Creative Space at Cotswold House Marlborough

Jenny Arthy – Arts in Health Volunteer – Marlborough  

I came to the Cotswold Ward via The Arts Society who had a year’s funding to bring art as a therapeutic activity to support the young with mental illness. I stayed on because I found I didn't want to leave and happily the ward was happy to have me.

It's an extraordinary experience and I am learning more every week about the complexities of our mental health. Before volunteering at the Cotswold Ward I was employed by the Army running the art department on their Recovery Programme, working mostly with young male adults with various trauma. Spending time with mostly girls has been quite a different experience, almost having to start from scratch and learn a completely different approach. 

Using art as a therapeutic activity has the most extraordinary ability to draw people out of their shell, it’s not important to produce 'good art' the greatest achievement is finding you can do something you had no idea you were capable of or continuing with a talent already found and receiving interest and praise, and of course there are times when art can speak what you are unable to find words for. Very often just sitting and chatting is enough to make a difference. 
 
It’s difficult to have projects due to the up and down nature of recovery, but it's possible to progress individuals and encourage the continuation of something that might become a recovery support when they leave. 
 
The art table has seen, painting and drawing - all subjects, gelli plate printing, patchwork quilting, making a maquette, illustration, poetry, collage, calligraphy, mixed media..... 

The best part of volunteering is the patients themselves, diverse, challenging, endearing, frustrating, affectionate, funny, and best of all trusting.

 Jenny Arthy – Art Tutor  

 Some comments from the patients community group.  

“Thank you to Jenny - appreciate her art sessions.” 

“Jenny art tutor is fantastic, encouraging, lovely to chat to.” 

“wonderful session and Jenny is very supportive with creative ideas and support to patients.” 

From my point of view, Jenny is such a valuable addition to our service for I believe nearly 4 years now! I’ve seen patients grow in their confidence with art, surprising themselves at their ability when they initially felt they were not creative. It’s clear the sense of achievement they feel when producing work alongside Jenny’s guidance. Jenny volunteers her own time, comes in and consistently runs her session on the unit - I often neglect to tell her of how we really appreciate this! Jenny builds relationship with the patients and works alongside them, using her art tutoring experience, as they undergo treatment for their eating disorder.

Amy Moore  

Senior Occupational Therapist

Cotswold House, Specialist Eating Disorder Unit, Marlborough  

Across the organisation Volunteers are supporting patients to engage in arts activities in a variety of settings. These activities not only enhance patient stays but also have been evidenced to support patient well-being and recovery (Creative Health Report Review, 2023) National Centre for Creative Health 

Thank you to Jenny and all of our Volunteers supporting the creative art programmes across Oxford Health.