The Art of Craft, with Cockpit Studios Deptford

Join our FREE programme for people with early-stage dementia or mild cognitive impairment and their companions.

Dates: Every Friday from 12 July – 30 August.

This 8-week programme is a chance for participants to try their hand at a number of new crafts including ceramics, textiles and weaving, from the brilliant resident makers at Cockpit Studios.

Each session will focus on a different theme and craft. Participants will learn new techniques and use a variety of materials to create a finished piece. At the end of the session, there will be a chance to socialise with light refreshments.

The programme is free of charge and all materials are included. No previous art experience is needed. It is about giving it a go!

Enjoy weekly creativity
Make new social connections
Develop new skills
Combat memory worries
To register to take part in this programme please email Christina at christina@artsfordementia.org or call 020 3633 9954

The Art of Craft with Cockpit Studios Bloomsbury

Join our FREE programme for people with early-stage dementia or mild cognitive impairment and their companions.

Dates: Every Friday from 13 September – 1 November.

This 8-week programme is a chance for participants to try their hand at a number of new crafts including ceramics, mosaic making and silversmithing from the brilliant resident makers at Cockpit Studios.

Each session will focus on a different theme and craft.  Participants will learn new techniques and use a variety of materials to create a finished piece. At the end of the session, there will be a chance to socialise with light refreshments.

The programme is free of charge and all materials are included. No previous art experience is needed. It is about giving it a go!

Enjoy weekly creativity
Make new social connections
Develop new skills
Combat memory worries

To register for this programme please email Christina at christina@artsfordementia.org or call 020 3633 9954.

Tracing The Self: from Drawing to Creative Movement with Rebecca Marta D’Andrea

Session Dates: Thursdays 7th & 14 Dec 2023, 11th, 18th & 25th Jan 2024

In these five sessions we explore how moving and mark-making on paper can intertwine to become tools to develop a deeper self awareness and open our creativity and ability to imagine.

These sessions are for anyone who has a curiosity towards their body and wishes to explore this through a creative and playful way. No prior experience is required although any experience in embodied practice will be helpful.

Practical Requirements / Materials you should bring along:

*blank drawing paper
*pencils, chalks, watercolour
*a space where you can move comfortably in
*comfortable clothing

I will guide you in a series of exercises and techniques to perceive our bodies from different perspectives as suggested by drawing: as an outline, as a density, as a colour, as a texture.
We will embody these qualities through our hands on paper and moving in space, noticing what ‘felt sensations’ arise and giving them a channel of expression.
Each session will focus on a specific modality of attending to the body and to our graphic expressions, evoking a specific quality. At the end of each session we create a final composition as a way to mark our step in the process, in the shape of a drawing, a poem, or a dance.
The practice I propose, developed through my own research and drawing from techniques like Focussing (Gendlin), Authentic Movement, BMC®, Active Imagination (Jung), Tibetan Dream Yoga, and Contact Improvisation.

What we will focus on in each session:

• SESSION ONE (7th Dec):
Outline, Shapes, Surfaces, Edges:
We will start by paying attention to outlines, in our body and in space. I will introduce a first technique of tracing with eyes closed. Embodying our ‘skin’ as a sense organ, awakening the sense of touch as a signature of our identity.

• SESSION TWO (14th Dec):
Mass, Weight and Structure:
We will focus on perceiving our body as mass, weight, density and structure. I will introduce drawing with two hands and our eyes closed as a way to engage both halves of the brain in perceiving and tracing our physical body.

• SESSION THREE (11th Jan):
Colours:
We will explore our ‘inner’ body as felt sensations taking shape as colours. We will focus first on the general ‘atmosphere’ of the body to then choose more specific places in the body, calling our attention.

• SESSION FOUR (18th Jan):
The Outer Environment:
We will extend our attention to the space surrounding us, drawing felt sensations in relationship to our body, experimenting with the techniques we experienced during the first sessions. Playing with creative ways to bridge our inner and outer environment.

• SESSION FIVE (25th Jan):
Jamming:
We will combine the different tools acquired in the previous session to allow a final composition to emerge in the form of a poem,a drawing a dance, expressing our inner poetry.

Take-Away Benefits:
You will gain a deeper self awareness and develop a focussed attention towards the body, expanding your sense of presence. You will experience creative ways to access the ‘embodied’ knowledge of the body and get in touch with your ‘felt sense’. You will nurture an authentic dialogue towards your self and your environment, increasing your ability to notice details and nuances in your daily living.
You will learn some tools to expand your creativity, movement potential and poetic language, unlocking emotional and physical points of stagnation to bring back a new sense of fluidity and flow.

Type of Format: Creative Lab

Language: English-Italian

Duration of Each Session: 90 minutes

Technical Platform for the Course: Zoom Pro

Concessionary Ticket – is only for job seekers, students and seniors with a low household income.

Please ensure that you book at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the course, excluding Drop-In tickets where available, to allow time for you to receive confirmation emails and your entry link to Zoom. This is because we rely on third parties for confirmation etc. Please ensure you have read the Legal notices on our website before booking, in particular our notices regarding Privacy (including Privacy Considerations When Using Zoom), Refund & Cancellation, Disclaimers (including Medical) and Terms.‍

Mandala Calming Arts & Crafts

We are holding space in our lovely studio for groups to meet and try out new, simple, meditative crafts and art practices. All materials are provided, no experience necessary and each week there will be a range of activities on offer – in the hope that everyone is able to find a pastime which appeals to them. These sessions are designed to develop friendships, combat isolation and nurture a skill share community in our city centre location

The Arty Cuppa

A warm and welcoming space where you can come along to meet others, have a chat over a cuppa, do a creative activity or just relax in a friendly, welcoming and calm environment.

Freedom to Make

We are currently running weekly knitting and textiles sessions online, run by our fantastic facilitator Nessa Hubbard. So bring your crochet hooks, yarn and imagination and join us for a good old catch up.