Arts for Health

On Birch ward, which is an adult acute ward at Redwoods, we are working with local artist, Luke Crump to design a ward sign -that will say ‘Birch’ within the day space – surrounded by images created by Luke and the patients – on the theme of wildlife, nature and botanicals. 

Luke will also help to design a wall mural within the day space that houses the kitchen hatch – for mealtimes. He is working on ideas from consultation with patients again around the theme of nature.

On Laurel ward, also an adult acute setting, we are looking to design a wall mural on the entrance to the ward, which will be used as a discharge message board/wall. Where patients who are soon to be discharged can write messages of hope and positivity – placed on the mural – for new admissions to read and support their introduction to inpatient facilities.

The themes arising through consultation here are similar, involving nature and the idea of a waterfall moving through the landscape indicating the stages of illness to wellness for our inpatients during their stay. Artist Ruth Allen from Stafford is working with patients and staff to design this mural and they have already created some lovely individual images which will be incorporated into the final design.

Designs in Mind, an organisation in Oswestry that supports participation by local people in touch with our services, engaging them in a range of creative projects leading to commissions, designs for manufacture for their outlet shop and other community involvement. The team there have spent time at Redwoods consulting with inpatients, through workshops and are re-designing some large panels for the foyer of the Wrekin, adult acute building. The panels were originally created by Designs in Mind in 2011 and now need refreshing, so we have gone back to work with them and their current members to create a refreshing entrance to our building.

Work to screen print the designs is in process and will be completed in the late summer/autumn.

At our St George’s site, on our adult acute ward, Milford, artists Mark Uttley and Kate Slater have been working for over a year there with inpatients and staff to create a number of indoor murals and artistic additions to the ward's spaces. Currently they are working with students from Wolverhampton University School of Art – where they are hoping to improve the garden spaces. There are many areas of brick sections which the team will look at improving with murals. Ideas are being generated through workshops with patients and staff; for the students and the artists to work into designs for the outside walls. The students are in the process of studying illustration and graphic design, this work experience will be invaluable for their future decisions and choices - and this is a great collaboration with the University, one which we hope to continue for some time.

Artist Mark Uttley has created new work as part of an enhancement project on Norbury ward, including some fantastic art on the fence outside Norbury’s Seclusion.

The various woods have their own natural protection: Cedar, American Red Cedar, Larch and Oak…the wood will turn shades of silver as time goes by.  In addition, the work includes plant pots with foliage to create a living wall enhancing the view from the unit.

Illustrator Charlotte Tisdale has created a new design on the large fence that surrounds MOD unit on Brocton ward. Charlotte is a Shrewsbury based illustrator who produces very quirky and unique illustrations.

Charlotte worked with staff and inpatients to come up with a design for the MOD garden fence. The finished work is a colourful scene incorporating nature and elements of symbols and images that relate to the armed services, navy and RAF. We hope that people find the final image uplifting and will be bright and welcoming for inpatients when using the garden space.

Flight is a kaleidoscope of butterflies created by Debbie Todd (ProteanArt) in partnership with Arts for Health and service users and staff of Brocton and Chebsey Wards.

The butterflies were laser-cut from plywood then hand decorated by the service users and staff in the weekly art group facilitated by Debbie.  Each butterfly is unique and has its own character and destination - so when flying together new patterns and shapes are created, and individual stories are celebrated. 

Using very ordinary materials - coloured paper and recycled magazines - the piece creates the extraordinary and explores the themes of transformation, metamorphosis and regeneration inherent in us all.

Following a recommendation by the CQC to improve the sound quality of the ward, we devised a project using acoustic panels within a glass atrium. 

We worked with a young poet, Matilda Houston-Brown, to create a beautiful poem called Journey Soon, inspired by the beach scene mural created on the ward previously with artist Debbie Todd. The poem was printed onto the panels using a variety of fonts and sizes.  The resulting panels have helped enormously with the sound quality in the ward.

Severn Fields is the home of our community teams in Shrewsbury.  Arts for Health worked with Participate - an artists co-operative - to enhance the environment and provide a privacy screen for people waiting for appointments and the staff working in the offices.

The artists created a visual graphic that explores the landscape, hills and river around Shropshire, highlighting various key landmarks.