Jean Genies :Making magic with Denim
The mental health benefits of sewing, stitching, and creating embroidery are now widely known. It is an effective way to combat depression and reduce stress as the repetitive nature of the activity is akin to mindful meditation.
My project Jean Genies brings together the mindful benefits of stitching with working together in a creative community to create a larger, textile artwork. Our home is The Place, Newport and we also visit other venues such as Maindee Library and Arts Centres.
Sara Crerar (left) in the workshop, teaching stitching and upcycling techniques.
We started in May 2022, an idea by Sara Crerar, a vintage clothing enthusiast and maker. Jean Genies launched in October - we delivered an initial 12 sessions at different community venues in Newport. Suddenly everything stopped in mid-December with the devastating news that Sara died suddenly.
Jean Genies and re-purposing textiles was Sara’s passion. Her approach was person-centred, focussing on what people wanted to learn. She had a wealth of knowledge about vintage textiles. It seemed that every piece of clothing held stories - and Sara could tell you that story. Our fantastic community of stitchers are continuing in her name. We are working towards making a textile artwork. Everyone’s artwork will be included - our first anniversary of the project launch, was celebrated in November 2023!
A denim jacket given an individual look with applique, stitching and embroidery. By Sara Crerar, 2022
Sessions take place at The Place, 9-10 Bridge Street Newport, every Thursday from 5-8pm
The project was supported by the Arts Council of Wales through Creative Lives ‘Unearthing Creativity’ project until March 2023. We are looking for new sources of funding. Get in touch if you can help!
If you are an individual or creative group and want to get involved, send me a message via social media: @jeangeniesu (Instagram) Jean Genies: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087566493425
https://twitter.com/JeanGeniesUK
You can still be involved even if you can't make it to any sessions as I can send you out a textile craft pack, free of charge.
Jean Genies instagram
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