HUMANS OF WESTON CIC

The HOW CIC are in term 4 of thier creative skills courses.

Four weeks ago we launched our last sessions for 2022 by facilating 6 courses at Weston Artspace for the community to grow and develop skills that they can transfer into skills for life and find opportunities for work.

So far we have created 2 events, 1 being a fashion show to show how cosume making can lead to opportunities for commissioned projects and a table top  workshop day for those people who are attending the ‘How to host workshop’ course.

We will be announcing our Recycled Fashion fashion show next week….

We have enjoyed the tie dye skills sessions as it’s enabled the clients to explore techniques that can help them repurpose old fashion and sell the creations they make as a way of becoming self employed aswell as enjoy the process of creating.

The engagement has been inspiring.

It’s been a wonderful 4 weeks and we encourage anyone looking to learn with thier community to engage with us.

These courses were made possible with funding from North Somerset Community Learning.

So much is happening and we want everyone to be part if it,

HOW

The Humans of Weston have been busy working on organising the last term of 2022 with a selection of interactive skill building sessions.

With funding from North Somerset Community Learning, the HOW CIC has launched 6 new public open courses and 2 closed groups for our community.

Our 6 open public community courses and workshops are;

Back in August we asked our communtiy what they wanted to learn and what skills they would like to develop to help them grow.

The community wanted us to think about being eco friendly and upcycling nature as well as scrap materials so, with that in mind, Monday mornings at 10am till 12pm at the Weston Artspace we will be hosting: Eco Crafts.

On Tuesday mornings, for 9 weeks, HOW will be facilitating a Costume Making course that will end in a parade of the costumes we make.

The first session will focus on designing a fancy headress whilst talking as a collective about the end of term show.

Tuesdays afternoons will be dedicated to a Creative Skills drop in where people can come to a safe space, enhanced thier creativity and express themselves with different mediums.

Our community wanted colour and informed us they would like to further thier skills in Tie Dye so they can maybe upcycle and sell clothes to better thier future independent work choices.

Wednesday afternoons from 1pm till 3pm, we will be exploring different tie dye techniques including working with tshirts and canvas bags.

With a focus on creative skills; HOW CIC came to understand that our communtiy want skills that can further artistic and creative careers.

HOW hosts and facilates creative workshops and believe assisting other people to host thiers would be a great skillset to develop;

Thursdays at 10am we will work with clients to help them create and design workshops of thier own.

Also a skill that our communtiy wanted to further was thier event hosting skills..

We have designed 8 weeks of course information that will help them produce some events on the 9th week.

1pm till 3pm on Thursdays we will create an event and promote to the wider community.

All of the above courses will be held at Weston Artspace.

Our current focus is to help humans grow skills whilst connecting in a creative and social environment.

We invite our community to come and join us…

All you need to do is turn up and engage,

See you there,

HOW

The Humans of Weston showcased the work created by artists that had been on 2 10 week courses; Creative Discovery and Make Your Art Pay.

The Creative Discovery course enabled people to explore different mediums in hopes that they can use skills to improve their social connections and develop transferable skills that they can use as they grow as artist before entering the industry to find work.

Throughout the Discovery course, clients explored Tie Dye, Resin, fluid art, ink work and Macrame.

Make Your Art Pay focused on the next steps of becoming a self employed artist and making a sustainable living for creativty and art.

We were joined by many people who are already established in the community and are doing magical things to shine light on the people of Weston.

HOW focuses on bringing communities together eith an eco friendly twist, and on the 29th September 2022 we opened the doors of the Artspace and were visited by 169 people.

The work we are currently doing is made possible with funding from North Somerset Communtiy Learning who have a remit to assist people taking steps to get back into work and further skills.

We are so thankful that we have been able to create connections amongst communities and help people grow.

Term 4 of our creativtiy starts 17th October….

Stay tuned to our social media for course launch deatils,

HOW

The HOW Community Interest Company was on its 8th week of its 10 week course term structure and the session was all about finishing work ready for the exhibition at Weston Artspace on September 29th.

Throughout the year, we have worked with more than 500 people, all coming forward to be part of the communtiy projects we host.

The Creative Discovery course focuses on allowing people to connect with thier creative side by developing creative skills and then putting them into practice.

We are passionate about assisting the communtiy to drive us forward and grow ideas that best suit them and what they need from us.

At the end of each of our sessions we ask for feedback about how we can further improve our services and skill sharing sessions so the communtiy feels included into the growth of our organisation.

The feedback we have received was that people enjoy the inclusion and social connections they make from being part of it all and would love us to host another term of interactive and socially engaging projects.

We have been lucky to be funded for some courses and workshops sessions by North Somerset Community Learning who share our ethos about helping people grow skills.

Our humans spoke and we listened…..

Term dates and courses will be announced early October,

Meanwhile we hope to see you at our exhibit.

HOW

The Humans of Weston have been busy making things happen.

For the last 7 weeks we have been facilitating creative engagement workshops and sessions to help people grow in confidence and unlock thier creative licenses.

Creative Discovery is a 10 week course in which the attendees explore different mediums to make art. The course ends on the 29th September with a 1 day public exhibition to showcase the work that has been made throughout the weeks.

You can see the event details here;

https://fb.me/e/1XrkwV11z

So far, the clients have worked with: Resin, lino printing, paint pouring, string art, Macrame and more…

A course we are also hosting is; Make Your Art Pay which is designed to help creatives look at taking the next steps in maintaining a sustainable living from thier art skills.

Throughout the course were joined by local writer Becky Walsh to talk about networkimg and visual artist Marta Hutt who shared tips on managing workload.

We are looking forward to seeing what the artists produce and we are excited about connecting with our community.

These groups couldn’t be made possible without funding from North Somerset Community Learning.

HOW CIC has some exciting plans coming up,

Stay involved,

HOW

August has so far been a busy month for the Humans of Weston.

Funded by North Somerset Community Learning, we have been facilitating creative sessions in our home town;

This week, we brought tie dye to the North Somerset Community Training hub on Alexander Parade, Macrame skills to the Weston Artspace and creative business skills on our Make Art Pay course.

Working directly with the community is what makes us happy and we are always thankful for the opportunities to share our skills.

If you would like to get involved, come see us at the NST hub on Tuesdays and Wednesday’s.

See you there humans,

HOW

We are passionate about facilitating creative sessions that enable people to explore new skills.

Funded by North Somerset Community Learning; Creative Discovery is a 10 week course that provides the materials for clients to test out new mediums and unlock thier creativity.

Throughout the course, the group will work towards an exhibition that will display all they have made.

It’s exciting times for the Humans of Weston and we are happy to help people discover thier creativty.

Stay tuned for more,

HOW

The Humans of Weston have been busy launching a new series of courses to explore ways to make a sustainable living from creativity.

Week 2 of the fresh set of workshops welcomed local writer and life coach Becky Walsh to talk about the importance of Networking and how to engage with energy when connecting with new networks.

So far, the clients who have signed up to a 10 week course have looked at how introducing yourself with confidence can help make an impact.

We are excited to be able to host such courses that are needed for our ever growing creativity communtiy of Weston.

This course is made possible with funding from North Somerset Community Learning and we are thankful for thier support…..

There is still time to join the group and all you need to do is turn up at the Weston Artspace on Thursdays at 10am.

We look forward to helping humans grow,

HOW

The Humans of Weston have started the Summer holidays by hosting a creative session at the North Somerset Training hub on Alexandra Parade in Weston.

Funded by North Somerset Community Learning, our hosts got together to facilate creativity and encourage people to explore water colour paints and wax crayons.

With over 15 people attending of all ages, the workshop was a great way to spend some time.

Artist Em Thomas says she loves helping people grow thier creative passions.

Throughout August, the Humans of Weston will be at the Hub on a Tuesday from 12.30 till 3.30 assisting adults to discover creative mediums and on a Wednesday from 12.30 till 3.30 welcoming any age communtiy members to join in the fun.

Tie dye is the activity that is planned for the 9th and 10th and we are looking forward to seeing what people create.

Stay tuned for more,

HOW

For the last 6 weeks we have had insight to a pilot course called: Make Your Art Pay funded by North Somerset Community Learning and is being hosted by community artist Bev g Star and creative assistant Emily Thomas from Lemonie Art.

The course started with an introduction on becoming a sustainable artist that has a focus on community activities.

There will be an opportunity for the up and coming creatives to pitch thier abilities to the local communtiy in hopes to connect and grow.

These sessions have been designed to enable creatives that have found a purpose in art to take thier passion to the next level.

In week 2 the group welcomed local life coach, writer and extraordinaire; Becky Walsh to talk about Networking.

The importance of networking is fundamental for emerging creatives and we were happy to help make this all happen.

Also invited to talk about her work, local visual artist Marta Hutt held a discussion on marketing and managing and organising workload.

Marta engaged with the clients and they enjoyed hearing this artist share her tips for motivation first hand.

The up and coming artists are due to learn more creative business skills before hosting an exhibit of thier work on the 7th July at Weston Artpsace from 10am till 2pm

We are hoping community organisations, community members and others attend the exhibition of creative skills to see what the group have to offer whilst maybe finding an opportunity to work with them.

Stay tuned for more…

HOW

Big Worle are known for investing in thier community and making things happen.

For the last 3 years they have been running a course over the Winter to Combat Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Year 1 saw the hub being used to engage a group of people with creative activities, year 2 the pandemic arrived and the course was hosted online and in 2022 the course of socially engaging activities.

For 11 weeks, local community artist; Bev g Star, amongst guest talkers, encouraged those that attended the course in 2022, to look at ways to improve their mood as well as learn a new coping mechanisms.

Throughout the sessions the group looked at how connecting with nature, being mindful, learning yoga breath work techniques, working with clay, meditation and more can help people improve thier quality of life.

COMBAT SAD 2022 ended with a celebration that included cake, party bags and reflecting on what the group had gained from the project.

We are extremely grateful to be part of watching people grow skills that focus on positive living.

Thank you to Big Worle and the people that support projects like this..

HOW

HOW CIC was given an opportunity by The Aster Group to take a creative project out of town.

In October 2021, managing director and community artist; Bev g Star was invited to join a co-hort of social entrepreneurs to undergo a training incubator and hub that helps improve, develop and streamline newly founded social enterprises.

This has helped Humans of Weston to focus on becoming an organisation that benefits its community in the right way, with the correct tools and has helped us with a strengthen our core missions, values and goals.

One part of the program was to host a piolet project for clients that access the services of the Aster Group and thier associates.

HOW spent 5 weeks with clients that live in a supportive housing community with Rethink Mental Health at Kerward House.

The people that attended the sessions led us to assisting them to paint a community mural in thier summer house.

The aim of these sessions were to engage with this community creatively.

The outcomes included; the community’s voice being heard, social engagement increasing, confidence using skills improved and a sense of achievement was felt by all those that attended.

The pilot project ended by inviting the staff and the rest of the community to see what could be achieved by engaging creatively and how it can have a big impact on improving mental health.

The feedback we received was wonderful and we wish we could’ve stayed longer.

The celebration was super and credit goes to Emily Thomas from Lemonie Art for volunteering her skills.

We are thankful for the opportunities.

HOW

For 5 weeks, HOW CIC visited Wells to host a piolet project that came together as part of a program that is hosted by The Aster Foundation.

The last session ended with a party celebration at Sheldon Drive too share cake, Easter crackers and fun.

Over the weeks this group have been coming togther to cheer each other up whilst developing and sharing creative skills.

At the last session we looked at how these sessions have improved the clients who access the services of Aster and what they feel like they have gained by attending each week.

The clients who have been socially engaging with our project felt a real benefit from the sessions and fedback that even just having a cuppa tea and a chat can improve their mood.

Throughout the weeks, we explored different creative ideas and mediums, including; water colours, mixed media, paint, mandalas, making banners and more.

Some great creativity was used to brighten up the Sheldon Drive community hub;

HOW is about getting the communities we work with to use creativity while being social.

It is our mission to make creativty accessible to everyone.

The last session also included a celebration of all the art that was made throughout the project as we decorated thier community hub for everyone to see.

Artist Emily, who volunteered her time and materials to make the project work said that; “Community projects are needed to help us all grow”.

We are thankful to Aster for the opportunity.

HOW

A community summer house is being transformed in Wells as part of a project HOW CIC is hosting.

The Humans of Weston were invited to facilitate some creative workshops that would engage the communities that live in in supported housing for Rethink Mental Illness.

We have been encouraging clients to help lead a creative project that would help improve thier well being.

Creativity is a great way to improve people’s well being along side being social.

This is all part of a program run by the Aster Foundation that are mentoring social enterprises and helping grow.

This community mural has brought people together and made them feel like they have something to contribute aswell as being part of something.

Our 5 week piolet project is due to end and we think it’s been a great success.

This project is just an example of what we can do.

Stay tuned for the celebration…

HOW

Wells have been welcoming the Humans of Weston for a 5 week project and clients who attended week 4 at a community hub in Sheldon Drive explored the mindfulness of Mandalas.

Each year, the Aster Group open a programme to mentor social entrepreneurs that looks at all aspects of their business and how they can benefit communities to the highest their potential and we have been lucky enough to be a part of it all.

Sometimes, just having a cup of tea and biscuits with others can improve how we feel as we connect as humans together.

Social innovation, community and collaboration is at the heart of everything Aster do and this piolet project has had a wonderful impact on its community.

Bringing people together to tackle isolation is key to assisting people to live their best possible lives whilst putting into practice skills that can be grown.

Hosted by visual artist Emily Thomas and community artist; Bev g Star the group has been looking at ways to engage socially and creatively to improve their well being.

Mandalas are a great way to slow down whilst being in the moment and everyone who attended enjoyed looking at ways to draw Mandalas.

Our last session with the Humans of Wells will be exhibiting to the rest of the community and the community workers what can be done to engage people who access the services of Aster.

We are thankful for the new networks we are building, the opportunities that are opening up for us a CIC and the people that engage with what we have for offer.

Whatever you do today, we encourage you to be mindful,

HOW

Spring is most certainly here and as the sunlight warms up, the clients who attend COMBAT SAD celebrated the start of the season with a session on Wreath making.

Over the 11 week course, we have discussed how being in nature can improve your wellbeing and can contribute to lifting your mood when you are feeling low.

The first step of making these Spring circles was adding fresh foliage to a copper wire hoop.

The group then added fabric flowers too add colour and some thing pretty to look at.

We all had a great time being social and being in a group lifted our mood as we focused on the creative task at hand.

At the end of the workshop, everyone received a little bird to add to thier piece.

Nect week will be the last session of the course that is funded by Big Worle and hosted by community artist; Bev g Star.

We hope you spend time in nature..

HOW

North Somerset Community Learning are funding creative sessions at We Are with You.

This sessions are designed for the members of a communtiy Rehab program to find ways to engage in a way that puts skills to good use.

Tie dye is great way to have some fun with creativity and in this session, the clients were given a set of colours.

Each had a white tshirt that they tied using elastic bands to make patterns on the shirt.

The fabric dye was added and the attendees were excited to see what the outcome would be.

So colourful and bright designs happened and the clients talked about what they enjoyed about the process and what they would do differently.

Most importantly, all the group agreed they would explore tie dye again.

We are happy to be supporting people who are making life changing decisions.

Stay colourful,

HOW

HOW CIC director and community artist: Bev g Star has been making new networks and as part of her Aster program, is hosting a pilot project in Wells.

Week 3 of the project and we facilitated a water colour painting for people living within a supported housing community.

Alongside Weston artist Emily Thomas, the clients were encouraged to see what they can do with the paints.

The clients all explored what can be done with the colours as well as each create pieces of artwork that will be displayed in thier community hub.

It was a lovely session and everyone enjoyed cups of tea and biscuits whilst making art.

We had some great feedback and we were informed that just having something to do to help get people out their house was enough.

It’s a truley wonderful opportunity that we have been given and are thankful to have the chance to connect with community in a creative way.

Next week the group will be exploring Mandalas and the shapes that can be found within them.

Good things happen when you’re being creative,

HOW

HOW returned to Wells for its 3rd week to work on a community Mural that is happening at Keward house.

Working closely with the clients, we supported them to find a creative project that will use creative skills, put them into action and improve thier community space.

The group decided to paint a picture of Glastonbury Tor on the wall of thier summer house.

We are passionate about helping people live thier best possible lives, whilst incorporating creativity.

The second coat has now been painted and next week we will focus on adding the details.

We are thankful to the Aster group for helping make this happen.

The work done so far is really great and we are delighted to see people grow…

Watch this space,

HOW

Filling your mind with creative skills is one way to tackle low mood.

In week 9 of the COMBAT SAD course funded by Big Worle; Bev g Star, hosted a session on Mandalas.

The session started by the clients exploring the shapes that can be found within a Mandala and seeing what characteristic traits these eternal patterns can include.

The second part of the process was drawing free hand a mandala in aid to release the mind from perfection.

We then used a compass to make some symmetrical designs before upcycling old vinyl records as our canvas.

It was a very relaxed session and some wonderful moments were had.

The clients that attended the session all received some Sedum plants as a reminder to include nature into thier lives as the Spring arrives.

We hope you get chance to explore new ideas and fill your mind full of wonderful things…

Stay curious,

HOW

For the last 9 weeks, a group has been attending the Creative Discovery course to focus on developing skills that they can put into practice and make art.

The course is being hosted by community artist; Bev g Star and community worker Sid Howlett at Weston Artspace.

The clients have explored: Mandalas, clay, mixed media, water colours, canvas painting and more, alongside, framing and hanging thier work for exhibiting.

The group, that has been funded by North Somerset Community Learning, got together to set up thier exhibit ready for the final display on March 22nd 2022.

People have been discovering skills that they didn’t know they had and nurturing those skills to grow.

We can’t wait for the rest of the community to see what we have been up to…

Come see us;

https://facebook.com/events/s/creativity-discovered-art-exhi/469337464922863/

See you there,

HOW

The members of a community rehab program that is run by We Are With You, explored soap carving.

Sometimes the most smallest of ideas are the best and chissling into a soft service was extremely therapeutic.

The 12 week program is designed to help those are suffering with addiction, learn about thier addictions and access the help that is needed to start making healthy changes.

North Somerset Community Learning are funding these creative workshops on a Monday afternoon for clients to get the chance to develop creative skills and find a distraction from thier addictions.

The sessions also allow those that attend, to make suggestions of what they wish to try and next week is tye dye.

Hosting the sessions is community artist; Bev g Star and creative assistant Paige Bailiss who create a safe space for clients to try new ideas and so far the it has been a great success.

We are so happy that people are growing and understanding that creativity can be used as a tool to escape.

We hope you get time to be creative,

HOW

HOW has the interest of the community at it’s core, so when we were given the opportunity for clients at Keward House to help lead a project, it was decided, that, as a group we would paint a mural in their summer house.

Week 1 of a 5 week piolet allowed the attendees to explore ideas to grow throughout our time being creative with them.

One client drew Glastonbury Tor on the wall and as a group they agreed to use this as inspiration.

Week 2 of the project, we got stuck in and made things happen by adding the first coat of paint to the bigger picture.

We are passionate about growing confidence and finding purpose for skills that people can develop aswell as put into practice.

The project has gotten off to a great start, everyone feels involved and thankful to be part of something where there feel seen, listened too and included.

Next week we will make a return visit to the Humans of Wells and layer on the second coat of paint.

Watch this space…

HOW

Week 2 of our piolet project in Wells and the group made some creative banners.

Given rolls of paper and plenty of mark making pens and pencils, everyone got creative whilst being most social.

Exploring creative freedom and doodling for fun can be all that is needed to bring people togther.

Our project in Wells is for the supported living tenants of the Aster Group; a housing association for the South and South West.

HOW has been invited to do what they do best and make creativity accessible to everyone.

The clients who attended the group appreciated the safe space to explore ideas.

We are so very thankful to have been given this opportunity to grow our network and connect with people that are so welcoming.

The feedback given was that it was fun and people enjoyed the chatting and singing.

Thank you Aster for enabling us to bring such joy.

Next week, the group will be testing out water colour paints.

Stay connected,

HOW

The COMBAT SAD crew welcomed local poet and word genius; Sophie Shepherd who regularly holds poetry slams at Loves Cafe in Weston.

In week 8, the group were given a notebook, some inspiration and examples to put together some words of thier own.

With a relaxed vibe, the group worked on writing for 3 minutes about an intence moment they had had that week.

There were no rules to the imagination used, just a focus on writing whatever came.

Sophie, who also deliveres workshops in schools, then encouraged the attendees to highlight thier 6 favourite sentences, words or quotes from their written piece.

Then with some further prompts, each person used those previous words to reshuffle and make a short spoken word piece

Incorporating the use of words, playing with them and using the as a healthy outlet is one of many skills the COMBAT SAD crew are exploring to lift mood and tackle soical isolation.

This sessions are funded by Big Worle and facilated by community artist Bev g Star and we were thankful to be joined by Sophie.

You can see a poetry slam in action on March 2022:

Weston vs Bristol Poetry Slam

Stay poetic..

HOW

Something has been happening at the Artspace…

Week 8 of 10 saw the Creative Discovery clients have a free art session allowing them to explore whatever medium they felt like working with.

The group came together to start finishing their art projects that will be on exhibit at the Weston Artspace.

Throughout the course, the attendees have had the chance to explore a range of different skills and focusing on how to put them into practice.

Some beautiful artwork has been created and developing creative skills gives people the chance to express in a visual and colourful way whilst showing the world what they are made of.

Everyone is welcome to come and visit the ‘Creativity Discovered’ art exhibit on March 22nd 2022 at 1pm till 2.30pm.

We are thankful to North Somerset Community Learning for helping us make creative skills accessible to those that need it the most.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the exhibition,

HOW

For the second part of our pilot project in Wells and as part of the social mentorship program with The Aster Foundation; HOW visited clients that live in a supported housing community called Keward House.

The supported living clients have access to a Summer House that we will be based in for our 5 week project.

We are making use of that Summer house by turning the place into a creative hub that displays art the clients make throughout this journey.

The clients that attended were encouraged to start thier creative journey by making visual art with the materials provided by HOW.

The materials were laid out and the clients began exploring ideas that we can grow by mark making and mixing media.

Starting with a blank canvas, we looked at the different ideas that we can grow and what ideas we can develop as the project unfolds.

Anything was possible and it is our purpose to help people access creativity whilst facilitating social engagement.

Some great art was made and it was a delight to see people unlocking thier creative licenses as they discovered what is possible when you incorporate creativty into everyday life.

We are passionate about humans living thier best possible lives whilst putting into practice the skills they learn along the way.

HOW focuses on getting the community to lead where they would like to take projects.

It was decided by the clients they would like to work on a mural and expand on a wall drawing of the Glastonbury Tor in our first session.

We are very much looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Stay creative….

HOW

Since October 2021, Managing Director and community artist; Bev G Star has been part of a mentorship and co-hort program that is being hosted by The Aster Foundation.

Aster are working within their communities to bring organisations, who have something to give, a chance to grow whilst hosting a socially engaging project in that network.

HOW CIC has been invited to host a 5 week piolet project in Wells that focuses on; making creativity accessible to everyone assisting better mental health whilst documenting the importance of having engaging activities for us as humans to connect with.

Aster supports people living in social housing and the first place HOW visited was a community hub to facilate a mixed media workshop for clients that are looking to engage and connect in a creative way.

It was a great success and some of the feedback given was that even just a cup of tea can make someomes day.

We are so thankful to be given the opportunity to be part of a program that has enabled us to grow.

Stay tuned humans…..

It’s going to get colourful.

HOW

Gentle breathing can bring you back to the moment.

Having power over your breath is a really good self soothing way to manage stress and anxiety.

The COMBAT SAD Crew were blessed with the company of Emma from Do Yoga.

Funded by Big Worle, COMBAT SAD is in its third year of being facilitated by community artist and HOW CIC Director; Bev g Star.

Emma hosted a gentle talk about the origins of yoga and guided the group through some grounding breathing techniques.

The group also explored some gentle seated Yoga that can help us relax and use in our everyday lives.

The aims and goals of these sessions are to create coping mechanisms and skills that enhance our quality of life.

We are thankful that we can encourage people to be the best version of themselves and we are full of gratitude to be working with the community.

Stay grounded,

HOW