Many of us have found ourselves with time on our hands in this year of pandemic. Unfortunately, for some of us, it was not just time; isolation and anxiety also loomed very large too!
For one local Arts project, ‘Fylde Arts Buddies’ the solution to this was to form an on-line Zoom arts club, called the ‘Care and Creativity Club’. Local women were brought together, given free art materials and met on-line weekly to carry out various art activities and make friends. One week it was a pointillism week, another self-portraits, etc.
The project was supported by the National Lotteries Communities Can fund.
All in all, each woman produced eight fabulous pieces of art – and made at least ten new friends!
Christine, a St Annes participant said of the experience, “The activities have been an eye-opener for me. I have been able to have a go at amazing things I would not have done before!”
Rachel, a Blackpool participant, described the Art project as a ‘Lifeline’. She continued, “As a single mum to a severely autistic daughter, when lockdown started, my own support networks abruptly stopped. I carried on, feeling as though I was on auto pilot and towards the end of the first lockdown, I realised how traumatic it had been on me.” Rachel continued to describe how she really loved meeting new friends on Zoom, despite never having used the on-line platform before.
Carole, from St Annes stated, “At the beginning of this year, I was asked to go on a year-long clinical trial of immunotherapy. That made me vulnerable medically, so when Covid 19 struck, I had to shield for months! I lost contact with many people and my confidence has taken a hammering. I’ve really enjoyed the on-line Art club!”
In addition to the women who were members of the club, other women responded to some of the art activities that were posted on-line, on the public ‘Fylde Arts Buddies’ Facebook page. Their Art has been included in this exhibition too!
Now, everyone can enjoy seeing what the ‘Fylde Arts Buddies’ produced at this unprecedented time!
The exhibition can be seen here:
‘Fylde Arts Buddies’ can be found on Facebook
