medleyisobel

Refuge

It feels so apt that Grief Awareness Week falls in December, in winter. It’s a time of darkness, of gloom, as the year draws to an end. All around us, nature feels bare and barren. Winter can fuel depression and many people feel more isolated as they have to spend time indoors, shut in asContinue reading “Refuge”

Spice Of Life

What could art, music or nature possibly have to do with struggling against an eating disorder? Recovery through rock art, rap or riding a bicycle? In the face of life-changing conditions like eating disorders, art, music and nature could be dismissed as trivial, distracting, unlikely to address or resolve the deep issues behind the condition.Continue reading “Spice Of Life”

Together Or Alone?

When people share how art helps them, they talk about feeling absorbed and focused, shutting out issues, entering a world of their own. All this conjures up quiet, private creativity. But many art for wellbeing initiatives run as groups, in public. So do people benefit more from art for wellbeing as part of a group,Continue reading “Together Or Alone?”

Showtime

November can be a dark and dreary month – the very opposite of musical shows, which explode with rhythm and colour and life! So this November I’m sharing a suggestion each day of a song from a musical to listen to (in a Facebook group) – just go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/557385639483426/ Life-enhancing would have to beContinue reading “Showtime”

Turning A Page

Maybe you enjoy books. Maybe they transport you to another world, absorb you, inspire, uplift or entertain you. I know that for many people, sometimes, books can boost wellbeing more than anything else – more even than art and craft, music or nature, the themes this blog more usually highlights. So Shared Reading, an initiativeContinue reading “Turning A Page”

Art Meets Nature

Have you heard of the Singing, Ringing Tree? It is an outdoor sculpture on the Wayside Art Trail, on moorland high over Burnley in Lancashire. Hearing about it recently for the first time, the Tree really captured my imagination. What a unique way to draw together art, nature and music in one structure. The steelContinue reading “Art Meets Nature”

Move To The Beat

What comes to mind when you hear the word “dyspraxia”? This is Dyspraxia Awareness Week – 10-16 October – so I thought I would explore dyspraxia in this blog, and see how music, nature and art might help. While dyslexia is now a well-known term, focusing on issues with literacy (spelling, reading and writing), dyspraxiaContinue reading “Move To The Beat”

Stable Sense

I see two horses several times a week on my walks as I climb the hill next to their field. While I have never ridden or spent time with horses, as I’ve always lived in rural areas they’ve been familiar sights, part of the background of my life. And I particularly like donkeys. Many peopleContinue reading “Stable Sense”

Empowered

Art and craft can enhance life in so many ways and all the time I’m discovering new possibilities. Focusing as I do on how they can improve wellbeing – personal change – I’m also seeking ways they can fuel and fire wider change, as through craftivism, creative activism, using art and craft to challenge. I’veContinue reading “Empowered”

Unlocking Memory

National or global themed awareness days follow another all through the year, more and more all the time. I like the way they help highlight particular causes, issues or situations, and every now and then I hear of a new one which really strikes me. One of these is National Playlist Day – 22 SeptemberContinue reading “Unlocking Memory”