I began the workshop with inspire, prepared for the difficulty that might arise in participants, (as so often does in myself), from the process of ‘freeing up.’ However as I often find my fears are in fact that- my own! The creativity and openness of the group squashed all these concerns. I wanted to allow the participants to lead on what they found most enjoyable, yet add challenge, which often means not following,…. but the reasoning around this is so participants are able to try out different ways to express themselves, and perhaps find or rediscover more natural ways…a paradox that makes my head spin! and a difficult balance that I won`t always get right.

Participants reflected that they became more at ‘ease’ with allowing themselves to doodle freely, even the exercise where they used their wrong hand to do the same doodle, was met with openness. With one group member actually preferring it. One group member commented that being, ‘asked to doodle almost made it feel harder to relax.’ I can relate to that…as soon as you`re asked to do something it makes it more conscious and the whole point of doodling is to not think about it! We also noticed, and I include myself in this, that once we looked at zentangle drawings for inspiration and tried to create our own, levels of frustration heightened and two participants wanted to begin again. There is something about letting go of the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and how you nurture that in a group.

I am hoping as we relax into the sessions we`ll get freer and become more at ease with experimenting, which will hopefully lead to some discovery. I feel really excited to meet the group again and more relaxed about what will occur.

My first Project Happiness blog!….I`m so excited to be finally starting this project thanks to a lot of hard work and Arts Council funding. Throughout the project I am going to be working different adult groups around the Bolton area and schools as well, to create a large scale Mandala. The Mandala will be inspired by Bolton Museums` amazing collections. I am also going to make my own artwork as part of this funding, I`ll let you know more about that as it unfolds.

My first series of workshops is with Inspire in Blackburn….I`ve planned lots of doodling activities….I really want to approach this project in a different way than previous ones; there will be an outcome, but I want it to feel almost like it happened by accident! I want the process to be the focus and I am hoping to free the participants up, so that their doodles are celebrated as works of art and the creation of the Mandala feels like a natural journey.This process of ‘freeing up,’ is no easy task and something I struggle with,(and always will probably), so it will be a real challenge. I have found it can sometimes be met with resistance; even some children can find it very difficult. It seems to me to take more confidence, (for want of a better word), to allow yourself to just ‘be’ creatively. Not to mention the difficulties in facilitating this approach…but, I am hoping this challenge will bring a richness to the project.

I love this quote from Carl Rogers (1981) ” I have come to feel that the only learning which significantly influences behaviour is self-discovered.” For me there is nothing better than experimentation for some self-discovery; it`s like discovering through playing with the art materials.

A glimpse of some things from Bolton Museum that will be inspiring the workshops….

I had a really lovely time with the group from Central URC, who traveled from Darwen. It wasn`t without challenges, but this made it all the more worth while when laughter and chatter could be heard later once everyone became absorbed in creativity. I was truly astounded at the creativity and the willingness to experiment with new materials. Thank you so much to everyone who came you truly inspired me!

I asked them about their thoughts and feelings regarding Bolton Museum…

“I enjoyed seeing” said one lady, “it was a new experience for me”

“It was an amazing place….saw new things that i wouldn`t have seen”

“I loved the Egyptian collection”

“Very interesting, my favourite was the loom and bike” I asked this lady how she felt about seeing these things, ” I`ve seen it in real life,” she said.

“New experience for me, I would like more experiences like that”

“I had a wonderful time”

“I felt happy i would like to be there again.”

I asked them what the felt about the workshop….

“Art was lovely I felt very happy”

“My first time printing…it was amazing…I learnt it”

“Enjoyable i got some new skills, which i hadn`t got before.”

“I don`t like drawing, but liked this drawing…afterwards i felt relaxed. I will do it again now.”

“It was fun you don`t have to be perfect.” I particularly like this comment from a lady; I always aim to combat the perfectionism in participants I work with, so this was music to my ears!

The group leaders observed how much the group were interested in finding out how people in Bolton used to live, “For them to see how Bolton people lived in the past was really interesting…they really want to know what it was like.”

“It took their minds of everything… being fully focused.”

Some of my favourite inspiration from the collections that I gathered together for the printmaking workshop….