The Hearth Gallery is delighted to present the exhibition Silver Lining, an inspiring collection of mixed media pieces created by artists living with a brain injury and the people who support them.
Almost two years ago The Welsh branch of The Silver Lining Charity approached Beth Morris (who runs a community art school at Insole Court, Cardiff) to consider offering classes with therapeutic qualities to their members. Rhiannon Stokes – the Welsh lead of the charity was keen to offer groups that would use creativity to help with rehabilitation and provide a place where the members can meet socially with others in similar circumstances.
The creative classes are calming and encourage the artists to be still, to focus, and forget about everything else. One Silver Sketcher described the classes as a ‘spoonful of honey’ and they count down the days until their next meet. Confidence within The Silver Lining members has increased, not just in their abilities but also in working as a group to inspire each other. Sharing this learning experience is proving beneficial with some great memories and friendships being made.
Fast forward to the present day and the #SilverSketchers class have been featured on BBC’s The One Show which can been seen in the gallery.
Due to popular demand, the charity now run two #SilverSketcher classes and #SilverStitchers – a textile group who meet weekly for craft projects and a good old chat! All three groups have taken part in two exhibitions in The Oxo Tower, London as part of The Letter in Mind programme. The sales of their art helped to contribute to the charity raising over £25,000 for The National Brain Appeal.
All of the art in this exhibition is for sale at a cost of £75 each. The proceeds of which will fund further activities for The Silver Lining members and will also support the Cardiff & Vale Health Charity.
As you travel around the exhibition you will view projects that have been produced over a series of weeks or months in the creative workshops at Beth’s studio. Beth’s guidance has drawn out hidden talents as she has encouraged and gently pushed the artists to challenge themselves and try new things. To see so many professional pieces on display marks an amazing achievement by so many wonderful artists and inspirational human beings!
The projects:
- Inspired at Insole
- My Life in Quotes
- Dancing Iris
- Every Cloud…
- Pet Portraits
- Oh Christmas Tree
- Expressive Birds