Bonsall Arts Trail is an annual curated arts trail for Derbyshire artists held in the beautiful Peak District village of Bonsall. Its inaugural event in 2020 was postponed due to the crisis, however will be back in some form in 2021 with almost all our artists and sponsors still on board. Each one of our artists is featured weekly as Artist of the Week. There will be a limited number of spaces for new artists in 2021 and information when available will be updated here.
Meanwhile do visit this site every week and our Facebook and Instagram pages as we regularly update and feature the work of our artists.
With continuing thanks to our sponsors
Artist of the Week
Wabi Sabi Group
The Japanese Art of Finding Beauty in Imperfect Ceramics
The Wabi Sabi Pottery Group, held weekly in Derbyshire Eco Centre, was launched in 2014 with support from the Alzheimer’s Society, to give people affected by dementia, both people with dementia and their carers, the opportunity to develop new skills and socialise with others facing similar challenges.
‘We wanted to do something to reduce isolation,’ says Sue Mulroy, the adult education tutor, potter and qualified art therapist who runs the group. ‘I’m a real believer in peer support through creating a community where people understand each other’s experiences.’
Pottery is a great activity for people with dementia as new skills learnt are stored as body memories. Working with clay often stimulates other memories, and leaves the maker with a sense of achievement and satisfaction. Indeed people with dementia often learn to throw pots more easily, maybe because they’ve lost the critical part of the brain that tells them they can’t do it!’
And after a hard year, and a long break because of Covid, the group are back to meeting weekly, and the exploration of clay is back in full swing at the Derbyshire Eco Centre at Wirksworth.
With such an enthusiasm for making, some of the group have also set up their own pottery community in Belper, and are busy creating and selling to raise money for dementia charities. You can find out more on the facebook page: www.facebook.com/The-Potties
Bonsall Arts Trail is a dementia-friendly festival
To see some of the fantastic ceramics that come from the group, and to learn more about the Wabi Sabi Group, do visit the facebook page:
www.facebook.com/Wabi-Sabi-Pottery-Group
You can also learn more about the important work of the Alzheimer’s Society through their web site:
www.alzheimers.org.uk/
