The Power of Parks, Pottery and Poetry
Published on 28 March 2022 10:29 AM
We recently spoke to Age UK Islington client, Magda, about her experience of taking part in three recent activities that she found in the Age UK Islington newsletter, taking place in Islington Parks.
Discovering Islington's Parks Activities
Lock-down lasted a very long time. Age UK Islington’s online Let’s Talk session kept me going, and whilst I missed meeting people, I found it difficult getting back out. Things started to change for the better when I tried one of the first of three activities, advertised in the Age UK Islington newsletter, in Islington’s parks. I have lived round the corner from Caledonian Park for 33 years but, before I signed up for my first parks activity, had never stepped foot into it! Meeting new people was great.
The Sculpture Heads Project, run by artist Andrea Sinclair, was my first parks activity. We started the project by exploring Cally Park in search of small creatures and creepy crawlies along with the youth group that were also involved in the project. This was to inspire drawings and later subjects that we could ‘sculpt’ and cast in plastic using 3D printing to represent the park.
Back in the day when Cally Park was a market place for cattle, the park railings had big animal heads that represented the market, including sheeps’ heads and cows’ heads. These were taken away during the second world war and we went to see them in Islington Museum. During the project, we used lots of new techniques that I’d not tried before. We used copper and clay to make the heads before ‘casting’ them. I made a parakeet!
The course had lots of different parts to it and it took place over quite a few weeks. I really enjoyed it. It got me out of the house and I tried techniques that I hadn’t tried before. It reminded me that I liked doing things!
Because I’d done something creative and enjoyed it, I then signed up for the Creative Art Course. We tried a different craft every week. It was well run by art therapist, Nina, from Garden Classroom. Everything was always there and ready for us to get started when we arrived. This meant that we could make the most of the session. We started with 2-3 minutes of mindfulness which at the beginning felt odd, but I came to like it. I was able to completely absorb myself in the art and what we were creating. I’d describe it as a ‘playgroup for adults’. It was a lot of fun! I have never really got to know many people around Islington, but I met new people. I exchanged emails with a couple of people and will try to stay in touch.
Discovering a social network
The social side of the groups was a significant, but unexpected part of it. It was great, gently feeling my way back into society. Whilst I was taking part in Andrea’s group, I experienced a completely unexpected incident that left me shocked and traumatised when it happened. I went to the class and Andrea made me a cup of tea and the people in the course were really supportive. Living on your own, things can continue to boil up inside you and it was such a relief to share what had happened.
I also did the Creative Poetry Workshop, which was with Create. It was absolutely astounding. Lead by Emma McGordon, everything was beautifully prepared. She was able to judge the group really well. Also, one week, we went round the room to see how many languages were spoken by the group. We were amazed that amongst 10 people, there were 13 languages spoken. Emma read a poem in Danish and we had to imagine from the sound of the language what it was about. It was a poem called “My mother’s hands”. We were then tasked with writing our own poems. This released an amazing awakening in terms of my own family and the relationship we had with my mother. I would never have imagined this possible as a result of writing poetry. On a completely different tack, we also wrote poems inspired by fire extinguishers and some poems produced by the group proved to be rather racy!
I am so pleased with my Islington parks experiences and would encourage anyone who is at all hesitant to try them.
Find out about walks and activities taking place in Islington's Parks!
For more information about what’s happening in Islington’s parks, John Thorne from the Islington Parks for Health team is going to be joining the next Age UK Islington Let’s Talk session on Wednesday 20th April, 10.30am – 12.30pm. You can join Let's Talk either by Zoom or in person at St Luke's Community Centre, 90 Central Street, Islington EC1V 8AJ. Booking is essential - email Shamin Noronha Information & Advice Specialist Caseworker, to reserve your place!
Inspired to try something creative yourself? We have a new series of creative workshops starting at Cally Clock Tower Centre, Creating Willow Animal Sculptures. The workshops will be run by Andrea Sinclair on Thursdays, 2 - 4pm, starting on 7th April. To book please contact Andrea on callyparkartproject@gmail.com or call 07710 188385.