D.5. Fees: For future programmes

“I enjoy trying new sills and meeting people. I like the day time classes because I don’t drive so can’t get to evening classes. The classes have helped me to settle down and meet people during the last 6yrs since I moved here.”

“It is two hours of “ME” time!”

I enjoy the workshops. I enjoy the social aspect as much as trying new crafts. I have not lived in the area for long & enjoy meeting new people and enlarging my circle of friends.”

“Enjoyed the company & laughter.”

“I have enjoyed learning different craft and also mixing with different people making new friends and keeping my brain active. It also gives me a purpose in life instead of sitting at home getting bored.”

“This is the first time I have found out about and gone to anything on my own, so has been a big step forward for me. It was the love of crafting that made me overcome my fear and I have enjoyed every minute I have been here.”

“It has revealed unexpected talent – thanks to expert advice and tuition. Feel more confident to try other crafts.”

“They have allowed me to get out and meet a lot of people. The tutors are excellent and very patient.”

“More confident with the knowledge that I can be ‘Arty’.”

“Gets me out, company, socialising as well as improving my knowledge & ability. Friendly class. If I feel a bit ‘down’ always feel better in myself after being to the class. There are so few ‘classes’ for older people now that being able to attend one makes you feel at least not ‘redundant’ or ‘useless’!! I enjoy the class keeps the brain active.”

“Learned to paint. Made new friends.”

Carlisle (Stroke)

“Having felt isolated much of the time since my stroke and not able to participate in activities that I previously did it’s been a pleasure being able to attend the sessions and socialise with other people who understand the effects of stroke.”

“It has helped to concentrate my mind and felt pleasantly tired after each session. Also it has helped with my co-ordination.”

“I have enjoyed every second of this workshop. It gives you a reason to get up in the morning, something to look forward to.”

“I really enjoy the workshops. They help with the dexterity of my hands. They help to keep my mind active and stimulate my concentration.”

“Make new friends. Have a good chat & laugh. Gets you out of the house, something to look forward to. Learn new skills.”

“I have found it a means of meeting people with similar interest and mixing with friendly people – I have been in a very demanding job and then later caring for sick friends – I am happy to renew my interest in art it is a wonderful form of expressing myself in my older years.”

“I feel so much more calm & peaceful & enjoy the ambience that’s here. This has become a highlight of my week and I’ve discovered that I can both draw & paint. It’s so encouraging learning different techniques in art.”

“This class has enabled me to try something completely different and get a great deal of satisfaction from whatever I have been able to produce.”

Roadhead

A participant joined the Roadhead group and made lots of new friends. She found she had skills to share and began leading the group sometimes, even though she was severely disabled with arthritis. Over Christmas she slipped off the sofa and was unable to move and lay for a couple of days which resulted in ulcers on her skin. She was hospitalised, but her new-found friends have been able to keep an eye on her house and feed her birds and visit her in hospital taking her clean clothes etc. Without meeting them through Spinning Yarns she would have remained in dire straits.

“Sue & Sarah have teamed up as friends. Peter makes stands for painting for the participants.”

“Across all levels of dexterity or disability all participants were able to participate and develop their own creativity with the given medium. For Ian and Peter, sculptural clay work presented an opportunity to construct and create in a way that didn’t feel emasculating, something they commented that a lot of the other activities on offer to them often did (characterised by fabric work, glass painting etc). Both had been in typically male professions, they were used to being the handyman and the effect of the stroke on that role, their feeling of worth and overall self-confidence was profound. The work with clay and the adaptability of the techniques allowed them to excel and direct their own learning. The opportunity for the two to spend time together was also commented on by the support workers. They had suffered strokes at a similar time, been on the ward together, but lived on opposite sides of the city, which coupled with mobility issues made it impossible to see each other except through opportunities such as these. Jimmy particularly seemed to come out of his shell, he started with very low self-esteem, extremely frustrated at the limitations his body presented, often expressing a wish that he wasn’t a stroke ‘survivor’. He gradually began to use the clay as a vehicle to express his love for his first granddaughter ‘Lily’. Creating her, first an egg-cup, and saucer, then a teddy bear and a series of animals. Not all the creations survived the reject bucket they were given in week 6! But he did leave with a teddy and an egg-cup, and more importantly an increased sense of self worth and a new knowledge and way in which to relate to his granddaughter. The group gave him the opportunity to really express how welcome she was and how important to him, something very difficult ordinarily given his limited agility/mobility and difficult speech.”

“Lovely group who got on well together and some went for lunch afterwards. Norma, Mary & Alice have been to many painting on china workshops and have produced some great pieces and are growing in confidence with the medium.”

“The group progressed their techniques quickly and made a lot of different pieces.”

“Janet & Mary have become good friends and Barbara & Rosie have also become friends. Janet was very pleased with her painting of a hedgehog.”

“Each person could start from scratch or build on existing skills. Skills learnt could be taken away & built on independently at home afterwards; a good example being that Sue, Eleanor & Ann planned to do some block printing with their grandchildren during the summer. In the lead up to Woolfest & my felting workshops there was much talk about the event. Margaret had never been before so went along with Lesley & Angela. All three said they’d had a fab time.”

“Everyone benefits by being challenged with things they haven’t done before. It’s nice to see how pleased they are when they’ve done something well and it gives them more confidence to tackle other things. Christine and Helen have become good friends and see each other outside of the course.”

“The group were all were eager to anticipate and push boundaries to learn new skills. Some even did “homework”. I encourage a range of tools, materials, textures, embellishments etc. I find this promotes and encourages individual styles and tastes.”

“The banter within the group was cheerful and supportive. The group progressed their techniques quickly. The confidence was evident and this allowed more creative thinking which was lovely to see.”

“Marion last week said she was stressed and ‘it helped take her mind off things’ and Eva, husband is very ill and workshops give her a ‘place’ for herself both physically & mentally. Some took clay home & continued making items which they brought back following week for firing. All generated their own ideas for personal projects using new skills/techniques.”

Appendix 4

Initial proposal for the future development of Spinning Yarns: a creative development programme for older people#

1. #Age Range: this could be for ‘over 55s’. A large proportion of participants in the current programme are 65-75yrs. (To be checked against data from Evaluation Questionnaires)

2. Programme Structure: Instead of a series of short courses of workshops (usually 5-8 weeks duration) facilitated by different artists the new programme would provide a ‘continuous series of workshops for one year. The workshops will primarily focus on related art forms e.g. visual arts but may also involve others depending on how the workshops and themes develop in the different operational contexts.

e.g. A themed project or particular focus may emerge during the year (e.g. an intergenerational project / a reminiscence project / an exhibition / competition / work with other groups with special needs.

The programme in each locational context will be facilitated by one lead artist, supported by one / more artists. (The supporting artists may change as the programme develops over the year.)

This longitudinal approach should provide opportunities for the creative development of the artists as well as the participants:

a) Participants will be able to:

• 
  develop their skills in particular art forms which will enable them to progress / develop their experience and expertise in areas that are of particular interest / relevance.
  
• 
  establish/ strengthen their peer networks because attendance may be more consistent if the same workshop focus is developed over a period of time.
  
• 
  play a significant role in programme development as the relationship with the lead artist and others in the group becomes more established over time.
  

or experienced artists who wish to broaden their experience by working with this particular age group. This partnership may be developed as a ‘mentor-mentee’ relationship.

c) The Supporting Artists will have an opportunity to work with a specific client group with the expertise of a lead artist to support them in the development of this aspect of their professional practise.

d) The Lead and Supporting Artists will also be able to extend their experience of working with different art forms by working with each other.

The Programme will include opportunities for both personal and professional development by providing two ‘parallel’ workshop programmes focusing on addressing the needs/ aspirations of different service user groups. These will be held on the same day at the same venue:

i) A workshop for ‘main stream’ users in the morning

ii) A workshop in the afternoon focusing on those with health issues such as ‘stroke survivors’ / on-set dementia / Alzheimers.

• 
  Artists, Carers/ Care Staff & Volunteers from the ‘main stream group’ will be invited to attend the afternoon sessions to broaden their experience of how to support the creative development of these service users.
  

• 
  Volunteers will benefit from this training programme by:
  

• 
  being able to pursue their interest in the arts during the additional workshop sessions
  
• 
  broadening their awareness of how the arts can help those with particular health issues to continue to express themselves. The skills, knowledge and understanding that they gain will be transferable to their own personal/ professional situation if they have family members/ friends/ colleagues/ clients with similar health issues.
  

• 
  Training : Some sessions will be allocated for ‘ in-put’ by other lead professionals with relevant experience to help to:
  

• 
  prepare the volunteers/ artists and carers prior to workshops commencing - review the programme development, its outcomes and their further training needs at key stages during the year.
  

a) the extent to which the creative arts can help to maintain the health and well being of older people by:

• 
  being used as a communication tool
  

• 
  preventing the social isolation and lack of confidence and self esteem that can lead to depression
  
• 
  using and extending existing creative, practical and problem solving skills to reduce the impact/ development of cognitive degeneration.
  

c) the development of operational frameworks which address barriers to access at local level e.g. funding; transport; venues; sustainability and provide useful models that could be transferable to other areas in/ beyond Cumbria where there are issues of rural isolation/urban deprivation.

• 
  Durham University
  
• 
  De Montfort University
  
• 
  University of Cumbria: Nursing/ Mental Health Programme
  
• 
  Scotland: Dumfries/ Galloway/ Annan
  
• 
  Glasgow University (ref: Research about Quilting )
  
• 
  Age UK
  
• 
  Health Research: Nick Waterfield (CCC)
  

The programme would be used as a platform to :

• 
  integrate others with specific needs (e.g. stroke survivors / those with on-set dementia)
  
• 
  access creative opportunities/ funding partners* that might be available by establishing / exploring links with other relevant networks
  

• 
  Funding could be sourced by Prism Arts as the lead organisation e.g. Lottery Grant : Reaching Communities Strand may be a suitable source or other charitable trusts/ foundations
  
• 
  Other partners could be encouraged to apply for ACE Grant for the Arts e.g. Age UK
  
• 
  Prism Arts will tender to the Provider Forum to be an Approved Day Care Provider : so that personalised funding by individuals can be accessed where this would be applicable.
  
• 
  The possibility of GP prescription funding to be investigated:
  

• 
  North East links
  
• 
  Court Thorne Surgery, Low Hesket, Carlisle CA4 OHP
  

www.courtthornsurgery.co.uk

(this is now a lead surgery for Training GPs in Cumbria)

8. Draft Development Schedule:

July 2011: initial Draft Proposal developed and potential partners approached for feedback.

September 2011: draft Proposal further developed and amended in response to:

• 
  findings from the Spinning Yarns Evaluation
  
• 
  feedback from potential partners
  

NB This may be a phased implementation depending on the amount of funding raised ie The Programme may initially only commence in one location if there is insufficient funding to support the delivery in 3 areas simultaneously.

This section provides outline information about other organisations experienced in providing arts programmes for older people and some of the initiatives that they have developed.

They include:

• 
  some local authorities
  
• 
  charities / agencies based in the Midlands / North of England and Scotland
  

• 
  *The Baring Foundation Report (Sept. 2009) ‘Ageing Artfully: Older People and Professional Participatory Arts in the UK’ by David Cutler
  
• 
  The relevant websites
  

The organisations have been selected because they have developed projects which have focused on aspects of provision which Prism Arts may consider developing/ incorporating in future Spinning Yarns programmes, such as:

• 
  working with people with specific mental / physical health issues.
  
• 
  intergenerational links
  
• 
  working in different settings such as hospices; day and residential centres
  
• 
  developing partnerships with NHS and other local community groups.
  
• 
  celebration events
  
• 
  training: accredited and non-accredited training courses for practitioners i.e. carers / volunteers / artists
  
• 
  using different art forms, in particular: music; singing; dance; creative movement; creative writing / expression; digital media; photography; performing arts.
  

‘The relationship between quilting and wellbeing’ Emily L. Burt, Jacqueline Atkinson

(email: Jacqueline.Atkinson@glasgow.ac.uk)

Published: Journal of Public Health Advance Access June 2011

• 
  Research sample: Quilting group in Glasgow which has existed for 8 years. 55 women members. The majority of the group were retired. The research involved 29 of the group. The sample was aged between 40 – 80 years. 86% over 50 yrs.
  

• 
  Methodology: Semi structured interviews
  
• 
  Key findings:
  

• 
  Creativity and control: It was an accessible means for participants without an arts background to be creative , work with their hands and explore colours and textures.
  
• 
  Colour: the use of colour uplifted mood, particularly in winter.
  
• 
  Flow, distinction and relaxation: the creative process captivated them and displaced anxieties and facilitated relaxation
  
• 
  Challenges: measuring, designing and incorporating shapes required problem solving.
  

• 
  The social side: friendship, support and sharing; affirmation:
  

• 
  The end product: it was a purposeful activity. Time was being spent productively. Finished quilts were sometimes given to charities.
  

‘We’ve never had it so bad, say the ‘squeezed’ over-50s’ by Tim Ross, Social Affairs Editor.

‘... The report, from Saga and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), warned that happiness levels among all over-50s had fallen significantly from a year ago.

Many were losing hope that the economy would improve significantly in the next two years...

The Saga Quarterly Report measures the quality of life of the 21 million over-50s in Britain and analyses changes in living standards, health and happiness.

The study, based on a survey of 11,600 people and analysis of official figures from the CEBR, found that those aged 50-64 were under the most pressure.

Ros Altmann, the director-general of Saga, said: “ The fiftysomethings are really in trouble. This group is getting squeezed from every side.

The unemployment figures for women –a 9.5 per cent increase- are staggering. The long term unemployment for those in their 50s is much worse than any other section of the population.”

The 50-64 year olds are also making “sacrifices” to support their own families, providing childcare for grandchildren and helping with tasks such as shopping or cooking for elderly parents. “These are issues that the Government must not ignore.”

Dr. Altmann said, “Rising prices, low interest rates and an ageist jobs market could leave a generation of fiftysomethings on the scrap heap.”

While overall unemployment has fallen over the past year, it rose by 3.1. per cent among 50 -64 year olds and 9.5 per cent among women in the age group.

Equally concerning was a decline in the overall levels of happiness among the over-50s, the first such fall this year. The greatest concern was the rising cost of living, and falls in income from savings as a result of low interest rates.

High inflation has also led many over-50s to cut back on treats, such as haircuts, trips to the cinema and meals out.

Dr. Altmann said: “Consumer confidence lies at the heart of rebuilding our economy. Yet our findings show that high inflation is sapping the confidence of the over-50s, with 68 per cent of them cutting back on non-essential spending.”

Prism Arts thanks all those who contributed to the Spinning Yarns Programme evaluation:

• 
  Previous and present participants in the Appleby, Barrow, Egremont, Longtown and Roadhead Groups.
  

• 
  The following artists: