Paper  birch  crea%vity      companionship    communica%on  

Laura  Venables  

 Our  Aim:   To provide creativity and companionship in care environments.  

‘850,000 people live with dementia in the UK’ Alzheimer’s Society, www.alzheimers.org.uk, 2015

Who We Are We are two Masters students studying Textile design at the Royal College of Art. We met over

a cup of tea and instantly connected over our views of using creativity as a means of expression. We both came to realise how much we personally benefit, emotionally and physically from our own artistic practice. We found we had a common passion for sharing our enthusiasm, therefore the planning and delivery of our own bespoke workshops came naturally. Having both worked creatively within the community we saw the need for this type of carefully curated stimulation, within our communities. Like many others, we have both experienced the impact dementia has on people’s lives so this seemed the appropriate area for us to work in. We believe bringing creativity into care environments encourages positive diversion and engagement. We aim to provide an opportunity for participants to respond to sensory stimuli, enjoy the exploration of materials and encourage memories and thoughts. During our workshops we strive to create a warm friendly environment, where companionship can grow. We will ensure that activities are inspiring and sensitively tailored towards each person, giving people the best possible opportunity to enjoy themselves.

Faith Wray  Faith  is  a  Tex9le  designer  studying  at  the  Royal  College  of  Art.  She  has  a  background  in  embroidery,  and  is  crea9vely  driven  by  the  explora9on  of  tac9le  materials,  colour  and  placement  of  ideas.    She  loves  finding  things  and  especially  picking  peeling  paint  off  walls  and  window  frames  when  no  ones  looking.    She  works  with  a  variety  of  mixed  media  disciplines,  including  plaster,  ceramics,  materials,  embroidery,  paint  and  whatever  she  can  find  when  rummaging  through  scrap  stores.    Faith  has  run  numerous  community  workshops,  working  with  a  broad  range  of  society,  and  is  par9cularly  interested  in  how  crea9vity  can  create  social  change.  Her  main  aim  is  to  share  her  experience  for  tac9le  and  visual  experiences  through  crea9vity,  and  to  give  others  the  opportunity  to  enjoy  this  process  for  themselves.  

faithjanewray.tumblr.com  Faith.wray@network.rca.ac.uk  

 

Laura Venables  Laura  is  passionate  about  people  and  making.  Her  prac9ce  explores  the  rela9onships  people  have  with  the  objects  that  they  own  and  in  par9cular  how  these  objects  trigger  memories.      She  visualises  this  using  large  scale  mark-­‐making  and  pain9ng,  alongside  producing  sculptures  based  on  these  objects  and  thoughts.      Before  coming  to  the  RCA,  Laura's  background  was  a  degree  in  human  geography  which  s9ll  fuels  her  thinking  and  making  today.  During  and  aOer  her  degree,  she  designed  and  ins9gated  a  variety  of  workshops  from  making  paper  sculptures  to  micro-­‐finance.  She  feels  that  playing  and  crea9ng  is  intrinsic  to  living  well  with  demen9a  and  hopes  that  these  workshops  will  make  this  happen.    laura.venables@network.rca.ac.uk  

Workshop Options  

We bring diversity to our workshops by providing a series of options and creative techniques for participants and carers to choose from. Within each workshop we cater for different interests and abilities, making this flexibility the key to our service. Currently our workshop options are: •  Sculpture •  Fine Art •  Print making

Workshop  Materials/Our  Kit  

All workshops will be supported by the use of sensory objects, including materials, scents, photography and workshop appropriate visual aids to create a more atmospheric experience.  •  Mood  boards    •  A  welcome  Pack  •  S9ll  Life  •  Photography  books  •  Colour  PaleTes  •  Sensory  Cards  •  Making  Materials    

Publica9on  

We  aim  to  document  out  findings  and  outcomes  of  these  workshops  in  a  publica9on  to  help  further  increase  the  knowledge  of  making  on  wellbeing  for  people  with  demen9a.    We  will  do  this  through  an  ethnographic  approach,  and  will  provide  a  list  of  our  ethical  guidelines.    We  will  be  looking  at  how  people  respond  to  the  materials  provided,  the  process  of  making  and  how  they  communicate  as  group  whilst  engaging  in  the  workshops.  

 

Social Media/Contact Details  

 TwiTer  :  @paperbirch_  Instagram  :  paperbirchworkshops  Email  :  paperbirchworkshops@gmail.com    

Research  ATended  •  Westminster  Health  Forum  –  ‘improving  outcomes  in  demen9a  care’  25/11/14  •  Westminster  Health  Forum  –  ‘the  future  for  social  care  in  England’  22/01/15  •  Arts4Demen9a  –  Early  stage  demen9a  awareness  training  workshop  for  arts  

organisa9ons  –  06/02/15  •  Demen9a  Friends  workshop  –  04/12/14    Networking  •  Sarah  Desmarais  –  Pyscologist,  Farlmouth  University  (Phd)  •  Neil  Parkinson  –  Colour  Research  Library  manager  (RCA)  •  Vanessa  Rolf  –  Out  Reach  RCA  coordinator    •  HeTy  Dupays  –  Art  at  the  Heart  Director  •  Diane  Samways  –  Marke9ng  and  Development  Manager  (RUH,  Art  and  the  Heart)  •  Edwina  Bridgeman  –  Art  Sparks  (RUH)  •  David  Savill  –  Ar9s9c  Director,  Age  exchange  •  Robert  Mar9n  –  Anchor  Trust,  Director  •  Claire  Pajaczkowska  –  Head  of  Research  (RCA)