Ready, set, draw – Stroud care home residents take part in worldwide art festival

Home news

Oct 19, 2020

Residents at a care home in Stroud picked up their pencils and went back to the drawing board for The Big Draw Festival 2020.

Care UK’s Scarlet House, on Westward Road, celebrated all things nature by creating works of art around this year’s theme, ‘a Climate of Change’.  

As part of their event, residents and team members focused on a ‘Cotswolds and countryside’ theme and created beautiful drawings and collages to be displayed in the home’s café.

The themed art sessions, which will continue throughout October, have already been a great conversation starter, with residents sharing childhood memories of farm visits and trips to the countryside. Another resident, a landscape artist in her younger years, also discussed the art techniques she learnt during her career.  

Launched in 2000 as part of the ‘Campaign for Drawing’, the month-long Big Draw Festival promotes drawing as a tool for learning, expression and invention, and has encouraged over four million people to get arty since its inception. ‘A Climate of Change’, this year’s theme, focuses on the relationship between people and their environment, and offers a great opportunity for older people to reminisce about their favourite nature spots, as well as trips in youngers years to the great outdoors, and how our focus looking after our planet has changed in recent years.  

Michael Godwin, lifestyle lead at Scarlet House, said: “We loved taking part in The Big Draw Festival for a second year – and although things were a bit different this year, everyone loved celebrating all things nature.

“Here at Scarlet House, we believe in the power of activity-based care, and drawing is the perfect example of how we can put this into practice, as it is an incredibly accessible activity that people of all ages can enjoy. This year’s theme gave us a lot to think about, and it was great to hear residents’ favourite nature-related anecdotes and views on how things have changed since they were young.

“We've had our creative juices flowing, and we can’t wait to display the final masterpieces in the home and on our Facebook page for everyone to see.”

After a successful participation in the Big Draw Festival last year, Care UK renewed its partnership in 2020, becoming the main health and social care partner and leading the way in changing perceptions of life in a care home by promoting activity-based care and encouraging other care homes to follow suit. Across the country, more than 70 homes have been getting arty and working with their local communities virtually to create works of art around the theme ‘A Climate of Change’.

Scarlet House is a state-of-the-art care home and provides full-time residential, nursing, dementia care, as well as short-term respite care. The care home, which features 86 ensuite bedrooms, has been designed to enable its residents to live active and fulfilled lives, while also promoting independence. The care home incorporates space for hobby and leisure activities, and includes its own cinema, hair salon and café.

To find about more Scarlet House, email customer relations manager, Katerina Pippi, at katerina.pippi@careuk.com or call 0333 321 0932.

For more general information, visit careuk.com/scarlet-house

To find out more about Care UK’s partnership with the Big Draw, and for more top tips on how you and your loved ones can get involved at home, visit careuk.com/care-homes/bigdraw

To find out more about the Big Draw festival, please go to thebigdraw.org