Creative day centre patients of a Northwood hospice are proudly displaying their artwork to the public for the first time.
Artwork produced at therapeutic creative arts sessions at Michael Sobell Hospice (MSH) at Mount Vernon Hospital in Rickmansworth Road, has gone on display at the Watford branch of John Lewis.
The creative arts sessions take place three times a week at the hospice day centre and give patients the opportunity to express themselves through imagery and words in a safe and confidential environment.
Arthur McKitterick is one of the artists on display and a day centre patient. He had never painted before and explained why the sessions are so important to him.
“I find the sessions very helpful because they give me opportunities for new experiences and I am given confidence by the staff to enjoy the process of creative work,” he said.
Jil Baker, Creative Arts Therapy Lead at MSH said: “Patients don’t need to be good at art to benefit from the sessions; the focus is on the process which enables people to put onto paper, feelings and thoughts that may be difficult to express in other ways.
“Some patients also feel inspired to learn or improve painting and craft techniques and enjoy discovering talents they never knew they had. This exhibition demonstrates a range of work produced in the sessions and is an inspiration for other patients.”
Some of the paintings that have gone on display are for sale with some of the proceeds being donated to MSH .
David Brown, another of the artists featured, said: “I decided to display my artwork in this exhibition because I have a strong connection to Michael Sobell Hospice who have been very supportive to me over the past 15 years in helping me come to terms with my HIV diagnosis.
“I wanted to give something back to this amazing charity to show my thanks.”
Some of the work by Mr Brown, who only discovered he could paint a few years ago, includes a range of watercolour and ink pieces. He will be donating 20% of any of his pictures that are sold, to the hospice.
The exhibition was organised with the help of Pearl Robson, the community liasion coordinator at John Lewis.
She said: “We have had a connection with Michael Sobell Hospice for many years now and always try and support their fantastic work in any way that we can.
“This exhibition was a good way of displaying the artwork to the community in a very public place where they could enjoy it.”
The work is a combination of group and individual pieces created with different mediums including silk painting, watercolour, oil and rag painting and a paper folding technique called Iris Folding.
It will be on display until mid November on the second floor of the Watford store.
