Creative Canopies: Stories of Nature and Heritage

This was an Arts in Health Project in collaboration with  the Cardiff & Vale Health Charity, the Assessment and Recovery Unit at University Hospital Llandough and the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative.We met online and discussed things that were important to them. Themes included local wildlife, bright colours and television programmes about the natural world. Inspired by the patients’ ideas, we created a box of crafty activities for the users of the ARU. The resulting patient work then provided was the inspiration to create an exhibition that was disoplayed at the hospital's gallery.

My art piece called “Redivivus garden” was the response to this meeting.

Hearing the participants of this project talk about their enjoyment of nature and wildlife drew me to terrariums and healing gardens. Both have many elements and create tiny worlds to be explored.

Nature grows and evolves and science does as well. I thought bringing nature and wildlife inside an hospital was a very interesting concept to explore. In addition, science uses nature as inspiration to research new topics that hopefully will help people.

That sense of going forward is beautiful. That is why I decided to create a colourful hanging garden fill with different textures and elements.

Environmentally responsible creating is key in my art. Using donated artwork and recycled materials served this purpose of sustainability and enhances the sensory side of the piece. I assembled different fabrics, sponges painted with acrylic paint, scraps of paper and origami flower.

I chose to name it Redivivus garden as a reference to the scientific method of naming things. Redivivus in Latin means recycled, pointing out how it was build this garden.

Website to the exhibition:

https://cardiffandvale.art/2022/04/20/creative-canopies-stories-of-nature-and-heritage/