Collage Experiments

Earlier last year I took Randal Plowman's course 'Experiments in collage' and learnt different techniques for creating collages and I shared some of the work that I did HERE.  It was a great class and had very supportive fellow artists.  There was about 24 of us which made it a lot easier to see and comment on each others work.  There were some beautiful collages coming from the members on the course, and next week I will share some of the ones that I was sent.

One of my main reasons for taking the class is to explore the work that I want to do in Art and Health - using art and creativity as a therapeutic tool, I want to explore ways in which we can use creativity to share our stories, memories and wisdom and allow them in different ways to surface.  For me these stories are important, the ones that we were told when we were little to the ones that we in turn tell our children and with art we can capture some of them.

These are the stories that tell of love, joy, peace, loss, sorrow and pain.  We lived through these and in moments of reflection when we are gathered we ask the question.... "do you remember when?"  Sometimes we cannot find the words to express how we feel and as a carer I find creativity acts as that bridge that allows the thoughts, feelings and emotions to be expressed freely and for healing to take place.

In the class I allowed myself to play with a wide range of materials and also incorporated such as the supplies I would normally use in my work like modelling paste, paint, as well as paper from a variety of sources. This is very much a part of my mixed media journey that allows you to be expressive using whatever tools and materials you have.  A small group of us in the class agreed to make a series of collages and do an exchange.  Here are some of the ones that I created.

Set your voice free - collage on card

Composure

Explore the Dream 

Time to believe the Journey

There is no place like home - collage, mixed media

I will share the rest on my mixed media art blog HERE

I am hoping to make this a regular activity and perhaps start collage series here on the blog using my new found skills, perhaps something weekly - why not join me.  I will be using a range of materials including paper, gesso, paints, embellishments, vintage paper, found objects, general household objects, fabric etc.  You can use whatever you have around you and also dig out those rarely used materials and supplies.  The  main aim is to spend a minimum of 20 minutes playing with your supplies and adding them to the page as you create your collage.  Watch this space for details.

Gratitudes and Celebration Journal - Week 73 - Integrity

It has been a busy week of dealing with services that help with mum and it has not been an easy week.  I have found many people who work in healthcare that don't really care about the service user and the families that support them at all.  The very same people who need the care are the ones who worked every day of their lives and never took a day off sick, and these are the very men and women who are now the octogenarians who are being treated badly and seemingly thrown on the heap.  I have become frustrated at some of the actions and thoughts of the services that I have to deal with on mums behalf as their idea of care means leaving the elderly isolated and on their own.

Who Cares

I was told that it is alright for me to leave a 91 year old woman with severe dementia on her own at night, despite the fact that she cannot do anything for herself or discern when she is in danger.  I know that there are many elderly people who live on their own, but for the ones who are ill or frail appropriate measures need to be considered and put in place so that they can still feel like valued members of the community.  My mums borough has never recognize the need for support for night time care, I asked what would happen if she felt out of bed, which has happened as she wouldn't be found until the morning and I was told I should use the crash mat - which is supposed to be placed beside her bed, or what would happen if she got out of the flat and fell down the stairs - would she have to wait until morning to get help for that as well?

Regardless of how I feel about the role of carer, leaving my mum on her own was something we stopped doing since around 2004.  It has not been easy having to go backwards and forwards and the times that I had to console my son because he was missing me broke my heart.  But knowing that mum could walk out of the house and no one knows where she had gone is something we never want to relive again and my heart goes out to anyone who has been in this situation.

Creating problems and not finding solutions

The fact is regardless of the strides some councils have made it isn't enough.  The way that the elderly are treated and regarded is appalling especially if you happen to be frail or have an illness or disability.  Carers who shoulder a lot of the financial, physical and emotional burdens are not appreciated and those who work in the healthcare field are undervalued.  It would seem that they are brushed under the carpet until someone exposes mistreatment or someone dies then you have the politicians running around saying how shocking it all is and that their party will turn things around.

With millions of pounds of cuts being made in around the country the first services that were affected were the elderly and those with disabilities.  The staff at the center that my mum attends many of whom knew the service users were told they had to leave or face a pay cut, new staff were brought in either fresh out of University so they could pay them peanuts and felt undervalued to those who just didn't have a heart for the role in health care anymore, and didn't seem to like interacting.

The caring role over the years has taken a toll on my health and well-being, but I do it, not because I have to but because I want to.  There are times when exhausted I cry out that I don't want to do it any more, and I know that at some point I am going to have to make a decision about where mum is cared for, but knowing and doing the right thing for mum out weighs anything that I am going through myself. 

I am grateful and celebrate the creative tools that are available to me that enable me to express how I feel, to have a voice and can find a place of peace and comfort.

Share one thing that you are grateful for, stay blessed and be a blessing.

I am on a journey and hope you come along and join me. Why not start your own journal, keep it as simple or complex as you wish, but do something!