‘We love the look of your activities – can we try them?’
This was the message we received from the Stability4U group back in January. The group, made up of young adults with mild to moderate learning disabilities, had spotted us in an online directory. They were desperate to get beyond the lockdown and reconnect with friends and do new things.
Fortunately, we were able to repurpose some funding from the My Creative Life project which is being co-ordinated by The Arts Development Company. Our previous plans in this project had been abandoned as the first wave of Covid hit, which was very disappointing. So, we were delighted to be able to work with Stability4U.
Our Community Engagement Officer planned sessions with the group’s Leader and we worked out how to manage Covid-19 infection risks. In early June we began delivery of six sessions based around heritage crafts which can be found in our records. We engaged artists and craftspeople who could share practical skills with the group and paired these activities with some information about Dorset’s past and our records.
With local artist Sarah Hough we explored some garden plans from the collections and created our own garden designs in watercolour. Every participant wanted a pool or hot tub, and one planned for a full size football pitch! But we also saw traditional features such as vegetable gardens and tree-lined driveways created with enormous care.
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Debbie Clarke from Creative Clay helped us to make heads inspired by Elisabeth Frink’s Green Men designs. We had great fun thinking of all the Green Men we could – from Robin Hood to the Hulk! Using leaves as stampers filled the room with the scent of sage and mint.
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Canon Jonathan Herbert worked really hard to get everyone’s willow basket complete and told us more about Romany culture and history. Participants commented on the feel of the willow, smooth and cool and such a pleasure to work with – they are hoping to weave some of their own willow at Tumbledown Farm.
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And Julia Carter led us in making wonderfully colourful Dorset buttons which the participants were keen to wear or attach to their keyrings. As we filled our rings with wool and blunt needles we sometimes hit a rhythm of passing the wool through and working as a pair to pull it taut which felt both ancient and soothing – the room became very calm.
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The group were very willing to try new skills and made some great items to take home. We also made butter, and family trees and ate cake! There were many happy times – we shared more and more laughter as we got to know each other. The activities captured the imaginations of the participants, and an end of project quiz showed how much had been learnt over the weeks. We are grateful to Angie and Sarah at Stability4U for being so proactive and welcoming us to the sessions so warmly.
We look forward to welcoming Stability4U for a visit to DHC in the near future, and to continuing our friendship.