The Queen’s Green Canopy
An expansion into ideas of Abstraction, Creative Writing, and Art-viewing using new processes and materials.
This project builds on ‘Threads of Memory, The Spaces Between Us' and aims to explore how viewing art, combined with creative writing, can inspire making abstract art. The Queen’s Green Canopy is commissioned by the Arts Charity within Cardiff and Vale University Hospital to celebrate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Together we will create digitally printed patients’ artwork for installation within the hospital in 2022/3.
A visualisation to imagine how the participants’ artwork might look within St. David’s hospital.
The project was temporarily put on hold because of staff shortages at the hospital. Trying to deliver an art project in person during a pandemic had many obstacles! I also had a deadline to fulfill my Master’s degree which led me to contact Alice Smith ( participatory artist, Inside Out Cymru) to see if I could deliver a version of the project to her women’s support group.
There were 4, two-hour sessions and they were delivered in person at the Neighbourhood Learning Centre, Trevethin. This was possible because lockdown restrictions had eased during August in Wales. The space was an excellent, purpose-built community space with access to a garden.
I was inspired by the Dementia and Imagination Research project which demonstrated how person-centred art-viewing was an effective model of practice. Combined with the Timeslips approach, I adapted processes from these projects and from artists that had inspired me to suit my participants. The artworks that we created together were scanned and digitally manipulated to become layered prints.
This experience has informed me how to deliver the project with CAVUHB in 2022 (I have been commissioned to deliver 8, 40-minute Zoom sessions each week).
Experimental painting techniques to explore creating abstract art and to test how feasible it would be to deliver scaled-up processes with support staff in a large space at Heath Hospital, Cardiff.
Mark-making and sensory, experimental workshops
“An important part of the project was involving participants in experimental drawing and painting techniques that built confidence and a willingness to try something new. The rapport between Alice and myself created trust between the group which encouraged an openness to test new processes which were outside the group’s experiences and comfort zone”.
Charcoal drawing and mark-making challenged participants, who were unfamiliar with the materials and processes.
Artwork created by Alice Smith
Janet Weare
Sharon Gullis
Marion Cheung
Michelle Wheatstone
Gemma Pearce
Final outcomes
“This project demonstrates excellent resilience and determination demonstrating an ability to be highly adaptive to changing circumstances and delays. The work is exceptionally brave and demanding in terms of visual language and artistic ambition. Marion has demonstrated how prepared she is to support participants through challenging and unfamiliar art processes. Initially, some participants were hard to engage and were potentially fearful, but they came out of the workshops stimulated and encouraged to do more.”
- Christopher Nurse, module leader - MA Arts Practice, Arts, Health and Wellbeing,
University of South Wales.
“At first I didn’t want to do it, but when I got into it I really enjoyed everything. It made me realise that what started out messy can turn out tidy!”
— Michelle, participant