As part of Our Place Golden Valley, ceramic artist Verity Howard, and makers Jill Parker Mowbray and Catherine Lewis have been running bi-weekly creative workshops with Kingstone GP Surgery and Taurus Healthcare at Kingstone Village Hall. 

Though known as a walking group, their outdoor meet-ups have been gentle amble-style walks around the beautiful gardens at The Old Rectory, Thruxton. Our remit was to offer creative workshops that kept participants inspired through the dark winter months, responded to nature and the outdoors, and offered a way to connect with others through shared learning experiences. 

The group is a welcoming space for both longstanding and new attendees. All are welcome, and participants are motivated by a number of reasons – to be in company, to be actively social, to improve physical fitness and to aid recovery from or manage ongoing health and wellbeing concerns. Carers, wellbeing coaches and Suzie Jones, Meadow Arts’ Engagement Producer, support the artist and participants to ensure that everyone who wants to take part is able to, and sessions have been overwhelmingly popular, with 15-20 regulars joining each session with great enthusiasm. 

Working as a duo, Catherine and Jill have led willow, decoupage, calligraphy and felting workshops using locally sourced materials and theming sessions around the changing seasons. One particularly lovely session necessitated that the group work in duos to create willow birdfeeders. Chatter and collaboration are a part of every session, but this one facilitated more in-depth, one-to-one conversation.

Verity has delivered a series of ceramic skills building workshops, responding to the theme of walking. Sessions have included slab building, slipwork and surface design, with a final vessel incorporating all these skills being delivered over the final two sessions. Thanks to Herefordshire Headway, Verity’s been able to fire every single piece of work created during sessions. The care and thoughtfulness displayed by participants in designing and making work is evident in their very individual creations.

As our sessions draw to a close and the group returns to the Old Rectory gardens, positive feedback from both participants and our partners demonstrate how art can connect people, nurture confidence and provide a space for expression and friendship.

Our Place Golden Valley is a 3-year project by Meadow Arts focussing on the unique geographical location of the Golden Valley in rural southwest Herefordshire. Using contemporary visual arts we are connecting with the communities that live there, reflecting upon and responding to their relationship to where they live.

The artistic programming is collaborative, responsive to community engagement, site-specific and so-created. Each year artists are commissioned to develop new artworks that will be exhibited and shared with the wider community in the Golden Valley and beyond.