 'Off to work' by Barry | Last night I attended my first social evening at the Richmond Carers Centre which also happened to be the first exhibition of works by the Centre’s Art Group. Cornelia Eberhardt, a highly skilled artist and tutor working for Richmond Adult Community College has been assisting Carol, Barry and Rachid for the last two weeks with preparing their work for display. Her knowledge and experience has been a huge benefit to the group and they all expressed quite passionately the gratitude they felt towards her as we gathered at the beginning of the evening. |
Rachid, who has been attending the art group just 3 months and is the group’s newest member said “I had no experience, but with Cornelia she has shown me how to prepare the frame and cut it, measure it. She’s very patient and professional. I’m very grateful.”
| The group meet every Friday morning and its longest serving member Carol has been attending for ten years. Carol works in a number of mediums and had some education in art during her teens. Her exhibition pieces included painting using relief and 3D cube structures with painted surfaces depicting aspects of her caring role. One artist that has recently inspired Carol was Dale Chihuly, an American glass sculptor. The group created a number of ‘Chihulies’ from tissue paper and wire. She describes the Richmond Carers Centre Art Group as ‘an anchor’. |  'Through the eyes of a child' by Rachid |
“Whatever else is going on in my life which is very chaotic a lot of the time, this is always a steady point. I’ve hardly ever missed it, only when there’s a real crisis and then I’m back the next week. It’s a sort of stability and you really do relax when you’re here and you switch off so it’s very good.”
 Carol, Barry and Rachid enjoying the exhibition |  Barry with his first painting 'Market Day' |
Barry too, touched on the benefits he feels from coming to the group.
“It actually gives me a chance to get away from my role as a carer which is not a 9-5 job, Monday to Friday, its seven days a week 24-7 and this helps me relax.” Many of the paintings exhibited by Barry were inspired by Lowry following a trip to the Tate Britain in September with the Richmond Carers Centre Culture Club. It is his ambition to have his work exhibited in a recognised art gallery.
“It actually gives me a chance to get away from my role as a carer which is not a 9-5 job, Monday to Friday, its seven days a week 24-7 and this helps me relax.” Many of the paintings exhibited by Barry were inspired by Lowry following a trip to the Tate Britain in September with the Richmond Carers Centre Culture Club. It is his ambition to have his work exhibited in a recognised art gallery.
| Painting has long been considered a form of meditation and Cornelia described to me the importance of removing all barriers when using art as a therapy. She explained that we are so shaped by our perceptions that our ability can be inhibited by what we consider to be good art or bad art. We create barriers as we grow up, barriers that we didn't have as children. “There is no right or wrong with art” Cornelia told me the day before the exhibition and Barry echoed this sentiment on the night, telling me with great conviction that “it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks as long as you like them.” |  'Venice - Lion of St. Mark' by Carol |
The exhibition was a great success, giving the artists a chance to display their work and witness the reaction of other carers. Opening yourself up like this is a brave thing in my opinion and I was thrilled to walk around and hear all the positive feedback the artists received. It proved an incredible experience for the artists though not an easy one to describe as Barry shrugged “I can’t put into words how I feel”.
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