Stansted care home residents get crafty with art workshop

Residents at a care home in Stansted brushed up on their craft skills with a community-led arts initiative.

Care UK’s Mountfitchet House, on Coltsfield, welcomed the county council-funded Legendary Essex project for an art workshop.

The Legendary Essex art project is a collection of modern and ancient Essex folklore through collaborative storytelling and art workshops. The art events, which are open to all ages and aim to co-create a visual archive of local legends, customs, and tale.

Residents began by discussing folklore art and sharing any extraordinary experiences they had encountered throughout their lives. They explored various mediums before selecting the materials they wanted to use and deciding on the type of artwork to create. Each resident then produced a piece of artwork to contribute to the broader Legendary Essex project, which will be featured in the group's exhibition at the medieval Old Sun Inn in Saffron Walden this September.

Mavis Needham, 85, said: I really enjoyed the workshop especially looking at the different mediums and remembering all of things about the windmill, which is here in Stansted. I think that being creative is important because it lets be me and express my personality. My favourite part was creating my own artwork depicting the windmill.”

Joanna Duke, Home Manager at Mountfitchet House, said: “We had a wonderful time with the Legendary Essex group. It was interesting to learn more about Essex folklore, and we were so pleased to see the residents making their own art pieces.

“Art therapy is a powerful tool for enhancing wellbeing and here at Mountfitchet House, we aim to encourage the residents to take part in creative activities regularly.

“We’d like to say a big thank-you to the Legendary Essex collective for choosing us to be part of their project.”

Mountfitchet House is a state-of-the-art care home that provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short-term respite care. It incorporates plenty of space for leisure activities and hobbies, and includes its own cinema, hair and beauty salon and pub.