Artist Projects
Outside Mural Project (2013)
I spent some time working alongside male patients in a low secure unit, along with two Occupational therapists. We planned an art mural for the bare outdoor space that many of them spent their only time outside in. They wanted to brighten the space up with colours and images that they could spend time looking at during their outdoor breaks.
The group came up with an idea of the 4 seasons and looking at the changes in seasons. The plan was drawn up onto the wall with chalk and then helped to paint with the support of all in the group. Through doing this project I gained more experience and knowledge of people with mental health who live in a low secure environment and helping them gain new skills.
Creative Playtime Project (2014)
This was a collaborative project amongst 5 artists, working with a group of children from a SEBN (Social, Emotional and Behavioural Needs) School and the staff. Over a period of 3 months, we took the children out of school settings to a large greenhouse where the children through their own imagination and ideas created large sculptures and dens. Working together and having support from their teachers and the artists, the children began to build trust and positive relationships with each other. Communication and confidence also appeared to grow as the children worked together to create the dens and in the end planning and putting together an exhibition in the school where they invited their parents, families and school peers and staff. This was a valuable and creative experience for everyone involved and allowed these children to feel proud of their work and accomplishments.
Prison Group Project (2023)
I worked alongside another Art Therapist for this 6 week pilot project, who co-facilitated the groups with me. We ran 4 Art Therapy groups for 6-8 men in a Scottish Prison, working with air drying clay and using psychoeducation with an art therapeutic stance. The aim and purpose was to facilitate artmaking within the group, allowing for self-expression to help improve their mental health and well-being. Also focusing on working on their internal LOC (Locus of Control) can lead to feeling less depressed and more in control and acceptance of their own actions and responsibilities. LOC (Locus of control) is the term assigned to the degree of control that someone feels he or she has over their environment, in prisons it’s it is believed that the inmates’ LOC is less than someone not incarcerated. “The more internal LOC that an inmate has, the less depressed they are.” (Reitzel & Harju, 2000).
​
Overall, the groups had very positive feedback, even though each group only ran for a few weeks, and with 5 participants out of the 26 not filling in the feedback forms, 81% of the participants who completed the feedback said that they would welcome the group in continuing, and 52% said that they would like one to one art therapy sessions. A large 62% of participants reported they found it helpful for their mental health, with more than 60% expressing how helpful it was in tackling isolation, “Helps my mental health and gets me out my cell, working with hands has been therapeutic,” – Inmate. With 33% saying “I feel safe in the class. I felt relaxed and not judged.” – Inmate. Many of the participants shared how they felt it was something different that hadn’t been offered before – 38% and 24% of participants spoke of it helping explore their anger and helping to discover and express their self in a different way, “I have found it a powerful tool; I have been discovering things about myself using the clay.”
Photography
The photographs in this video have been taken by myself from 2014 until the present. These are images where I found the shapes, colour, light, and space very interesting. Using a camera or phone, these have been taken from places all over the world from Scotland to Rome, to Savanah.
