Wellbeing at the weekend
Thanks to funding gratefully received from Healthy Minds Calderdale and Rethink Mental Illness we are now able to run our Free Wellbeing at the Weekend Sessions on Saturday mornings during 2023.
Art is recognised for its positive impact on physical, mental, and emotional health and wellbeing. We are inviting you to join artists SARAH O’BOYLE and ALEX ABEL for a new series of Wellbeing at the Weekend sessions that will be exploring a variety of 2D and 3D art and craft activities
These free session are for anyone using creativity to support their mental health and wellbeing. They are family friendly and all resources will be provided for you on the day.
Running on alternate Saturday Mornings, 10-11.30am on the following dates:
13th January - Creating Relaxing Images with Inks with Alex Abel
27th January - Recycled Paper Garlands with Sarah O’Boyle
10th February - Introduction to Drawing for Wellbeing with Sarah O’Boyle
24th February - Outdoor Decorative Leaf Sculptures with Sarah O’Boyle
9th March - Create a Book for You with Alex Abel
Neurographica, Drawing for Wellbeing technique
To book your place, please complete the form below
Hello and welcome
To support people through difficult times during the Covid-19 pandemic, we shared a weekly wellbeing email with activities, ideas and inspiration to help people relax, rewind and recharge.
Here you can find all of those resources and access them free of charge.
Whether you need to wind down at the end of a busy week or recharge your batteries in preparation for the week to come, we think there will be something for everyone to enjoy.
Our Wellbeing at the Weekend programme includes:
Mindful activity worksheets and videos
Opportunities to showcase work in our Online Community Gallery
Inspirational news, quotes and projects
We welcome donations
We believe art is essential for our mental health and wellbeing. For over 12 years we have been developing accessible creative wellbeing solutions like this.
Donations of any size help us to continue the work we do.
Saturday 28 August
This week we’re taking a little bit of time to pause and reflect ahead of a new phase of our Wellbeing at the Weekend programme.
Our activity is from our Creative Ideas for Self Care booklet. This gentle exercise will help you to explore your thoughts and feelings and turn them into a colourful work of art.
You can download the worksheet here.
Saturday 21 August
This week we are going to explore designing with nature, creating an organic outdoor leaf garland enhanced with a sprinkling of flower trimmings. Sending a big thank you to Maureen for letting us gather a fantastic collection of leaves from her lovely garden.
You can download the worksheets here.
Saturday 14 August
This week we are going to explore the relaxing benefits of combining both nature and paper together to create beautiful items that can be used for decorating vases, jars and handmade cards.
You can download the worksheets here.
Saturday 7 August
This week we are going to introduce you to the wonders of wood. We are going to use tea paint to create a tree ring illustration, then add detail, patterns and words to your image using coloured pencils and black fine liner. You can download the worksheets here.
Saturday 31 July
This week we are going to introduce you to Pebble Painting. We are taking our inspiration from one of our very own Wellbeing at the Weekend participants, Eleanor, who has very kindly allowed us to feature some of her fantastic artwork in our activity worksheets, along with a super idea from Megan!
You can download the worksheets here.
Saturday 24 July
This week our theme is stones. We are going to take inspiration from the land artist Andy Goldsworthy and Robert Smithson’s striking Spiral Getty by creating our very own stone sculpture and garden decoration.
You can download the worksheet here.
Saturday 17 July
This week it’s time to slow things down and pause and reflect on all of the nature inspired activities we’ve explored in recent weeks. We are going to focus on the simple things in life, with a ‘My Happy List’ activity worksheet created by the very talented artist and writer Michael Powell for our new resource booklet Creative Ideas for Self Care.
Saturday 10 July
This week we are going to introduce you to ‘glue books’. We are taking our inspiration from two of our very own Wellbeing at the Weekend students, Rachel and Bex, who have very kindly allowed us to feature some of their fantastic artwork in our activity worksheets! You can download the worksheets here and here.
Worksheet one:
Worksheet two:
Worksheet one:
Worksheet two:
Saturday 26 June
This week, we are continuing with our nature theme by taking our inspiration from flowers and trying to capture their essence through a simple drawing activity.
We have a worksheet that introduces you to the continuous line drawing method, with some examples of simple flower illustrations created in this way. You can download the worksheet here.
