, Plymouth, funded by The High Streets Heritage Action Zone initiative. Book here.
I want to share a lovely message we received on Facebook at the weekend. Claire has given us permission to publish this testimonial.
Dear Peggy and Emma,
Hi, I just wanted to pop you a quick message to say a massive thanks.
I did a mindful art course with you guys through Devon Mind and it has inspired me to start my own voluntary at our local library, but I’m hoping I’m going to be expanding this soon.
It’s been really popular so far, there is a lovely group of people that come and I’ve made friends outside of the group too. I’ve also taken a mindfulness course and gained a diploma.
So I just wanted to thank you, happy Christmas and a happy New Year.
Keep doing your amazing work. So many people need this right now.
Want to start your own art club? We love to inspire others to offer help and support, but you will need to design your own method of working and session format. Read our copyright notice.
