10/23/2019 0 Comments Maternal Journal Workshop - TwickenhamMaternal Journal provides a positive outlet for some of the new feelings and challenges you might experience, both physically and emotionally in pregnancy and new parenthood. Through a series of creative workshops, we will explore the history and practice of journaling to promote positive mental health and well-being. To sign up, please get in touch using the details below. £10 per person includes journal, art materials, coffee and cake! To book your place please follow this link https://bookwhen.com/sarahespenhahn#focus=ev-s27u-20191118100000 www.maternaljournal.org
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5/13/2019 0 Comments Workshops at One Paved CourtCreative Womb workshop with Womb Doula Justine EvansThe womb is considered the "creative centre" of your body. To complete this series of workshops womb doula Justine Evans invited the audience to reconnect with this area of their body using visualisation and mindful art. Justine Evans ND is a Hormone Alchemist & womb doula. A registered naturopath and nutritional therapist Justine integrates a mind/body approach to reproductive wellbeing. Justine can be contacted on 07747 133170 https://www.justineevans.co.uk/ Maternal Journal - Automatic drawings workshop with Artist, Midwife and Birth Activist Laura Godfrey-Isaacs.Maternal Journal provides a positive outlet for some of the new feelings and challenges we experience, both physically and emotionally in pregnancy and new parenthood. Automatic drawing introduced participants to intuitive mark making with a variety of materials. Initially used by the Surrealists artists, it helps guiding in expressing hidden thoughts and feelings. www.maternaljournal.org Mindful Crochet with Barbara Touati-EvansIt's the same process. Whether making a piece of work or running a workshop, I start with defining the space. For this mindful crochet session at the One Paved Court Gallery Richmond as part of Desperate Artwives' the 'The M Word' exhibition, we made our nest upstairs around the installation Boobs by Kathy Howe. I felt really inspired and at home within the space and the exhibition. Just like other artists in the show, my art practise developed from the practical and emotional necessities of being a mother and enabled me to process all sorts of emotions, including difficult ones, linked to motherhood. The medium of crochet lends itself to exploring issues of protection, connections and imprisonment. The starting point for the session was the chain stitch, which I consider the "mother" stitch of crochet, the stitch from which all other stitches start. Immersed in the repetitive movements of crochet, we had rich nourishing conversations . We talked about the art of being a doula, about homeopathy, about sound frequencies, about mental health. We mainly used our fingers to crochet instead of a traditional hook to make the experience more sensory. Some had already done crochet before, some were new to the practise. Interesting pieces emerged: a long chain with leafy bits, a nipple like shape, a small hat. All left enthused by their introduction to the craft and a desire to pursue it and in some cases to include it into their own professional practise. Blog entry by Artist Barbara Touati-Evans Susan Merrick - Clothing ExchangeArtist Susan Merrick created a clothing exchange with a difference. Using donated clothing from the areas in which she works and lives, the artist set up a space of discussion and exchange. Audience members were invited into the space to choose an item of clothing to take away. In exchange they were encouraged to ‘offer’ something of their own. People have responded by removing their own clothing, writing poetry or a story, telling a joke or sharing experience, showing a dance, creating a sketch or even offering a free clothing alteration service! The clothing exchange offers an opportunity to engage with a different audience, one who may not usually enter the formal space of a gallery. By inviting members of the public to take part in an exchange they are not only welcomed into the space, but into the work and topics of debate around the wider exhibition and project. Clothing Exchange (2018) was developed by Susan Merrick as part of her ongoing project Statements in Semaphore which seeks to explore social engagement and artistic partnerships. www.statementsinsemaphore.co.uk www.susanmerrick.co.uk 5/4/2019 0 Comments Artists' TalkGallery owner Paul introducing the 'The M Word' project at the Artists Talk. "I believe it's important to open discussion and develop new pathways for mothers and work towards eradicating the stigma of maternal mental health." - Amy Dignam Founder of Desperate Artwives and curator of the 'The M Word' exhibition "One thing that i found about motherhood is that it really does have a way of breaking you but also making you" - Mo Ade Founder Mother of the Maternal Journal "Must she always be loving , caring, perfect and ideal? Must he always be passive and take the role of the victim? Can a portrait of mother and child depict a spectrum of emotions rather than a singular feeling as the mother-child theme was narrated in classical iconography? What will be the impact on our society, if the mother will be allowed having mixed emotions towards her child and the child will also be allowed to take a different role than victim?" - Leni Dothan "As I look back at this work, these big babies sometimes it's not even him, it's me as well and i feel that when we have children and we face them they reflect us back the whole time." - Sophia Marinkov- Jones Katy Howe "Motherhood is all you perform and it's an all consuming role.My children call me by my first name, they call me 'Dawn'... it feels weird for them to call me 'Mum' so i guess in a sense, I perform motherhood but it's hard for me to embrace it" - Dawn Yow 5/2/2019 0 Comments Opening NightA big thank you for everybody that came to the 'The M Word' opening night. 4/4/2019 0 Comments The M Word Press ReleaseFrom the left, Leni Dothan, Double, 183x115x45cm, wooden structure, 2015. Sophia Marinkov Jones monoprint, dimension variable, 2016. Megan Wynne, Motivation, video still 2016, 4:35. The ‘The M word’ exhibition has been curated by local Artist and mother of three, Amy Dignam as a visual and material representation of concepts that revolve around the maternal experience, motherhood and maternal mental health. Although her selection of artists comes from far and wide, the narrative doesn’t change. All the works actively challenge society’s attitudes to maternal subjectivity. All the works position the mother in the foreground and clearly state that they shouldn’t be afraid of being seen or being judged. They impart a strong sense of the horror, humor, love and hate, and express those ambivalent feelings that are often experienced but not really acknowledged or accepted, during motherhood. With motherhood, ‘Love is, of course, an easier affect to acknowledge than hate: it is taken for granted in a Mother. Love’s absence is acknowledged to be a disaster. Hate, however, is frequently denied.’ (Torn in Two – The Experience of Maternal Ambivalence, Rozsika Parker, 1995). Sometimes mothers don’t feel comfortable to express these negative emotions for fear of being judged as cold, uncaring, not the perfect mother. The artists in this exhibition mark the emotional turmoil through their personal journeys and their experience of motherhood. The maternal body is also very present throughout the exhibition taking a critical approach via contemporary meanings, against persisting taboos, showing its mutable characteristics and claiming its indisputable involvement in the politics of its representation. The artists share with us their own pain, isolation, fear and love, but first and foremost they share their resistance. Exhibiting artists Paula Chambers , Leni Dothan, Tracey Kershaw, Sophia Marinkov Jones, Leanne Pearce, Megan Wynne, Dawn Yow, Katy Howe and the Founding Mothers group of the Maternal Journal. During the exhibition we will also be launching The M Wall. The M Wall will bring together a collection of works dedicated to the subject of perinatal mental health and its interconnection with Art. The works included in the collection will not only be a visual depiction of the artists’ struggles, ways of coping and coming to terms with their personal maternal experiences, they will also raise the question of how art can support, reinforce and promote good mental health. The aim of this collection will be to tour across the country in a variety of exhibition venues, conferences and seminars, with the intention of raising awareness of and opening up a conversation around the subjects and issues depicted within the works. It will form the basis for a growing collection and going forward, artists will be able to apply to submit works into this collection. The M wall artists are - Helen Sargeant, Rachel Fallon, Caroline Kelley, Lauren Mclaughlin, Laura Fooks, Katy Howe, Amy Dignam, DAW Public Takeover 2018, Debbie Lee, Tracey Kershaw. From the left Helen Sargeant, screenprint on paper, 2019. Katy Howe Oh Mother, photography. Rachel Fallon – Apron no 1. To Ensure Hope is our Role; Digital print on Hahnemühle paper,2018. The M word exhibition will run from the 1st to the 12th of May at One Paved Court Gallery, Richmond.
3/11/2019 0 Comments The M Word launch . . . ♥The M Word will launch during Maternal Mental Health week 2019 at One Paved Court Gallery in Richmond.
Opening night: Thursday 2nd May 6 - 8pm Exhibition run until Sunday 12th May We will be running 5 workshops dedicated to pregnant women and mothers within the first year of giving birth. There will also be 3 events including an Artists Talk and a family event. More info soon. Address: 1 Paved Court Richmond TW9 1LZ 16 minutes by fast train from Waterloo or on the District Line Tube from the West End. |
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