Radiate Arts - boosting mental health in North Powys

L - R: Jenny Botha & Pam Gordon of Radiate Arts
Claire Powell & Jackie Newey of Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations

Claire Powell (Community Connector for Newtown & Llanidloes) and I recently paid a visit to Radiate Arts CIC  (a community interest company) at its current base in North Powys. Radiate Arts is a not-for-profit organisation which delivers creative workshops in the community. Each workshop is tailored to the group, but the goal remains the same – to use art for mental and physical wellbeing.

We caught up with Pam and Jenny of Radiate Arts at their beautiful lakeside location high in the hills to find out more about the organisation’s current activities. We also learnt more about how art can have such a positive impact on people’s mental health.

Why is art so important for wellbeing?

Art can provide a space for relaxation and focus. Participants on our courses often comment about how creative activities help them forget their worries and it gives them headspace to focus on something new. The social element of our workshops is also a big benefit, as it encourages others to get out and meet people too (socially distanced of course).

It's important to remember that using creativity as a way to relax has real benefits. People who do art, or write regularly, tend to have lower levels of anxiety and stress. It's even been known to lower blood pressure, improve sleep and reduce chronic pain. These, among other benefits, can improve your overall quality of life and help you to feel more content.

Where is Radiate Arts based?

Our Creative Hub is located under 5 miles from Llanidloes town centre. This is our main location for our art workshops, and we work across Chester and the west of England too.

We overlook the Clywedog Reservoir, so there are some stunning views across the valley. We’re lucky to be placed in such a beautiful location. In fact, we use the beauty of nature to inspire us in our work and for green prescribing.

Tell us a bit more about the workshops

We run a wide range of workshops, from stone carving, painting, sketching, macrame, creative writing and printing - there's something for everyone!

We lead workshops for those who may not have had many opportunities to interact and participate in creative spaces before, or had access to these facilities. We provide a safe space to develop positive feelings of self-worth, mindfulness and mental awareness through a creative process.

Have you ever tried to use art or poetry to relax? Sometimes it's hard to know where to start...many of our participants have found success in unlocking their creative intuition through our inclusive workshops.

Creativity is for everyone, regardless of skillset.

Are workshops open to the public?

Yes, we run workshops which are open to the public, but you will need to book in advance. All of our live public workshops can be found on our Eventbrite page here.

Do you run creative workshops for community groups, as part of social prescribing?

Yes, we do! Social prescribing workshops from referred groups, form most of our workshops at our Creative Hub. Examples include stone carving with ex-service personnel, to printing with care homes.

Radiate Arts recently ran an outdoor photography workshop for ex-army veterans in partnership with The Armed Forces Covenant Fund's 'Positive Pathways Programme'.

The course, called 'Creative Freedom,' saw participants roam the beautiful landscape of Mid Wales, taking photographs along the way. The aim was to increase physical and mental wellbeing, and was spread out over three days on the hillsides nearby the Clywedog Reservoir. You can read more on our blog here.

Who leads the workshops?

We have a team of expert artists who deliver the workshop in their field. They are experienced with hosting groups, and enjoy sharing their artform with others. We host an Artist Q and A on our blog, which you can read here.

How can I find out more or get in touch?

To find out more, please visit our website www.radiatearts.co.uk , or email office@radiatearts.co.uk. You can also follow us on social media:

Facebook – RadiateArts

Twitter – ArtsRadiate 

Instagram – RadiateArts

Celf Able - disability and the arts in Powys

This week's guest author is Amanda Wells - one of the founder members of the group Celf Able in Powys.

Celf-Able is a new group by and for disabled and disability artists in Powys. We provide opportunities for people to meet and create art, supporting and learning from each other. Our aim is to reduce isolation and raise awareness of disability arts and disability issues. We meet at Oriel Davies, Newtown one month and at Centre Celf, Llandrindod Wells the other. We are very grateful to have Arts Council of Wales ‘Sharing Together’ funding to meet until the end of March 2017. So the search for further funding to carry on beyond that has begun! 

The four initial members of the group had met on the Celf o Gwmpas Artist Training and Mentoring project, which ran from 2009 to 2014. As well as meeting regularly to develop our arts practice, we’d had some adventures including trips to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Finland. When the project came to an end we wanted to carry on meeting as a group as we all found working together and supporting each other very valuable with our various disabilities and the exclusion that disabled and disability artists often experience. We were lucky enough to secure funding from ArtWorks Cymru to meet bi-monthly, and meetings started in May 2015. 

We are pleased that some new members have joined the group since then. We have enjoyed sharing art skills and techniques, peer support, and we have even had a go at performance art, preparing and performing a short piece for ArtWorks Cymru conference in November 2016. For the performance we all chose a barrier that we face personally to engaging in opportunities, and between us we wrote a script about how the barriers affect us and how they might be overcome. The message we were trying to get across was serious but we used a lot of humour in the performance. 

We have just completed the process of becoming a not-for-profit company. This will open up the possibility of more grants for us. We would like to carry on getting together and are currently having discussions as to how the different members of the group would like to see Celf-Able develop. Some members just want to come along to do art in a supportive atmosphere, other members are more ambitious for the group, but there’s room for everyone to take part in whatever way they wish.

For our performance piece it somehow came about that we all took on the characters of birds (don’t ask, I really can’t remember how the idea came up but we decided to work with it), and we are now working on a group installation piece called ‘Bird House’. Celf o Gwmpas are kindly giving us a space to work in over several weeks, we have no funding but are meeting the costs involved ourselves, just because the idea came up and we all want to do it and we enjoy working together.

We are open to any new people who would like to come along, maybe just to meet us and find out what we’re up to. 

Our upcoming meetings are at Centre Celf, Llandrindod Wells, January 24th 11.00am - 3.00pm, and at Oriel Davies, Newtown, February 28th 10.30am - 3.00pm.

To mark the end of the Arts Council funding we are running a training day on arts and disability, and how the arts can be used for inclusion and wellbeing. The sessions are open to disabled people, arts workers, community workers, health and social workers and others. The days are taking place on March 21st in Newtown and March 28th in Llandrindod. The sessions are free and lunch is provided. To book a place call 01938 810058 or email admin@celf-able.org

Amanda

Voluntary (Un!)-co-ordinator, Celf-Able

Many thanks to Amanda for telling us about this innovative arts and disability group. You can read more on the Celf Able website, including a blog post by the Chair Sue Patch who writes "What Celf Able has done for me".  And you can learn about the development of Disability Art in the 1970s and 80s as a result of the new political activism of the disabled peoples' movement.

Boxing Shadows - The Welsh Mental Health Arts Festival 2016

Boxing Shadows is an exhibition of over 30 artists made up of sculpture, paintings, drawings, films and ceramics in parallel with artist Stephen Park's Residency Exhibition at Celf o Gwmpas in Llandrindod Wells. It is on until 5 January 2017, and last week I attended a panel discussion and artist talks as part of the second annual Welsh Mental Health Arts Festival. Other activities scheduled at Celf as part of the week long event in partnership with Disability Arts Cymru and Making Minds 'WALLS: MURIAU' included a Comedy Evening and a drop-in workshop with new arts group Celf-Able.

Artist Rachel Dunlop wrote about the year-long Learning and Practice project at Celf o Gwmpas back in the summer, taking an in-depth look at the sessional weekends for artists who have experience or knowledge of the arts and mental health. Artist in residence Stephen Park and Powys artist Blue MacAskill have been engaging and working with artists "who have knowledge and experience of mental ill health from across the county. Working together, they have developed knowledge, practice, experience and creative aspirations and promoted wider understanding of arts and mental health".

Jane Cooke from our team with sculpture by Geraint Edwards

The panel discussion provided a great opportunity for a more in depth discussion around arts and mental health. It was attended by individuals, artists, voluntary organisations and professionals engaged in both the art and mental health sectors.

Stephen Park, a graduate of Goldsmiths College and the Slade School in London, was first up to speak. He told us that for 10 years he had been a mental health support worker, and for 15 years he was on the periphery of the art world working in art colleges. This was the first time, however, that he had spoken to both sectors "in one sentence". 

Artist-in-Residence Stephen Park

He said that in mental health there is the perception that there are lots of different approaches, probably conflicting. "It is a mix-and-match approach to help you. It is the same in art college – people are trying to become themselves and flourish. There are lots of confusing approaches."

Stephen does not feel he belongs to the art establishment – the academic world of art colleges, museums, and critical thinking. He feels the same about mental health. Institutions such as hospitals and charities have their own agenda that does not quite correspond to the internal experience of the person in it with mental health difficulties. Or the novice artist trying to find/identify a way of working.

He said that in mental health there is the idea that art is good for you. Yet staff have no understanding whatsoever what art is. "Art is terribly important. You should do it even if it is bad for you. For artists the worst eventuality is to become a zombie – doing everything to tick a box.... pay a mortgage... Artists see this and are frightened of it".

Stephen explained that he was invited by Celf o Gwmpas to run a workshop with a mental health angle. He did not take the angle of mental illness – he does not have the language for that. He can, however, understand confusion and distress. So he designed a course – having spoken to hundreds of creative people – that is one size fits all.

"If you have a creative impulse it is an infinite space which is very daunting. You need a compass and confidence and faith in what you have done. You don’t rely on other people too much".

Much lively debate ensued. Some of the points raised included:

• There is always a focus on being positive. Society has an obsession with being happy all the time and there is something wrong with you if you have negative feelings. We should be allowed to be sad. 
• An acknowledgement of the beauty of this project – it took people as they are and let them express their feelings in art if they wanted to – or not. 
• The job of the artist is to ask questions. 
• The job is to make something that was not there before. It might be questioned.

Next on the panel to speak was Sean Burns – a writer, performer and outsider artist whose work has been influenced by his experiences of psychosis. He read some of his poetry and spoke about the politics of mental health.

 “Words are weapons and I’m in a war. The war hasn’t stopped.” Andrew Vachss

A mental health support worker once said to Sean: “What d’you need books for? You’re homeless.”

Artist and poet Sean Burns, with Rachel Dunlop on his right

Sean was the first artist in residence at Celf five years ago. His latest project is Waters of Life – “creative mappings related to mental distress” – a journey along the River Usk from source to sea. His experience of the source – “it was the first time I had seen such wide horizons and it really opened my thinking.”

He spoke about Gwyneth Lewis's book "Sunbathing in the Rain" – a cheerful book about depression. “The cure for depression is the truth… It teaches you slowly to live better.”

Sean read "Gob Squad Arriving" – a poem he wrote after going to his first punk gig in 1981 in Brecon against his psychiatrist’s orders. “Learn to love your madnesses.”

Celf-Able - a new art group

Celf-Able is a new group of disabled artists in Mid Wales, meeting regularly in Newtown and Llandrindod Wells. Amanda Wells (second from left) introduced the group and encouraged people to join. There was a brief discussion on the difference between a disabled artist and a disability artist. Amanda said that the latter looks at issues of disability through art. 

The debate continued - and there was much lively discussion about the values (or not) of receiving funding to pursue artistic aims, whether as an individual or an organisation.

Stephen said that "Art and creativity is not something done by experts elsewhere. It’s done here and now. You dive in. Participate. Resourcefulness is a prime quality for artists. We can either say – they won’t let me in – and just sit there. Or we can do it ourselves. You will feel vulnerable, exposed.... scared even. But it has to be that way. That’s how you become strong and find your voice and participate. Art will always surface regardless of funding. People will use what they have in the time available."

Jane and Jackie: PAVO mental health team

Jane Cooke attended the panel with three hats on – as the Mental Health Senior Officer at PAVO, as a counsellor, and as a trustee of Celf o Gwmpas.

She talked about the language of mental illness, and asked the question – why art and mental health? How do people feel at the end of taking part? Elated? With increased confidence? Courage? Self-esteem? Involvement in other projects such as sport or the environment could attract those words. It is about oneself – referring to oneself and the rest of the world and how you make sense of things like stigma.

She spoke about the work of the PAVO mental health team, and involvement on various boards and partnerships. "When the words mental health are used, people are not referring to feeling great about yourself, "that was terrific, fantastic…" Rather it’s another way of saying mental illness".

"Health is a good thing. The language of mental health is of illness… disorders… conditions. It’s not the truth, it’s a construct. A lot of intelligent people are now challenging that." She likes to think what it would be like to create a project for “well-ordered” people. Jane encouraged us not to use the language of mental illness when writing funding bids or reports. 

She concluded by saying that "projects like Boxing Shadows help people to get beyond their internal difficulties and barriers – so there is a real value to getting funding. It gets people to a place they wouldn’t have done without it".

To find out more contact Celf o Gwmpas, tel: 01597 822777 or email: events@celfogwmpas.org

Celf - supporting ambition in the arts

Our guest author this week is Rachel Dunlop, the Project Co-ordinator for the Arts Council of Wales funded Powys-wide Learning & Practice Project at Celf o Gwmpas in Llandrindod Wells. 

Rachel has an MA in Fine Art and is passionate about supporting ambition and realising creative aspirations. She co-ordinates residencies, workshops, gallery trips and exhibitions at the charity whilst bringing people together to learn through a creative means. 

As part of our year-long Learning and Practice project, throughout June we have been running sessional weekends for artists who have experience or knowledge of the arts and mental health.

The Learning & Practice Project is made up of multiple strands. Blue MacAskill is working with ‘at risk’ young people through film making, and Stephen Park is holding sessions at various venues throughout Powys during his residency – including The Welfare, Ystradgynlais and Oriel Davies, Newtown. Working together, they are developing knowledge, practice, experience and creative aspirations and promoting wider understanding of arts and mental health.

Stephen Park - Artist in Residence

In November 2016, Celf o Gwmpas is hosting a week of events and activities -Boxing Shadows - in a celebration of arts and mental health as part of WALLS:MURIAU Welsh Mental Health Arts Festival 2016 (details at the end of the post).

The aim of the peer-to-peer training sessions in June 2016 is to provide a platform for artists to develop and elevate their professional practice while giving them the opportunity to exhibit work as part of a Wales-wide Festival.

Our first session was on 11 June at Centre Celf, Llandrindod Wells. We were aiming for up to 6 participants for the group, and found that we were oversubscribed! We began with Stephen introducing himself, and playing ice-breaking games where we got to know each other and tried to remember everyone’s names! 

Stephen explained his ideas of finding creative ‘flow’ as an artist. He showed us images of artwork that he felt had achieved this ‘flow.’ ‘Flow’ is achieved when we are being creative but not too restrictive and not too perfect. Imagine it as a line… extensive on the left (creating freely without inhibitions, restrictions) and then intensive on the right (where we’re being too careful, too precious with our work). Stephen explained that the ‘sweet spot’ is somewhere near the intrinsic, but still creating with an element of freedom. It’s when we arrive at this spot that we are in a rhythm of creating work as an artist which is vital to developing and sustaining our practice.

We then did some ‘High Pressure, Low Expectation' exercises where we had to create something by following a brief, for example, creating a drawing by using no more than 5 lines. It didn’t matter what it looked like, it was the process that was important. This is important to apply to our own practice as artists. We’re often so caught up in what we want the end result to be – we might have an exact idea of a painting or a sculpture in our mind - but we need to accept the process itself may change the course of the result. It’s when you accept the validity of the process that the work becomes authentic.

On Sunday 12th we worked more intensively on ideas of teamwork to find ‘flow’ with each of the participants and started creating the beginning of a series of artworks. Participants had the job role of the Art Director where they took ownership of their series - deciding the colours, shapes and subject. The only rule was - they had to form a pattern. After creating three/four of their series, they then switched from 'Art Director' to 'The Artist's Apprentice' and moved around the group to each person's station, observing and attempting to follow the pattern. The aim was to have a collaborative series of artworks based on finding a creative flow and working together – and we did! It was interesting to see how each person had interpreted the Art Director’s series from their own perception. 

With the first weekend being one of such encouragement, we then organised individual mentoring sessions with each artist to apply these ideas to their own practice. From 12 - 18 June each of the participants had a one-to-one mentoring session with Stephen. This gave each artist time to chat with Stephen about their own work, what they’re interested in, and the direction they’d like to go with it in the future. It’s important as artists to have regular feedback on the work we create and to gain a wider understanding of the artwork in context. As well as this, some pieces that we may have disregarded others might see value in. As the peer-to-peer training sessions are for artists who have already established a level of professional practice, it’s been a fantastic opportunity to meet with Stephen who gives solid and constructive advice on developing their practice.

For the remaining sessions in June, the artists are putting ideas they have learned into practice by creating work for the Boxing Shadows Exhibition at Centre Celf in November. Between now and November, they will be working on a personal project developed in these sessions. We’ve set up a private online forum where the participants can share ideas, comment on each other’s work and encourage each other after the sessions end and throughout the summer as they live all over Wales. In addition to this, we will be having two gallery visits during the summer months to gain inspiration, as well as meeting up at the start of November to curate the Boxing Shadows exhibition as a group.

Boxing Shadows Programme:

Thursday 10 November 4 - 6pm - Exhibition Preview at Centre Celf, Llandrindod Wells

Providing a platform for the artists involved to exhibit and screen work. In parallel with Stephen Park's residency exhibition - showing new work created during his 6 month residency in Llandrindod Wells.

Friday 11 November 6 - 8pm - Performance at Centre Celf 

Performances/Stand-up comedy evening with:

• Artist in residence Stephen Park.
• Writer, performer and outsider artist Sean Burn.
• Havin' a Laugh showcasing a Powys-based project helping to build confidence and improve mental wellbeing through comedy. 

Tuesday 15 November 10am - 4pm - Panel discussion & Artists' Talks – Centre Celf 

Artists in training presenting their practice with Stephen Park talking about his residency and:

• Blue MacAskill (tbc) tackling issues of aspirations, isolation, rurality and immobilization through creativity and art. 
• Sean Burn reclaiming the languages of lunacy, reflecting on his own lived experience of long-term mental distress. 
• Jane Cooke, Senior Officer, PAVO Mental Health Team, psychotherapist and trainer exploring forms of expression that bypasses a diagnosis in the minds of both client and mental health worker, and leading an investigation of creativity as a tool for encounters at different levels of experience. 
• Amanda Wells (tbc) former Celf o Gwmpas mentored artist and instigator of Celf-Able, a group of disabled artists in Mid-Wales, who meet to do art together, share skills and break down barriers.

Many thanks to Rachel for telling us all about this exciting project at Celf o Gwmpas. To find out more contact Celf o Gwmpas, tel: 01597 822777 or email: events@celfogwmpas.org

The Art of Health in Wales

Artwork by Susie Freeman 

Earlier this month I attended a symposium at Celf O Gwmpas (setting for our team’s recent comedy workshop) which explored policy and practice in arts and health. The aim of the day was “to move the Arts Health & Wellbeing sector forward and explore opportunities for advocacy, collaboration and networking”. One of the highlights of the event for me was a showcase describing innovative practice already happening across Wales. 

In our team we have previously worked very successfully on projects incorporating art when collaborating with people in contact with mental health services, most notably the DIY Futures Project, resulting in the book it’s the inside that matters. So, Jane and I were very keen to find out about a potential national network which encouraged further collaborative work between the art and health sectors.

In brief, here's how the day panned out...

Our facilitators for the day (photo below) were Angie Rogers, Development Coordinator at engage Cymru and Prue Thimbleby, Arts in Health Coordinator at Abertawe Bro Morgannwg Health Board. 

Engage originally carried out some pilot projects in North Wales a couple of years ago, and with funding from the Arts Council of Wales “Sharing Together” pot were able to set up the All Wales Arts Health & Wellbeing Network. This network has “now attracted over 30 members from across Wales representing arts organisations, health boards, academics and artists”. Prue said that whilst recognising we have regional diversity it was important to ensure that the Network’s voice is heard at a high level.

Tim Joss, Founder and Chief Executive of Aesop (Arts Enterprise with a Social Purpose) and Co-Founder of the Arts Impact Fund

Social and cultural entrepreneur Tim set the scene for the day, sketching the bigger picture of where health and the arts meet with an image of Barbara Hepworth’s hospital art as a backdrop. Using case studies from England and Africa he explored the widespread benefits of using various art practices to disseminate health messages and also change patients’ lives for the better.

The Raw Sounds project in South London provides recording studio sessions for young people accessing mental health services, and was praised for “reaching the person rather than the illness.” And financially savings could be measured at about £500 per night – the cost of a mental health bed in the area. Nevertheless, despite the evidence provided by such obvious successes, Tim had struggled for 40 years trying to bring art into the public health service, often due to the attitudes of some working in the health sector.

There followed a series of short presentations showcasing the examples of good practice from across Wales.

Dementia & Imagination: Dr Teri Howson & Dr Catrin Hedd, Bangor University

This research project looked at arts groups set up for people with dementia and their carers in communities, in care homes and in hospitals in different parts of the UK. The partnership working element was found to be key to their success (partners included major contemporary art galleries such as The Baltic on Tyne & Wear). And innovation was also vital – two cartoon characters, Doris and Ivor, were spotted on Bangor Pier telling passers-by what the arts can do for them.

“People always say they can’t do art, but they very quickly get absorbed and forget they said that.” The hope now is that health commissioners will recognise the value of art to people with dementia and continue to provide the groups through mainstream services.

Caban Sgriblio: Arts Alive Wales – Justine Wheatley

Llandrindod Wells High School provided the focus for this project, which aimed to improve the resilience, confidence and wellbeing of those children taking part through creative writing and film.

Emma Beynon ran the sessions where children played with writing and then spoke to camera with original poetry and free writing. “I love seeing pupils synthesizing the world in their own terms…. It is the most exciting thing I do.”

Live Music Now: A Choir in Every Care Home – Douglas Noble

Thirty organisations from divergent perspectives including adult social care were brought together for this project’s working group. The aim was to explore how music and singing can feature regularly in care homes across the country. Research has already shown singing to be beneficial for psychological and social wellbeing, and part of what makes us feel connected to our community.

In England an online toolkit is now available to share the learning and best practice already captured. And at the other end of the generational scale children now participate in Sing Up – a drive to bring singing into all primary schools.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board: Creative Well – Andrea Davies

Andrea presented the BCUHB Arts in Health & Wellbeing Programme, which focuses on five key areas: 1. Working with older people and chronic conditions, 2. Improving mental health and wellbeing for all ages, 3. Transforming healthcare environments, 4. Integrating the arts into education, training, professional development and staff wellbeing, and 5. Capitalising on creative therapists' and artists' abilities to act as catalysts for innovation. She described a vast range of arts activities which had been pursued. The work started with putting artists in hospitals. The challenge was to convey the benefits across such a huge health board area (all of North Wales).

We found out about the staff choir, the painted hoardings around Glan Clwyd Hospital during its redevelopment, the artist residency at Llangollen Health Centre, and the creation of an arts studio on a mental health hospital ward. “I was known as the person who can get teenagers out of bed!” Andrea said. There is now a pathway through to community arts projects once a patient has been discharged.

Andrea’s top tip: “It is really important to plan with staff. Get the right people together to shape and tailor a project”.

Your Medicine, Your Health – Alison Warner, Cwm Taf University Health Board & Nancy Evans

Bring together Alison – who works in Medicines Management, and Nancy – a freelance artist and here we had the perfect combination to deliver a public health message to a wider audience. Nancy worked with school children to design colourful posters to educate people about correct medicine use and disposal. Additional benefits included the increased sense of achievement and pride of the children involved, particularly as the artwork is due to be exhibited this June at the Pierhead Gallery in Cardiff.

As a legacy for the project a teaching pack is now being developed so that others can deliver the exercise which has already been picked up in many more schools across South Wales.

Jane Cooke from our team catching up with Fiona Edwards, Property Manager, Arts in Health, Abertawe Bro Morgannwg Health Board. After lunch we welcomed the next keynote speaker.

Professor John Wyn Owen, Chair Health Protection Committee, Welsh Government & Council Member of Health Action Partnership International

John’s career achievements across the public, private and charity sectors both in the UK and internationally could fill an entire separate blog post. In 1985 he was the first Director of the NHS in Wales, and has championed the value of meaningfully connecting with the arts in health care provision throughout.

Some of John’s proposals to encourage a cultural shift where people matter more than structures, and where art is at the heart of healthcare planning, included:

• Pushing to include the humanities in the medical curriculum.
• A programme for health leaders and executives along the lines of American models.
• Engaging with key figures in the new Welsh Government and Public Health Wales.
• Building on the statutory obligations of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act.
• Working more closely with the Welsh universities.

Sally Lewis, Portfolio Manager (Education & Participation) Arts Council of Wales

Sally updated the Network members about a recent inquiry into arts and health as part of the All Party Parliamentary Group at the House of Lords. The purpose of the inquiry is to:

• To inform a vision to support practitioners, to stimulate progress and to influence decision makers.
• To raise awareness of the arts in health and wellbeing with MPs and the health profession.
• Supporting academics in the field.

The final report will be launched in 2017. Sally said that it is important, meanwhile, to establish the value of the arts-related work in health by sharing the growing evidence base from Wales and further afield. The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act will be a major driver in the future, which led us nicely into the final presentation for the day.

Rhodri Thomas, Cynnal Cymru Sustain Wales – Introduction to the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015

Rhodri started by saying that “art is part of the fabric of everyday life.” In the Stone Age people lived their life in balance with nature. “We want to keep what we have but do it in a more mindful way.” For more information on the Act his recommended reading is the Essentials guide.

In brief the Act is about improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of Wales. The challenges of poverty, the global economy, an ageing population, health inequalities, climate change, pressures on natural resources and a rising demand for quality public services, mean that things will have to be done very differently in future. But collaboration is key.

44 public bodies across Wales now have to pursue the 7 wellbeing goals in the Act which could potentially change Wales. One of these is: “A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language,” whilst another is “A healthier Wales.” Rhodri acknowledged that it is a massive challenge.

We rounded off the day with workshops looking at ideas to sustain and grow the arts and health sector in Wales. Perhaps the most refreshing part of the whole experience was the creative approach brought to the table by representatives from so many different sectors, the arts – practitioners and administrators, academics and the voluntary sector. Jane and I look forward to watching the next steps as the Network grows and develops.

To find out more, or to join the All Wales Arts Health & Wellbeing Network, contact Angela Rogers by emailing cymru@engage.org

Use the comments box below to tell us more about your experiences as an artist, art organisation, health board employee or someone in contact with health services, who has experience of a collaborative approach in arts and health.

Harts and Craft - Diane's story

Diane Hart, volunteer and member at Ponthafren Association, a mental health charity in North Powys, writes our guest blog post this week. 

Hi! My name is Diane and I have been a member of Ponthafren for five years now.

When I first attended I was in a very bad place in my head, I couldn't see the point in anything. It has only been recently that I have been able to see a future. My Community Psychiatric Nurse thought it would give me something to do and a reason to carry on.

For a very, very long time I was very shy. At first I just hid behind the laptop, which as a member I had use of, and I only spoke to people when I was spoken to. I still hide behind it sometimes but it is more of a safety blanket rather than a protective shield.

Slowly over time I joined in some art and craft classes which gave me a reason to attend Ponthafren. Back then they were not accredited so the number of people who attended didn't matter, which was a good thing because there were not many who were interested in learning how to make felt, or silk painting. Gradually I joined in other classes like sugar craft where I learnt to make edible flowers. The classes eventually became accredited and I now have three certificates for sugar craft.

Around that time I also joined an adult literacy class. Not that I had a problem reading or writing, but the tutor said he would help with interview skills and confidence building. Well, it did some good because my tutor asked me to give a ten minute talk to the other members on how my art and craft classes were helping me, which I did, and this became the first of many.

Because of my talk a very special lady, who became my friend, saw me and asked me to join the committee of Powys Mental Health Alliance. I did this for a couple of years before other commitments and ill health stopped me from carrying on.

Then, because of changes going on at Welshpool Ponthafren, classes stopped for a while and I found things very hard to cope with. I was having a bad time when someone from Newtown Ponthafren called me and asked if would I like to join a class they had there. I thought they said Arts and Crafts, but what they actually said was Art and Design. I was told that if they couldn't get the numbers up the class would have to stop. I knew how important classes were to me and I felt for the people in the group so I immediately said yes. 

Needless to say I had a very big shock when I realised my mistake. I was not only nervous attending a new place and meeting new people but to find out the course I had agreed to was a Level Two BTEC in Art and Design and they were already six weeks into it. I thought it wouldn't be too much of a problem as there were only a few weeks left. The other courses I attended only lasted ten weeks. I was reassured that I would be OK - I had an advantage over the other girls as I had a painting portfolio under my belt so I could use this as part of my work. I told my teacher at the time that I knew nothing about art but again I was reassured and I decided to stay.

Perhaps if I had known then it was going to take 18 months I might have thought differently. I am glad I didn't know as it was a challenge but one I am pleased I met.

After a few weeks the teacher left and the new lady did things differently which at the time I found difficult but over time I warmed to her. Esther Thorpe opened my eyes to appreciate art. Even if I didn't like the style, I learnt to understand and appreciate it. With Esther's encouragement I have experimented in different techniques of painting and drawing. Recently I have dabbled in sculpture which I not only found therapeutic but I found I wasn't bad at it. So, over the last couple of years, I have mounted up thirty four certificates so far.

Apart from the BTEC the others were ten week courses of card making, calligraphy, pottery, sculpture, painting, drawing, paper flower making, and jewellery making with recycled paper. I also attended computer classes to refresh my skill and learn new skills like digital photography and playing with my pictures on the computer.

A couple of years ago I also started my own class where I teach others arts and crafts in Welshpool Ponthafren, putting to good use what I have learnt. 

I have also had the pleasure of working with an artist painting a mural celebrating 60 years since the last commercial steam train went through Welshpool. This is up for posterity and although not many know I had a big hand in it my friends know and I now have the confidence to point it out to people at the side of Welshpool Library.

Last year I attended a 4 day course which, apart from my BTEC, was one of the hardest courses I attended. It was not that the work was hard but I wasn't sure of myself. However, now I am a volunteer support worker at Welshpool Ponthafren and I know it was the right thing to do, for not only is it giving me the confidence to socialise I am attending more courses to help me become a better support worker.

I am still attending classes teaching and volunteering and I am now the chair person of a small volunteer group called Meeting Point Montgomeryshire. Last month I also joined a creative writing and poetry group. I have already had some of my work published, so who knows what the future holds. I am also helping to make things for the Welshpool Carnival next year. This is not connected to Ponthafren but through Ponthafren I met people who asked me to get involved with outside interests. In a way though it has everything to do with them because it was through them and other agencies that I feel able to do what I do. Even though some days all I want to do is crawl up in my bed and stay there having responsibilities and reasons to get out of bed has been a literal life saver.

Throughout July this year I did probably the hardest thing I have ever done and that was to go to shops in Newtown and Welshpool canvassing for money for charity. I had pledged to shave my hair all off to raise money and in doing so I raised £700.00.

I still have bad days but, as my CPN says, we all have blips and if we can see them as that they don't seem so dreadful. All I know is, five years ago I wouldn't have dreamt of being able to write what I have written, never mind see myself doing what I have done, for I saw no future for myself.

So I would like to say a big thanks to Ponthafren for all the help they have given me over the years and a big thanks for not seeing my visual and physical disability as a problem to becoming a volunteer.

And to you reading this - I hope it helps you to see a more positive future, for if I can do it so can you. I think life can be like climbing a mountain. It looks impossible but if you only look at one step at a time before you know it you have reached the summit. Don't worry if you slip a few times. I did many times. It’s not the slipping that matters, it's the getting up that counts.

Blessed be - Diane.

Many thanks to Diane for sharing her story with us. If you would like to tell us your story, then please get in touch.

Find out more about the activities taking place at Ponthafren Association, including Diane's Hart & Craft classes.

Photos of Diane's art and craftwork courtesy of Diane Hart.

Top 10 Tips to Survive Christmas

The mental health team here at PAVO would like to wish you all the best for Christmas and New Year 2014. However, we understand that it can be a difficult time for some people, and between us the team have come up with ten (hopefully useful) tips for surviving Christmas. If you have ideas of your own we would really like to hear from you - just add them in the comments box at the end.

1 Get together with other people

If you haven’t got anything planned for Christmas and are worried about being on your own, why not contact someone who may be in a similar situation, and arrange to do something together.

2 Prepare in case of a crisis
Before Christmas make a list of people and places who could support you in a crisis. Make sure you have phone numbers to hand, opening times of places that are important to you, that you have renewed your prescription if you have medication, and have emergency cash if possible for taxis if you really need to get somewhere. If you self-injure and think this is likely over Christmas make sure you have what you need to be safe. (See links below for further support and help).

3 Remember lost loved ones
Christmas can be a difficult time if you have just lost someone. If you have lost someone close maybe acknowledge this and light a candle for them. You might like to give something to an appropriate charity in their memory.

4 Be a Christmas volunteer
What about actually volunteering to do something with a local group or charity? Many organisations would like to hear from you if you have time to help, but contact them in plenty of time so that your offer can be incorporated into the group's plans.

5 Just treat yourself!
Do something nurturing for yourself - get yourself a treat - plan to go to your favourite place or go on your favourite walk, or listen to music that you really like.

6 Celebrate in your own way
If the commercialisation or the religious aspects of Christmas are not for you celebrate the mid winter in your own ways - think of the mid winter as a time for reflection and quiet, a time for beginning to nurture new growth….think of all the things in nature which begin life in a period of dark and quiet - roots start to grow, trees rest before the new leaves of spring, sheep are in lamb ready for spring …...sow some seeds of change for yourself - what can you begin when the days start to get longer again?

7 Have a laugh!
Promise yourself a laugh on Christmas Day - even if you don’t really feel like it. Look at some funny DVDs or ring someone who makes you laugh - find a funny YouTube clip - even if you feel false doing it laughing can definitely help to lift negative feelings.

8 Take the time to be useful
Use the time to do something practical. You may get a sense of achievement for having accomplished something. Perhaps you have been waiting all year to find time to sort out that untidy room or make a new garden bed. Dive in and start now!

9 Create, create, create
Be creative - paint a picture, knit a scarf, design your garden ready for the new season, write a poem, make a fun mask, go for a walk and take some photographs, sing a song.... Perhaps it is an opportunity to try something new. There are lots of groups out there encouraging creative activity, such as Arts Alive in Crickhowell. Or you can search the internet for websites packed full of ideas, like this one.

10 Be a friend to someone else this Christmas
Think about what your neighbours might be doing, and if any of them might need some support, help or companionship at this time. Often helping someone else - even just small gestures such as collecting a newspaper for them from the local shop -  can take your mind off your own struggles and can be a very rewarding way to spend time over the Christmas period.

Wellness and Recovery Learning Centres around Powys are open at some point over Christmas and the New Year and would welcome your visit. Visit their websites to check their opening times, details here. You can link to national helplines here.

If you need help urgently find information here.

We look forward to hearing from you in 2015.