Mothers day postcards

Today's sessions were fantastic. I've been in St Helen's again, working on Text from Grandma.  This morning I was based at Mayfield Care Home, with the group from last week and the addition of Edwin.  We mixed formal assessment of the groups 'well being' with, reminiscing, drawing and printing.

Barbara's and Edwin's drawings and prints 

I haven't done any drawing with groups for a while, so it was a reassuring to find everyone willing 'to have a go'. It's nerve racking for many people being faced with a blank piece of paper and asked to draw, especially a portrait, so as ever I approached it like a game. The resulting beautiful drawings participants then adapted on the polystyrene sheet, which I used to print the postcards with. 

The postcards will be sent to participants relatives inviting them to view their work on-line, or to receive their memories via text. The postcard also asks the question 'what is your first memory of Grandma/Granddad? I eagerly wait to see if this will inspire a new conversation between generations. 

Edwin's postcard, and postcard back

With mothers day around the corner, I used the theme of mom, to inspire reminiscence. Group conversations were written down and used as source material for gathering 12 word descriptions. Such as the following from Barbara:

little

admiring 

interested 

helpful 

eager 

musical 

artistic

friendly 

smiley 

Norman's prints

Barbara said of the session: 'It was interesting and educational, learning things we've forgotten about. You don't stop to think about these things till you sit down and the question comes up.'

Edwin explained: 'I enjoyed someone talking with me, and to me, instead of ignoring me.'