Arty-Folks

16/09/2025

2nd session of our 3 week Art for Mental Health course where we set our inner child loose, gave each other space, and turned down the inner critic.

Take a look at the expressiveness of the artwork created!

15/09/2025

“It’s given me the safe space to try new activities and reminded me that it’s OK to fail… I’ve found some joy, some excitement, and a real feeling of possibility.” - Kelly, past participant

Our Art for Mental Health course is a small, friendly space where you can explore your creativity, meet new people, and build confidence - no art experience needed.

📅 Starts Saturday 29 September, 1-3pm
📍 Arty-Folks Studios (next to Coventry train station)
🎟 Free, with all materials provided

Please book in advance as we can’t take drop-ins: arty-folks.org.uk/whats-on

14/09/2025

All welcome

13/09/2025

“AI was meant to make life easier, yet my week keeps speeding up.”

Does that sound familiar? We have all these amazing tools at our hands and yet they don't seem to make us happy.

Sometimes it feels that the whole world is accelerating and all our nervous system needs craves is to slow down.

When you feel that sense of overwhelm coming up remind yourself that it's ok to take 10mins out for a bit of arts&crafts that can slow the rush of thoughts.
🖊 Try 10 minutes of observational drawing outside. Let your breath guide the line.
🎨 Colour-doodle to music. Simple shapes, gentle repeats, notice where your shoulders drop.
📓 Collage your weekly boundary. One page that shows what you’re saying yes to and what you’re protecting.
👥 Make-together time. Sit with someone and draw in companionable silence. Art bonds people and softens isolation.

Art is a very gentle and yet effective kind of care. It helps your body settle, your mind process, and your spirit remember joy.

💬 How will you create a pocket of slowness through your arts practice this week?

12/09/2025

In our latest 3-week for mental health course, we explored Aboriginal-inspired art as a way to slow the breath, notice our inner landscape, and feel less alone in a room full of kind strangers.

In our latest 3-week for mental health course, we explored Aboriginal-inspired art as a way to slow our breathing, notice our inner landscape, and connect to like-minded people.

One of our workshop attendees said "it's really nice being in a non-confrontational setting where we can be in our own zone have conversations without pressure."

Our next 3-week for mental health course starts Monday 29th September. It is a welcoming, beginner-friendly space that will help you develop your creative practices so you can better manage your mental health and build resilience in everyday life.

Booking is essential!
👉 https://arty-folks.org.uk/events/art-for-mental-health-290925

09/09/2025

✨ Boost your mood. Build your confidence. Try something new. ✨
Our Come Connect online art workshop is free, relaxed, and a wonderful way to express yourself - even if you’ve never picked up a paintbrush.

Book online to secure your spot.

📅 Wednesday 15th September 2025
🕚 11am-12pm | Online | Free
📌 Book now: https://arty-folks.org.uk/events/come-connect-150925

09/09/2025

This course will help you understand and manage unwanted intrusive thoughts. It covers what intrusive thoughts are, why they happen, and how they impact daily life. Participants will learn practical strategies to reduce their intensity and develop healthier thinking patterns.
👉Book here: https://www.recoveryandwellbeing.co.uk/

08/09/2025

For years we have been told that we have two separate brain halves - one for creativity and one for 'dry' thinking - and that we are either one or the other.

But latest studies now show that is absolutely not true!
Brain mapping studies revealed that creativity uses the whole-brain circuit, not just the right cerebral hemisphere.

What is most interesting is that they have discovered what stops us from being creative - our inner critic!!

If you would like to learn to turn your inner critic off so you can be free to be creative come and join one of our courses. Through your art practice you can find new directions and even get the sense that making mistakes isn't always the end of the world.

03/09/2025

🌟 Final spaces left! 🌟
Join our Art for Mental Health course starting Monday 8 September in Coventry (next to the train station).

In just 3 weeks, you can:
🎨 Boost confidence through creativity
🤝 Meet new people in a small, supportive group
💛 Feel more in control of your mental wellbeing

Free to join - no art experience needed. Materials provided.

📅 Starts Monday 8 September, 1-3pm
📍 Arty-Folks Studios, Coventry

We can’t accept drop-ins, so please book online to secure your space: arty-folks.org.uk/whats-on

03/09/2025

A fabulous opportunity for young people!

Our next Skillz with Hillz radio training kicks off on 16th September, and YOU could be part of the next cohort! Learn how to host, produce and create your own radio shows, build confidence on the mic, and join Coventry's top community radio station✨
Email Cass on cassandra@watchcharity.org.uk to get registered. Don’t sleep on this opportunity!

01/09/2025

"Life is so stressful and squeezes all the joy out of my life."
Is that how you feel too?

Joy is a feeling that is far too undervalued. It's not about the perfect circumstances, it's about savouring those moments of lightness that can bring a ray of hope into the heaviest darkness.

Joy is a courageous act of defiance and your first weapon against
🌧 that nagging voice that says you don’t deserve a good life
🌪 the chaos that demands all your attention
🕰 the rush of busyness that leaves no room for peacefulness

To nurture and protect your joy
✨ immerse yourself in observational drawings in nature
💫 loose yourself in a doodle with colours

We need to create more joy in our lives, not only just for ourselves, but for the way it ripples out to others too.

💬 How are you going to nurture your joy this week?

29/08/2025

Recognise stress. Build resilience. Learn practical, psychology-led tools to deal with stress effectively in this useful course ran by the Recovery & Wellbeing Academy

The workshop will help recognise stress in ourselves and building our resilience. It will teach you ways to recognise and deal with stress effectively using psychological principles and knowledge.
👉Book here: https://www.recoveryandwellbeing.co.uk/