Working with Devon Recovery Learning Community
Devon Recovery Learning Community
Devon Recovery Learning Community is a recovery college provided by Devon Partnership NHS Trust for the wellbeing of people in Devon. The students of the college are people with lived experience of mental health difficulties, their family and friends, and the professionals who support them.
Creative Courses
organicARTS has been providing creative courses for them over the past two years entitled ‘Enjoying the Outdoors’ and ‘Farm Creativity Walks’ This year they commissioned us to provide courses entitled ‘Wellbeing and Willow’; ‘Festive Decorations’ and ‘Connecting with the Earth: Clayworks’.
Lucy Rockliffe, organicARTS’ ceramicist, describes the work like this …
The farm creativity walks sessions start with a gentle walk near the farm, taking in the landscape, plants and creatures, gathering from the hedgerows materials that might be used for creativity. Each session we have a focus inspired by our walks and the season. One week we might make some charcoal in an open fire for drawing, or we might have a go at some clay work pressing in plants into tiles. In October we still had flowers around the farm which we gathered for flower pounding. In November we have done observational drawings with our own charcoal and colour palette of earth pigments, we have woven found materials to make small artworks and have walked the wet lanes looking at the geology and for small amounts of clay to make a West Town Farm thumb pot.
Flower and plant gathering,making tiles and thumb pots,a cake with hedgrow blackberry and apples,having a go at flower printing and small hops pillow bag, the perfect autumnal experience
Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing
These creative courses are particularly relevant now following the All Party Parliamentary Report published in July 2017 entitled ‘Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing’. Their report called for an informed and open-minded willingness to accept that the arts can make a significant contribution to addressing a number of the pressing issues faced by our health and social care systems. In Exeter, where 40% of patients who visit their GP have socially based rather than medical problems, together we can make a significant difference