Art & Soul Sessions Bring Creativity to New Springfield
New Springfield Care Home in Blackburn has been enjoying regular Art & Soul sessions thanks to a wonderful partnership with St. Silas Church and the brilliant Alistair, a professional local artist. He kindly volunteers his time to come into the home regularly to teach our residents something new. He has taught us pottery, painting techniques and most recently, gelli printing and badge-making. Gelli printing is a form of printing that uses flexible plates to create textures and layers of colour and its accessibility makes it perfect for the home.
Des, a former train conductor, created a diesel train badge. Dorothy and Elsie had a fantastic time, enjoying chatting to one another and listening to stories while receiving gentle guidance from Alistair. Eva, a new resident at New Springfield Care Home, had a wonderfully social session, reminiscing about her £50 wedding while sitting with her friend Trevor and new friend Marge. Marge’s artwork reflected her memories of travelling around the UK and Europe with her husband on their motorbike, Marge riding pillion.
New Springfield’s Art and Soul sessions combine artistic exploration with social interaction and allows residents to engage at their own pace. For residents living with dementia, the Art & Soul sessions offer valuable benefits. Studies have found that creative activities like these can ease feelings of restlessness and worry whilst bringing a sense of achievement. Residents find peace in being creative and these positive feelings often carry through into the rest of their day. Working with colours, textures and shapes can bring stories alive and even open up new ways of communicating.
Here at Each Other Care, it's these community connections, like the partnership with Alastair and St. Silas Community Hub, that make life at our care homes so wonderful. The Art & Soul sessions provide valuable facilitation and offer something meaningful for each resident's interests and capabilities.
New Springfield Care Home on Preston New Road in Blackburn offers compassionate resedential, dementia, nursing and respite care. Recently refurbished and under new family-run ownership, the home is now welcoming new residents and the team would love to show you around.