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Our Artists

Mindful Art Group

Abi Rhodes

I started serious drawing by accident about 10 years ago, really as a form of mindful relaxation and liberation from the torture of PTSD and chronic depression. I soon found it to be more efficacious than any other therapeutic approach and taken hand-in-hand with counselling and medication to be the combination that has saved my skin!
I find the joy of exploration to be the thing that excites me more than anything and that certain bright colours strike chords in my mind which give me great pleasure. I am however struggling to come to terms with the limited spectrum human vision provides.  I’d like the future to bring us much more depth of awareness of the infra-red and ultra violet.
I consider what I do to be a form of Process Art. I do not generally set out with a vision of what I want to produce. I just select a medium, make a mark  and see where it takes me

Aimee Art

My passion and love of art started from a young age. My grandpa and dad’s oil paintings hung on the walls at home, in Brighton where I grew up. This inspired me to draw and paint. I find the process of creating and making art very therapeutic. Helping me to stay calm, relaxed and focused, channelling all my energy and emotions creatively, whilst expressing myself through my artwork to forget about my struggles. I studied surface pattern and textile design at university. 
Along the way my motivation fluctuated due to anxiety and I wasn’t doing any art and had ‘creative block’. Missing art lot, an art therapy course started to shift the fog and encouraged me to pick up a paintbrush once again. The mindful art group is a supportive space and often the incentive I need to make the effort to travel, with the hope of feeling better afterwards. I’ve made new friends there, who also enjoy a variety of art.  I hope my artwork brings joy to people, even for a brief moment. Whilst I’m painting, I experience a sense of freedom, letting go of any trapped emotions. My style consists of vivid moody hues of purple, to more subtle softer pastel shades of colour. My artwork incorporates inks and watercolours, translating into a delicate haven of meadow florals, through brush work and mark making techniques. I’m intrigued by the concept of movement of inks across the page, yet equally really like painting flowers! My abstract mixed media artworks are centred around the overall vision, ideas and meaning behind each piece, reflecting the fragile minds imagination. Drifting dreamy memories communicate deeply hidden personal messages within. Hazy layers of acrylic paint and pieces of ephemera collected over the years blend and blur together.

Caroline Lovett

Mindful Art has been a real revelation to me. I failed my art A level and rarely did any artwork. Our group is safe and supportive place where I started doing art once again. I think it is so important for myself to express myself creatively and I just really enjoy the experience and people there.  

I would like to be part of the exhibition so that I can display my work in a public Venue. I believe this exhibition can make my art more immediate and accessible. It is important to raise awareness of mental health because so many people are suffering silently in Isolation.

 This can stop stigma and discrimination. Also, I like going to, The Mindful Art group because as a therapy it takes you away from your own mental health and pain and its healing power.

Dawn Blake

I like to work with a broad range of media, text, embroidery, language, installation, film and performance. I like to create art pieces that subvert gender norms in regard to power gender, control, sexuality and identity.
I studied Fine Art Sculpture at the University of Brighton. However, due to my deteriorating health, I had to leave before completing my degree. Nevertheless, I have continued to commit as much time and energy as possible to developing my practice.
My work is inspired by artists such as Louise Bourgeois and Cindy Sherman. During my degree I explored the work of artists from the surrealist movement of the 20’s, to the feminist artists of the 60’s and 70’s and began to explore undertones of violence that subvert the feminine. I use a wide range of media including domestic objects and beauty products.

Justine

I’m ok with being mad, just not when it’s self-destructive, suicidal, depressive and creativity helps with these things. Being creative helps my mental health. As does spending time with cats and listening to their purrs, watching Schitt’s Creek and eating chocolate.

Michael King

I like coming to the Mindful Art group.  Getting out of the house, making friends, being around people who accept me and My Art. I like the opportunity to create art & showcase my artwork at this Exhibition. I believe the exhibition will help people to gain more understanding of mental health issues and make less judgements.

SMW

Art allows me to intuitively explore complicated internal phenomena. Mark-making is a way of processing and framing my experiences and I’m often surprised by what is revealed or remains obscured. Giving tangible form to the unconscious is both cathartic and grounding.

Sarah Harris

I have taken many adult art education courses, including photography courses, over the years. After buying my first digital camera in 2005, I discovered a love of using photo-editing software and art filters, and have developed my skills in using these in both my art and photography. My work currently uses and combines both analogue and digital processes. I am influence by 20th-century Surrealism and Pop Art among other genres, and have an enduring love of strong colour. I have had work exhibited at both local and regional museums and galleries. The artwork in this exhibition was created from collages made by hand from my own photos at Mindful Art Group and digitally edited.

Tracey Waters

I am so grateful to Art in Mind. I put away all my dreams of going to art school when I failed my Art A Level over 40 years ago. Now I am painting and drawing regularly for pleasure. I have been brought very low by depression and anxiety in the past, but now I am using the experience of those dark days to understand myself better. I love our art group, it is a place of safety, laughter and love, and I am so excited for this exhibition, where we will be working together to show the therapeutic value of expressing ourselves creatively.

Luna Ghost

A primordial collection of iridescent, sentient ghostly vapours. Emerging form the barren lunar wastes with one desire to experience the true nature of universal consciousness through partaking in the execution and transmission of Artistic Expression.  
Engaging in a creative outlet is a visceral psychic need and ensures that vapours do not become withdrawn, melancholic and existentially volatile.

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