Workshops & Talks

Seasonal creative workshops for women following our energetic ebb and flow throughout the year. In a small, safe group we share our creations and experiences over home-made cake and a shared lunch. “Uplifting, fun, truly food for the soul” – Joy Farrimond, workshop participant

From one off team days for businesses, to six week courses for individuals and organisations. Whether you feel stuck, low in creative confidence, or just need a change of energy and new inspirations, this playful approach provides a great opportunity to fire up your creativity.

How do you want to feel in your life? Visually map out your dreams and desires, to chart the journey you want to be on professionally and/or personally. Fun, inspirational and more deeply motivational than to do lists and action plans.

Digital Stories are short films (approx. 2-3 minutes) that combine photos and other media with the spoken word to efficiently and effectively convey our stories. The skills are easy to learn and available to all, including those with little or no technical experience.

Patchwork, embroidery, bunting making and creating hand-made books are all beautiful ways to tell our stories. The age-old crafts of sewing and making, create a special environment in which our tales flow more easily and creative connections are fostered.

So many of our stories are held within our bodies. Working figuratively in 3D can help us to tell these visceral narratives. Particularly useful in cases of trauma and for stories that are hard to put into words.

When we become mothers our lives, bodies, identity, emotions and relationships undergo huge transformation. During this process – known as Matresence – it is vital that mothers themselves are supported and nourished so as they can best support and nourish their children. Post-natal depression, anxiety and states of emotional & physical depletion can frequently result at this time. One of our innate tools to nurture our health and wellbeing is our creative potential. The seven year participatory arts project ‘Mother in the Mother’ worked with over 300 mums, providing them with space for reflection and creativity. This talk discusses the creative methodology and its postive  impact upon the health and wellbeing of participants.

When a woman becomes a mother, it is often a time she reflects back upon the way she herself was mothered. Our maternal inheritance from our mother, grandmother, great grandmother and beyond can have a powerful influence on the ways in which we bring up our children. Exploring this maternal lineage can help us to better understand familial patterns of behaviour, particularly when we are parents ourselves. The 53 stories within ‘Mother in the Mother’ show how this process of exploration can illuminate past issues, heal old wounds, increase appreciation and gratitude, and help us to acknowledge and accept our own journeys.

What is it like to bring up children if you don’t know your own biological mother or if she is no longer in your life? Based on personal experience of raising two daughters whilst estranged from my birth family, and stories collected from mothers who were estranged, fostered and adopted, and those whose own mothers had died young. Exploring themes of ‘other mothers’, ancestral lineage, attachment, non-biological connections and creating secure foundations.