Creativity Workshop with Melanie Thompson

“Everything is possible if you understand that curiosity is the key to all creativity.”

This was my second Creativity workshop for the gallery so I was looking forward to working with a new group of people and developing some of the ideas from the summer workshop.
Starting on a cold sunny day in November, we spent the morning preparing imaginatively, through different sensory exercises and performance writing techniques ending with writing and telling their own stories based on an early physical accident. After a lunch break, I asked everybody to go out into the world and observe and bring back images and objects and writing and then to create responses with an assortment of materials that I brought from my studio.
The final works then needed to find their place, participants chose to install them in the garden, inside the studio, on a wall lit by a phone as the end of the day took all the light. Each work was totally unique dealing with themes of grief, anger identity and memory. I am always amazed and heartened by the commitment and seriousness participants give to the work they create and immediately responding to the ideas and questions I present.

Melanie Thompson

Melanie is one of our Core Artists here at Heart of The Tribe. She has many years experience teaching and creating multidisciplinary art, to learn more about her please read her interview by Vicki from Normal for Glastonbury.