Visiting portrait photographer Craig Easton also delivered sessions in different care homes presenting his work that explored ‘Fisherwomen’ through the ages and across the country. These were incredibly popular and spurred on memory from many a participant. Easton had taken a portrait of a fisherwoman who was originally from Whalsay but had lived in Inver for a number of years. He showed this portrait to those in Fernlea Care Home, Whalsay, and many of the participants could remember being at school with the lady in the portrait. This was a joyous moment.
Craig engaged well with participants and staff and even recorded text and images from a participant to be included in his latest work.
We have been delighted with the engagement from all of our care homes with the expansion of our Arts in Care project.
Not only have sessions been delivered to participants as groups, but we have expanded our provision to include 1-2-1 sessions. This allows the practitioner to work more closely to individual’s needs, thus making art sessions more accessible to all.
These 1-2-1 sessions were often delivered by the bedside and develop motor skills and allow social interaction for those bedbound.
We are introducing more art forms to the sessions, including storytelling, sing-a-long and drama sessions, providing a varied approach to the work delivered.
For example, Stephenie Pagulayan used picture collage to inspire Gold Group participants’ imaginations, allowing them to go on a journey incorporating many drama and theatre skills with the occasional ceilidh dance thrown in for good measure.
