Join the SMT Creative Club

We have a special theme for November for the Creative Club: Autumn and Autumn Leaves.

Inspired by Grayson Perry’s Art Club (Channel 4), our SMT Creative Club has been set up for our residents, staff and volunteers.

Bring more creativity into your life by getting involved and help boost your well-being. Whether you consider yourself to be artistic or not, we are all creative! This project is about trying things out and bringing us together through our creativity.

We’d love you to get involved and send in photos of your autumn themed drawings, paintings, poems, creative writing, photography, fun makes, sculpture, decorated cakes, craft… whatever takes your fancy.

Why get involved?

Many of us are experiencing high levels of worry, stress, and adversities at this time. Strong research evidence shows that art and creative activity can:

help with mental and emotional well-being
help support longer lives better lived
increase confidence, feelings of achievement, and be fun
provide moments of calm and recuperation

How to get involved in the People's Creative Club

Create, snap & share

Share your creations via creativeclub@stmonicatrust.org.uk (include details of your work and your name/location), your Community Engagement Coordinator or - if you can - our new Creative Club Facebook groups where you can share ideas, interests, inspiration and all things creative.

Our gallery wall

In the year 2020, the world stopped,
no parties, no gatherings, no schools, no shops,
put into lockdown and told to stay at home,
contacting our families via Skype on our phones.

The Year 2020, a poem by staff member Kaila-Paige, is available to read in full here.

Autumn artwork for the season board, by residents of The Garden House

Made from shells collected 30 years ago in Australia by Sally, staff member

Hand painted cards by Tracey, volunteer

Round the Park Looking South and Peony Rose Bush, watercolours by Peter (resident)

Matching sweaters for my grandchildren by Jill, resident (left), and repurposed chair by Sally, staff member (right)

Doodle cards in gel pen by Linda, volunteer

Selection of artworks by Zoe, staff member

"A selection of my lockdown artwork after not painting for 27 years. All done outside of working hours to help deal and reflect mentally during this surreal time."

Knitted SMT Bears by Laura, staff member

'Pat the horse' by Jana, staff member.

"I am meeting Pat on my daily walk... One day I found a rock in shape of heart nearby, so I have decided to paint Pat, as we became very good friends. The rock is going to be hidden somewhere in Bristol for other people to find and re-hide."

Scarf, hat and mittens for an orphanages overseas by St Monica Trust resident Valerie (left) and calligraphy by Julie, staff member (right)

'Arch' by Charlie, staff (left) and 'My Dog Alfie' by Emma, staff (right)

Portraits in oil, pencil and watercolour by Alice, staff member

Colonel Tom and PPE Nurse knitted bears by Sarah, staff member

Scrub caps by Linda, staff member

Bouncy Spider by Samuel, relative of staff member (left), and sloth mural by Sally, staff member (right)

"I should have seen the hairdresser
Long ago, back in early spring,
But now it’s become rebellious
And is doing its own thing"

The Dilemma, a poem by staff member Sheena, is available to read in full here.

In his new 'Art Club' Grayson enthuses about art of all kinds, and chats about the positive difference doing creative things can have on people’s well-being.

He talks to artists, creatives, celebrities and viewers in their homes or workplace about art and the lockdown. There are lots of great photos of viewers’ creations they’ve sent in. Grayson’s top picks of viewers’ art works are not the ones we might expect; he is taken by the expressiveness of what a person has created and the emotions it lights up, rather than how ‘good’, ‘finished’ or realistic a representation it might be.

During the programme we follow two guest celebs each having a go at a creative piece at home. GrSaayson also produces a piece of his own based on the theme for the episode.