A Creative Escape
We will be out of office on Friday 9th December, attending a funeral. The following groups will not take place:
10.00am Sunflower Womens’ Centre
1.00pm Moments Cafe
Groups will be back running again as usual next week.
Peggy and Emma
The return of our online art club in October and November was a great success.
This is a supportive, monthly, online session offering creativity and good company: A short mindful meditation and an easy art project.
Tuesday December 20th 7.00pm – 8.00pm
Early bird tickets are available at just £5.00 until seven days before the event – after that the full price is £6.50.
“I really enjoyed tonight’s session. Thanks very much. Lovely to see some familiar faces and meet some new people.”
Linda
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 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. We offer a different art project each session. Our mission is to make mindfulness more fun! We’re not teaching art techniques, we’re just here to play. (*You don’t have to speak if you don’t want to.)
“Thank you so much for bringing back mindful art online. I’m going through a lot at the moment and would have spent tonight in tears if it wasn’t for you guys, but instead did something productive and calming.”
Becky
You will need some felt tip pens, some plain paper and an (optional) cup of tea or coffee.
You will also need to download Zoom, free video-conferencing software, to your computer, tablet or smart phone, before the day. https://zoom.us
After payment you will receive an email from Eventbrite saying, “Check the event page for all the information you need to join.” The link in that email will take you to a page with the Zoom invite. *Check your spam folder, notifications folder or promotions tab for the email!*
Ticket sales end 10 minutes before the event starts.
Early bird tickets are available at just £5.00 until 12th December – after that the full price is £6.50.
Book your place at our online art club now.
“Thank you Peggy and Emma for being back online!”
Debby
Don’t miss out. Join our Facebook group for more special events and offers https://www.facebook.com/groups/MindfulArtClub
Not ready to join us online? Download free mindful art activities instead.
On Saturday 26th November we held a wellness day in collaboration with the WEA, Pillars of Wellness & Wellbeing CIC and POP Collectives funding.
The day offered stalls, workshops and speakers, and entry was free. We were pleased to be working with Lauren Packham from Pillars of Wellness and Wellbeing to organise this event at University of Plymouth, in the Roland Levinsky building.
Talks included qi gong, nature, nutrition, lived experience and stress management. Workshops included Mindful Art Club, qi gong, a sound bath, yoga and a guided meditation with David Rees from Here to Live Life.
“As the world opened up again last year, Mindful Art Club helped me to open up.”
Chris, a member of the Friday group at Moments Cafe
In this video Peggy, Emma, Chris and Dave explain the impact of art club, at the wellbeing day.
Don’t miss our next free wellbeing event. Sign up to our mailing list now.
This Saturday 26th November we are hosting a wellbeing day in collaboration with the WEA, Pillars of Wellness & Wellbeing CIC and POP Collectives funding.
The day will offer stalls, workshops and speakers, and entry is free. We are pleased to be working with Lauren Packham from Pillars of Wellness and Wellbeing to organise this event.
A full day of wellness focused talks and workshops, with stallholders in wellbeing-related fields.
Location: University of Plymouth, the Roland Levinsky building.
Date: 26th November 2022
This is an all-day event and we recommend committing to the whole day to get the most out if it.
9.30 OPEN
10.00 TALK Lee Squires – Qi Gong
10.40 WORKSHOP Mindful Art Club creative session, qigong and sound bath
12.00 TALK Kate Nicholls (Wylder) – Nature
12.15 TALK Duncan – Nutrition
12.30 BREAK
12.45 TALK Lived experience talk
1.00 TALK Jay Unwin – mental and physical fitness, wellbeing and stress management
1.20 LUNCH
2.00 VIDEO Michael Allison – Polyvagal theory
2.30 YOGA Jo Thyssen – The Yoga Loft
3.30 MEDITATION David Rees – Here to live Life
The return of our online art club in October was a great success.
“Halloween special from the comfort of your own home through Zoom. What a lovely session, thank you all. My kids loved it.”
Kerry
This is a supportive, monthly, online session offering creativity and good company: A short mindful meditation and an easy art project.
Last Tuesday of the month 7.00pm – 8.00pm
Early bird tickets are available at just £5.00 until seven days before the event – after that the full price is £6.50.
“I really enjoyed tonight’s session. Thanks very much. Lovely to see some familiar faces and meet some new people.”
Linda
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 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. We offer a different art project each session. Our mission is to make mindfulness more fun! We’re not teaching art techniques, we’re just here to play. (*You don’t have to speak if you don’t want to.)
“Thank you so much for bringing back mindful art online. I’m going through a lot at the moment and would have spent tonight in tears if it wasn’t for you guys, but instead did something productive and calming.”
Becky
You will need some felt tip pens, some plain paper and an (optional) cup of tea or coffee.
You will also need to download Zoom, free video-conferencing software, to your computer, tablet or smart phone, before the day. https://zoom.us
After payment you will receive an email from Eventbrite saying, “Check the event page for all the information you need to join.” The link in that email will take you to a page with the Zoom invite. *Check your spam folder, notifications folder or promotions tab for the email!*
Ticket sales end 10 minutes before the event starts.
Early bird tickets are available at just £5.00 until 15th November – after that the full price is £6.50.
Book your place at our online art club now.
“Thank you Peggy and Emma for being back online!”
Debby
Don’t miss out. Join our Facebook group for more special events and offers https://www.facebook.com/groups/MindfulArtClub
Not ready to join us online? Download free mindful art activities instead.
Save the Date! Saturday 26th November we are hosting a wellbeing day in collaboration with the WEA, Pillars of Wellness & Wellbeing CIC and POP Collectives funding.
The day will offer stalls, workshops and speakers, and entry is free. We are pleased to be working with Lauren Packham from Pillars of Wellness and Wellbeing to organise this event.
A full day of wellness focused talks and workshops, with stallholders in wellbeing-related fields.
Location: Universty of Plymouth, the Roland Levinsky building.
Date: 26th November 2022
This is an event for anyone looking to make positive changes to their lives. So many of us have struggled over the last couple of years. Mental health services are at breaking point, and you may find you are either ‘not sick enough’ to get help, or you are on an extremely long waiting list. But there are many things we can do to help ourselves, and coming to this event could provide you with a valuable piece of information that could really help you and your wellbeing.
You will hear talks given by specialistss in their fields and you will have the opportunity to meet with various service providers of wellness and wellbeing services.
We have been fortunate enough to receive grant finding, which means we can make the event completely free (tickets would be sold for £35 each if this was not the case). However, you can donate if you wish – donations will go to the Plymouth Samaritans. Just enter the amount you wish to donate when booking (you can enter £0 if you do not wish to donate), or you can give on the day.
Booking is not essential but is advised if you want to attend for the full day (highly recommended!). We kindly ask that you do not book unless you will 100% be attending.
We also have a FREE LUNCH available for the first 50 people who book.
By registering in advance (and of course, attending!), you will be entered into the prize draw to win one of the fantastic prizes. You will need to attend to be entered into the prize draw, so be sure to give us your name and email address on the way in.
We will have four presentations on the following topics and how they can have a positive impact and play a key role in mental health and wellbeing:
1) Creativity
2) Qi Gong
3) Nutrition
4) Nature
There will also be a short video on polyvagal theory which explains how we can utilise this to have a positive imapct on our bodies. Trauma and stress are held in the body, and the vagus nerve is pivitol in releasing them.
Mindful Art club will deliver a creative workshop and qi gong session and we will have a yoga class followed by a meditation session in the latter part of the day.
Back by popular demand: A supportive, monthly, online session offering creativity and good company: A short mindful meditation and an easy art project.
No art experience required! Friendly and informal. Just grab a coffee and join in. Hosted by art club founders Peggy Melmoth and Emma Sprawson.
Last Tuesday of the month 7.00pm – 8.00pm
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 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. We offer a different art project each session. Our mission is to make mindfulness more fun! We’re not teaching art techniques, we’re just here to play. (*You don’t have to speak if you don’t want to.)
You will need some felt tip pens, some plain paper and an (optional) cup of tea or coffee – or witches brew!
You will also need to download Zoom, free video-conferencing software, to your computer, tablet or smart phone, before the day. https://zoom.us
After payment you will receive an email from Eventbrite saying, “Check the event page for all the information you need to join.” The link in that email will take you to a page with the Zoom invite. *Check your spam folder, notifications folder or promotions tab for the email!*
Ticket sales end 10 minutes before the event starts.
Book your place at our online art club now.
Don’t miss out. Join our Facebook group for more special events and offers https://www.facebook.com/groups/MindfulArtClub
Boost your mental health today by downloading free mindful art activities at our website https://mindfulartclub.co.uk
The mental health charity SANE have just launched another round of awards for the SANE Creative Awards Scheme, which offers up to £300 to individuals with mental health conditions (and their carers) to develop their creative potential.
At present they are accepting applications for those pursuing goals in the visual arts only, that is painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, digital art and mixed media; the awards could be used for art materials, short courses to develop skills, specific project costs or replacement care in the case of carers. SANE will be accepting applications until Monday, November 7th, 2022.
Download the forms here: SANE Creative Awards Scheme
Pictured: Butterfly Gazing by Danny Hessle
We are pleased to have been awarded National Lottery funding to run Mindful Art Club for six more months at the London Inn in Plympton.
Our mission is to improve social connection and mental health in a fun, creative way. Each session lasts for an hour and a half and offers peer support, guided mindfulness, a mindful drawing exercise and a simple art project that anyone can do. This is a project that we are already running and is making a big difference to the people that come. People leave our groups describing a warm, supportive feeling and say they feel validated, listened to, relaxed, happier and calmer. The people who will benefit are those suffering from social isolation and mental health issues.
We think of this as a long-term project as we can see from our feedback how much this group is helping people. One participant writes “Finally! A place where you can truly be yourself, be heard and supported. I feel so included and seen and it has given me real confidence in life. I love the creativity, the chats, the laughs and just this feeling I am totally welcome. I really look forward to Thursdays”.
We constantly evaluate our groups by using feedback forms, case studies, verbal discussions and testimonials to find out what’s working well, and any changes we should make. We have even partnered with Plymouth University to write a report to measure our impact on our participants’ mental health.
The London Inn art group takes place every Thursday at midday, where Simon the landlord kindly offers us a space free of charge. Art club participants are expected to buy refreshments at the pub while enjoying the art group.
The London Inn, 8 Church Road, Plympton, PL7 1NH.
We are grateful to The National Lottery and it’s players for supporting this ongoing art group.
HOLIDAYS: There is no Mindful Art Club from Monday 8th August until Friday 19th August.
These are the free sessions we are running in August, when we are not on holiday:
Monday 1st and 22nd, 1pm Sunflower Women’s Centre. Booking essential.
Thursday 4th, 25th, 12.00pm The London Inn, Plympton. No need to book.
Friday 5th, 1pm Moments Cafe, New George Street. Booking essential.
These groups are free thanks to our funders and partners; Trevi Sparks Fund, Livewell Foundation, The London Inn, and Moments Cafe and Memory Matters Hub. All groups will be back up and running as normal on 1st September.
Read more about how to book your place at Mindful Art Club.
