We recently met with Luke Pollard, Labour and Co-operative MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, who was very supportive of the work we are doing in the Plymouth community. He was kind enough to write this supporting letter which may help us to receive further funding.
Mindful Art Club is a professional, and well-known organisation that has developed many minds for the better. I have complete faith that any grant money requested will be well utilised for the benefit of the area and assisting greatly in personal development and wellbeing.
Luke Pollard, MP
It was a pleasure to meet with Luke, who shared his thoughts on how we could best secure more funding and continue to serve the Plymouth community.
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.
Learn to practice mindfulness and art for self-care at The Brook Inn in Plympton St Maurice, starting Thursday 15th July 2021. Each session includes five minutes of guided mindfulness, five minutes of mindful drawing, a simple art project, and the opportunity to chat and relax.
Come along and grab a coffee or tea in time for a 11.00 am start. The group lasts for an hour and a half. There is no set cost for this group but we are running it on a ‘pay what you feel’ donations basis. Mindful Art Club is a not-for-profit community group.
This weekly art group gives people the opportunity to share their feelings, practice mindfulness, create art, relax and chat. Mindful Art Club:
Improves mental health
Improves social connection
Teaches new skills (relaxation exercises and art for self care).
We have just received a generous and unexpected donation from the final year Fine Art students at Plymouth University.
They recently completed their degree show with Plymouth University on the Fine Art course. Prior to lockdown they raised some funds with a bake sale in order to provide them with funds for a suitable venue to host their final degree show.
After searching for a venue, they eventually found one free of charge at the Royal William Yard in Ocean Studios… meaning their funds were still untouched.
So with some funds leftover, they decided as a cohort to donate to a group or charity which they really felt linked with their own work and efforts in their show. A common theme of their work was ‘anxiety’ and ‘mindfulness’ as well as ‘self- awareness’.
So we decided to donate our unused funds to a great cause, I hope this helps in any way possible. I thought it might be nice to give you a back story… Best wishes, all our love,
Fine Art Plymouth Cohort 2021 xx
The ‘Under Current Circumstances’ University of Plymouth Fine Art Degree Show was from June 20th – June 24th (2021)
Want to experience Mindful Art Club in the comfort of your own home?
We have the easy solution!
We are launching a new evening group on Zoom.
A supportive online meeting offering creativity, company and social connection: A short mindful meditation and an easy art project.
About this event
No art experience required! Friendly and informal. Just grab a coffee and join in. Hosted by south Devon artists Peggy Melmoth and Emma Sprawson.
Tuesdays 7.00pm – 8.00pm.
Connect with others, share your experiences of COVID-19, 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. Our mission is to make mindfulness more fun! We’re not teaching art techniques, we’re just here to play.
You will need any pen, felt tips, some plain paper and a 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!*
Mindful Art Club has provided a lifeline to people across Plymouth facing mental health challenges – and now our group is back operating in the community.
For Mental Health Awareness Week Plymouth Live has published a feature article explaining that we were gutted when a drug and alcohol rehab centre announced its shock closure two years ago.
“Having worked at Broadreach House for several years, (Emma and Peggy) had been able to support people from all walks of life and had seen first-hand how beneficial different creative activities could be for people struggling with their mental health and other issues.
Wanting to continue to serve the community and support people facing challenges in their lives, the colleagues teamed up to launch a “mindfulness art club” to support people manage their anxiety, stress and other mental health issues in a relaxed and safe creative environment.
The club became particularly popular at the start of 2020 and soon became a lifeline for members, with many people relishing the opportunity to connect with others in a non-judgemental environment while being able to talk freely about how they’re feeling and any stresses or anxieties in their lives.”
Are they a business, a charity, a CIC or a community group?
And what are they going to do next?!
Mindful Art Club® is an unincorporated association. We have a small group constitution and a management committee. We recently held our annual general meeting to report on the organisation’s activities. The three trustees were present: Emma, Peggy and Clare, and the minutes were circulated to our regular volunteers, Lee and Linda.
First Emma reported on our funding bids. We were unsuccessful in two bids since the last general meeting. However we have been successful in bids with Comic Relief, Sparks Community Fund and have also received £250 from Plymouth Octopus Project. Emma is about to submit another bid to POP and a bid for Arts Council funding to run two groups.
Because of this funding Peggy reported that the following groups will begin after the current lockdown restrictions end.
Sunflower Women’s Centre on Mondays, funded by Comic Relief.
Friday afternoons at Ocean Studios to be funded by Community Sparks Fund.
Rees Centre, wellbeing course, Tuesday evenings funded by individuals.
Since our last meeting we have networked with a lot of different community organisations including Devon Mind, the Wolsley Trust social prescribers, Plymouth Argyle, Shekinah Mission, Devon Recovery Learning Community and The Clipper.
We have decided to invest in regular professional supervision meetings with a mindfulness teacher, retreat host and counsellor.
We have written a six week course, Doodle Your
Recovery, and a three week course Zen Doodles for DRLC which will be run on
Zoom.
We have joined the Loneliness Action Group with Labour councillor Kate Taylor, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care.
We celebrated one year in business with a dinner party, and made a video of it and sent thank you cards as a PR activity. We promoted our anniversary on our website and social media.
And finally, Emma and Peggy have both completed a five week business course called AWE Sofa Sessions with Dartington School of Social Entrepreneurs. Emma is now going to study the Nuts and Bolts of Business course with them.
To find out about when our next online courses and real life groups are launching join our mailing list now. As a thank you for joining, we’ll instantly send you a mindful colouring bundle with meditative art activities inside, to try at home.
Want to relax your busy mind, without the practice and discipline needed for meditation?
You just found the easy answer!
Our new art group at 1pm on Friday afternoons at Ocean Studios, Royal William Yard, Plymouth, offers a safe, easy-going space to have coffee, try guided mindfulness and do some art, just for fun. There is absolutely no talent required, so if you haven’t done anything creative since school that’s fine. It really is the taking part that counts. (Sorry for sounding so cliched but it’s true!)
Event Space Ocean Studios
Booking
Booking is essential due to restricted numbers during the pandemic. Message us to confirm your place. The group costs £2.00
If you arrive around 12.45pm you can grab a coffee at the Ocean Studios Cafe, then head upstairs to the Event Space on the right, where you will find Mindful Art Club. You will need to wear a mask to enter the café, but once you are seated at our (socially distanced) art table you can remove your mask for the duration of the group.
How to find us
Ocean Studios, The Factory Cooperage, Royal William Yard, Plymouth PL1 3RP.
Plymouth city centre is 20-minute walk or a 12-minute cycle away. Find us at The Factory Cooperage, opposite Las Iguanas with the red telephone box.
Drive
From Plymouth City Centre take A374 to Durnford Street in Stonehouse. From Cornwall take the Tamar Bridge, A38, A3064, B3396 and A374, continue onto Durnford St until you reach the yard. There are plenty of Pay and Display car parking spaces at Royal William Yard.
Bus
The number 34 bus travels from the city centre and stops at the Royal William Yard roundabout.
Boat
The ferry runs every hour from the Barbican to Royal William Yard, or you can travel from Cornwall on the Cremyll Ferry to Stonehouse.
We also want to share some other great news that we got onto the Start Something project with the Real Ideas Organisation. We are now linked in with Ocean Studios at the Royal William Yard, which is a beautiful space to hold Mindful Art Club sessions.
RIO were offering 10 free membership packages worth over £3,000 each to entrepreneurial people with ideas that they thought could become brilliant businesses.
The fully funded membership package from Real Ideas gives us access to their co-working spaces, specialist facilities, expert business support mentors and access to events, workshops and one to one coaching.
So, we will be getting some expert business advice, as well as being part of a creative community. It was lovely meeting other creative people at the team event last week and I’m looking forward to developing these relationships.
Mindful Art Club are looking forward to returning to our old venue, The Brook Inn, Longbrook Street in Plympton, as of 10am on Thursday 17th September.
The new six person rules – which come into force on 14th September – are a change to England’s current guidance. But regular Brook Inn customers will know that landlord John Govier, and his team, have been following all the government guidelines since they re-opened, so this won’t make any difference to how they operate, when it comes in to force from Monday.
At-a-glance: How do the new rules affect mindful art classes?
Social gatherings of more than six people in England will not be allowed in law from Monday 14 September.
The new rule applies to pubs, cafes and public outdoor spaces.
However, gatherings can be more than six if it is for education purposes.
Support groups can take place in gatherings of any number if the support group is organised by a business or a benevolent institution to provide mutual aid.
Our mindful art classes at The Sunflower Women’s Centre will be run in groups of six, and booking for these is essential. (Phone 01752 977614 to go on the waiting list.)
Pubs and restaurants are still allowed to have more than six customers inside, but the groups of six have to be socially distant from each other.
Mindful art club tends to be around six to eight people. There is plenty of space for us to all sit on separate tables, safely distanced from one another.
The Brook Inn follows all safety and hygiene measures set out by the government, and always has done since reopening in July.
For Your Peace of Mind
At The Brook Inn and The Sunflower Women’s Centre we check temperatures on arrival, and take client details for track and trace. Paper and felt tip pens are provided, but you can also bring your own felt tip pens to reduce the risks of sharing pens.
If you have any questions or concerns about coming to Mindful Art Club during the current pandemic crisis please contact us.
