Creative Connections is a series of free creative workshops for adults over the age of 60 in the Western Isles who feel isolated as a result of their circumstances – be it geographical remoteness, disability or any other disadvantage. If this applies to you, you can book any of our Creative Connections workshops. You can make a booking for a friend or family member if they would like to take part.
Under the Raven’s Wing
Join artist Tara Dakini for a creative journey into the myths of the Raven Goddess of Scotland, and how she can help us explore the emotions surrounding grief and loss.
Emotional literacy is the foundation for great mental wellbeing, however, we live in a dominant culture that declares some emotions unacceptable. Understanding all of our emotions, not just the acceptable ones, is really important but can be a little scary, just like a Raven. In this course we’ll take a gentle peak under Raven’s wing and explore some of the emotions associated with grief and loss, and how story, myth and creativity can help us process these emotions, so they don’t remain stuck in our bodies. The focus will be on creative ways to explore emotions through drawing and making and how we can use this emotional literacy to enliven our creative practice. We won’t be focusing on sharing personal stories of grief and loss.
We’ll use various creative techniques to explore these different emotions, including colour and mark making with oil pastels, and making Raven feathers from paper and fabric. You’ll learn simple construction techniques, how to wire a simple textile shape and different ways to explore and sit with emotions.
The sessions will be delivered via Zoom and a link will be emailed to you. Please ensure that your address is correct on your An Lanntair account when booking. All you need is a device with an internet connection and a quiet space. You will receive a pack of all the art materials you need (if you already have materials from previous courses, please let us know which items you have plenty of). If you don’t have a device you can borrow one from An Lanntair for the duration of the course – email moira@anlanntair.com.
Tara M Dakini is a visual artist, dancer and storyteller, based in Ayrshire with many years of experience teaching creativity and mindfulness.
Creative Connections is funded by the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults delivered by the Third Sector Interface Western Isles. It aims to: Reduce loneliness in social isolated older adults in the Western Isles through regular creative and social online arts opportunities; Improve mental health and wellbeing for isolated older adults through positive creative experiences and conversation; Increase the number of opportunities for people to be creative and to develop visual arts skills.
