‘Growing Together’ is a Breathe Creative collaboration with Ty Canna Mental Health Outreach Service and Growing Green Community Allotment based on Bessemer Road, Cardiff. The aim is to connect people to nature through the arts, facilitating a creative wellbeing journey through the seasons to support therapeutic outcomes.
Over the winter months, we have been making steady progress on a few projects in the Art Shed. It’s been wonderful to witness the gradual evolution of the surrounding land from overgrown wasteland into an accessible site, full of potential for all the growing things to come. Participants from the Probation service have been creating paths and building sheds and raised beds and trellises. We’ve braved the cold and dark months, coming each week to write and create and witness the sinking down to hibernation of the land through to the gradual emergence into spring. There’s been so much rain that the freshly planted fruit saplings had to be rescued to prevent them from rotting!
This was our group poem in December at the solstice:
A Winter’s Tale
Snappy twigs underfoot
Crunchy sounds, leaves falling
Orange, yellow, brown
Gusts of wind cling
To my winter coat so snug,
I slow down and pause,
Observing and being.
Robin redbreast in the tree,
Enjoying winter’s offerings.
And this is our acrostic poems recently, from our mindful walks, noticing the changes in nature.
Group Poem after a mindful walk in February:
Sparrows in the reeds, playful, preparing
Raindrops like jewels on branches,
Blossoms and buds.
Lighter evenings, but still so much rain.
It would be easy to stay indoors,
But then I would miss this dark, wintery sky,
The sounds of muddy footsteps,
Primulas like glints of sunshine in the gloom.
Planning, inspiring, rippling outwards
After months of turning within,
We’re out with clippers, foraging for life.
Creating clay tiles for a collaborative frame to decorate the garden in summer was calming and satisfying to see each stage come to life week by week. First, shaping the clay, then etching our designs and words into it, waiting for it to dry and painting it. Finally, varnishing and placing it in the frame ready to be treated with epoxy resin for resilience outside.
Another successful project lately has been salvaging willow staves from the surroundings and wiring them into a simple loom. We went foraging for a variety of plant life to weave through the strings. It was surprising how many species we collected when we listed them: ivy, conifer, bay, catkins, wisteria, bamboo, buddleia, honeysuckle, laurel, oak… and the different shades of greens and browns with the odd red and black of berries. We finished one panel and used it to camouflage the water tank and have begun another. This is an ongoing collaborative project that can be added to as the seasons unfold and more plants come into bloom. They make beautiful ephemeral art pieces to be hung outside.
It has really kept people’s spirits up to come out and keep connecting over these long dark months.
Photo Gallery
Thank you to all our partners and funders for their support, especially:
