Possibilities: Session 10

Creativity Fun Calm Peace Thoughtful Caring

It is the last group session of this series of ten two hourly meetings and there is an air of concentration as everyone is finishing off their journals, figures and story boxes.  One of the mums cannot be with us and we miss her gentle presence, so her journal is wrapped and given to be delivered to her home by the health visitor team.  We all had made very different little environs for our books and figures to sit within, and a swell of anxiety unfolds with the knowing that we won't be meeting next Monday.  So, we talk about the future, hopes and dreams and possibilities.  Each person gets a wishing-well butterfly tag, and we write positive words as a gift to each other. We are sad to finish the sessions, but there is talk too for some of the mums of returning to work, of others possibly meeting at the local cafe, to continue as others mothers have done from other MTMS sessions, meeting on a Tuesday afternoon at the local church cafe tea rooms.

Philippa Forsey, Project Manager, Creativity Works, together her colleague Ailsa, come and join in with the last session to review feedback.  The comments are so positive, and there is much laughter.   On a small coloured leaf we write our feelings to note how different we feel from when we first joined...Hugs and tears and laughter, moving forward, we talk about each of our individual books and journeys and share some words.

"HAPPY CONFIDENT AS A MUM ORGANISED STRESS FREE PEACEFUL LUCKY INSPIRED RELAXED MORE THOUGHTFUL HAPPIER CALM RESPECTFUL CONFIDENT IN WHAT I WANT FEELING MORE GROWN UP REMEMBERING TO FOLLOW MY INSTINCT MY BABY IS HAPPY AND HEALTHY AND THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS MORE POSITIVE AND OPTIMISTIC NEED TO PAUSE REST RELAX ENJOY HAPPY END OF TUNNEL LIGHT EXCITED FUTURE BRIGHT BETTER GRATEFUL SETTLED RELAXED LESS UP AND DOWN HAVE AN OUTLET SUPPORTED MORE SECURE BETTER!"

"Inspirational...a true journey of re-discovery", she said.

For me as the facilitator, there is talk with Creativity Works about a potential Artist Residency to develop ideas and materials relating to the programme, and an opportunity for a new series of sessions too.  The sessions work because of the spirit of collaboration...so a big thank you to Judith & Sarah from the Health Visitors team, together with Children's Centre staff and creche team; the women really appreciated and acknowledged the support.   Thank you also to Paula Tew, Textile Artist, who came and took a series of images to document the women's unique artworks.

Observing our World : Session 9

Another rainy July day and some of the mums could not attend because of children being unwell, but ring in to ask can the artwork be taken home next week to share with partners.  There is sadness about this series of sessions finishing next week. "All good things come to an end" said one mum..."Mondays have really been my favourite day of the week".  There is an open discussion about being stressed, the nature of depression, relationships with mothers and whether we have support from friends, family and how we draw upon our own resources.  There is sharing about whether we can convey to our children and partners our true feelings, challenging family circumstances and methods of how to cope with young children and the desire to have times to just be free.  There is talk too of patterns of change, body image, our view of ourselves as mothers and individuals and the nature of honesty, all whilst making creative journal pages.

On the table are flowers, a candle, the fragrance of lavender oil and a book 'When I love myself enough'.   One of the women talks about how she longs for some time to think, for the mind to be quiet.  We change the mood and play beautiful serene music and focus in on our own individual thoughts, the invitation for five minutes to explore free writing exploring what we appreciate about ourselves and our world.

We reflect back on the writing and the women share how much they have learnt about themselves, that they didn't realise they could be so insightful.  There is talk about who is there to support us, to understand how things can be when feeling challenged.

It has been great for me as lead artist to have the support of Paula Tew, "I am really sad too that this is my last day".  She has had fun recording and documenting spontaneous events, how the sessions are run, experienced and enjoyed.  She takes digital photographs of the huge amount of beautifully creative artworks, together with the small protective environments which are made for the journals, a safe space too for the figures we have created.  We discuss that the world wants evidence of everything, whereas these sessions have been about experience, women coming together to share wisdom and learn resilience for daily lives.  Meanwhile, we enjoy making animated slideshows of the journals.

Being Good Enough : Session 8

The session explores making covers for our books, completing figures of ourselves, or creating environments to tell a story.  Talk turns to relationships between our thoughts, well-being, concerns for others...hopes and dreams, challenges of mothering, of sometimes having to walk away.  There is a thought trail about being simply a good enough mother.  One mum had phoned to say she was having a bad day and felt she could not attend...so for the those that cannot be there, we create a thought wish for them to be well.  Talk turns to mother & child, the madonna, the nature of post-natal depression, expectations, guilt, plans for the future, new opportunities, body image etc.  I show my shoe box shrine with strange looking figure with a rather large eye and an odd shaped baby in a sea shell...hmm, is the comment, she's rather ugly!  A poem is shared about being a mother.

"Mummy is my name"...

There is a conversation around possibilities for the future...but for some there are no plans, no real change, just this time and space to create a feeling of relaxation, creativity and well-being.  We touch on what we could imagine happening in the future, whilst making paper mache dolls, small shrines, creating a fairy bottle red velvet wrapped person with poetic message, together with the making a one woman boat to celebrate a new phase.  Meanwhile, there is an agreement that a camera or digital tablet could temporarily hang off the ceiling to take photo documentation of all the colourful creative stories that are unfolding. 

She said.."This sets me up for the week!"

Out of the Blue : Session 7

A grey July rainy Monday morning and we settle in anticipation around the table, some of us feeling various shades on wellness, challenges of sorting children and the need for sunshine!  Talk turns to discussing how coming to the sessions have helped and what would happen at THE END.  Ideas of what could possibly continue, ie organise time to meet up as mums & babies, coffee mornings, etc.  I discuss how previous groups have continued to meet (until their kids are secondary school age), in a group called OUT OF THE BLUE. There is pondering too, about how post-natal depression can affect one woman and not another, happen with one birth but not another.

There is talk of this blog, the first comment from the group has been posted, I can see it but for some reason nobody else can read it!  Someone else too has tried to leave a comment but to no avail.... and so there is a mutter about technology.  

"I think Health Visitors could show this blog to other mother's,

who may be uncertain or shy about joining MTMS."

"I arrive feeling one way and always leave feeling different...I always feel so much better after coming here" she said.

Paula has brought from her time in Japan, an amazing photo album of her experiences which include shrines, statues and young girls dressed up as maids.  On the table she places wish dolls.  There is laughter as I share out the series of portrait photographs taken in last week's session. Courage is mentioned. Hmm I think looking at my image, I look like I am only half there. Someone else comments that she could possibly feature on a wanted poster.  Ohhh, I don't want to see myself, is another cry.  OMG I didn't know I had so many freckles.  Why do I look like I have a black eye is another cry?

 "I would never have thought arty sessions 

would be for me", she said whilst gluing purple wool hair on her head.

The images of the amazingly unique faces are fast and furiously cut, stuck, selectively arranged and transformed into various guises, creating story scenes within the pages of our journals, with children added, or created into paper mache dolls.  The past and the present feelings are written into the pages of the books, and inside tightly wrapped paper dolls dreams for the future are created out of the blue.