It was The National Day of Arts in Care Homes on Tuesday 24 September, so we marked the occasion which aims to encourage our residents to engage in the creative arts.
We spotlighted different forms of art, to give our residents the option to try new things. One activity used bubblewrap dipped in paint and pressed onto black paper; the result was amazing and resembled hydrangea flowers. Doug was very proud of his artwork and added leaves and glitter.
We used acrylic paint on plastic sun catchers so the sun came through them. These looked so effective and our resident Ada really enjoyed this one.
Another activity we tried was hand art – tracing around our hands and using cotton buds dipped in paint to create a tree and flower buds. Joy thought this was really inventive and clever.
During the day we had our water colour paints and brushes out, plus our paint pens which are great used on black paper. Paula drew an outline with a white paint pen and then our residents could paint inside the lines. Grace enjoyed doing this, especially as the metallic pens made her artwork shine and glisten.
Art is so therapeutic and relaxing for our residents and many really love to paint and draw, as these have often been past hobbies. We enjoy providing person-centred care, focusing on individual preferences, and this special day certainly gave a great opportunity for everyone to enjoy something of their choice. Our residents commented how much they’d enjoyed making different creative patterns and remarked how clever the ideas were.
All our masterpieces looked fantastic displayed in our conservatory. What a super creative day!
