It’s been widely recognised that creativity and being sociable is great for good mental health and the Mindful Art Club has been set up in Plymouth to encourage more people to look after their mental wellbeing.
Founders Emma Sprawson and Peggy Melmoth aim to give people, whether as a community group or as an individual, the opportunity to share their feelings, practise mindfulness, create art, relax and chat.
The sessions, held both online and in person, are designed to improve both mental health and social connections as well as teaching new skills – mindfulness and art for self-care. No artistic talent is required for these – the focus is on having fun. The projects are simple and easy for anyone to do.
Emma and Peggy have backgrounds in counselling, support work, teaching mindfulness and practising art. They met when they were both working as support workers at Broadreach House addiction treatment centre in Plymouth. The centre had three residential treatment sites before they sadly closed in July 2019. They were mostly based in the men’s secondary rehab in Plympton – Closereach.
Emma has ten years of experience teaching mindfulness and art while Peggy is a qualified hypnotherapist and is trained in counselling skills level two and three. She is studying level four.
Both are practicing artists offering commissions in different styles. Emma offers intricate mixed media pieces as memorials commemorating the lives of loved ones. Peggy offers bright cartoon water-coloured portraits of families and couples. Emma is a fan of naïve art and Outsider Art, Peggy’s favourite artists are probably Wassily Kandinsky and Quentin Blake!
This is Emma’s first business. Before working at Closereach, Peggy was a self-employed freelance blogger for six years, specialising in canal and narrowboat-based businesses.
Emma and Peggy say they are thrilled to be part of the Start Something project: “We’re looking forward to learning new business skills from the Real Ideas webinars and workshops, and making new connections at the networking events. We will also be offering some fun, informal mindful art sessions in the Ocean Studios event space as well.”
Sessions are held online and at locations in Plymouth. For more information contact them at:
