help with my art group

I work at a daycentre for adults with mental health problems and one of the groups I run is an art group. I'm very flexible about what art is and tell the group if its creative and they enjoy it then I'll do all I can to support them doing it in that time. I have about 4 who struggle to get going on something. Confidence for all of them is fairly low and so is concentration. I'm usually able to find something to get them started but I would still love to hear from anyone who has any new ideas. Happy

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5 replies since 26th April 2009 • Last reply 26th April 2009

Reply #1:

sounds like you're doing everything you can do, i woulda thought just keep it simple, try to work in a topic they have a genuine interest in and just be patient & encouraging.

best of luck Happy

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Reply #2:

Thank you Happy It depends on the individual some of the group do some really complicated stuff. I have to take the keep it simple rule tho with three out of the four which struggle as their concentration is quite poor and they need to go for a walk after about 20 minutes. I have one in the group tho who's very young and is a thinker. He says he likes a project as it keeps him going for a few weeks. I think he's got real potential if he wanted to study it but cos he hasn't really done much art until he became ill he doesn't have much confidence Happy They're a lovely bunch tho and have done some really interesting stuff in their life so its not hard to be patient.

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Reply #3:

Depending on how good their eyesight is, you could always try cross stitch/tapestry. One of the people my mum works with has learning difficulites and mild physical disabilities, and he really enjoys doing cross stitch. It's on a larger scale than normal cross stitch (he uses tapestry canvas, wool and a large needle) so it's easier to manage. At the moment he's working on a design of 2 parrots which he'll make into a cushion when it's finished. The design was already printed onto the canvas in colour, so it's easy to see what colours go where. And it's easy to just pick up and put down any time, and there's no mess involved which is always a plus as there's no cleaning up Tongue

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Reply #4:

Arty KitKat...what is your proffession...are you just a nurse or what?

And these individuals that are having difficulty staying focused...I believe you should give them things that won't take too much of their time...like a simple watercolor painting or so...and...when you give instructions for anything...give it in sequences not all at once...allow them to be a part of it by demonstrating if nessecary...

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Reply #5:

Cross stitch is cool and really good as if you make a mistake you can undo it Happy We have some of those in our pound shop which would be good for practise so I might try that. KT, I'm a Support Worker. Thank you you've reminded me that I had a Watercolour course run in my group a few years ago which went really well. I could see if theres interest in doing that again. I really admire anyone that can do watercolour tho, its a medium I've never got the hang of :/

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