Organisation & looking back..

Celebrating 2012 - Jubilee Celebrations - The Queen, the flame..

Preparing flowers pots, ready form decorating and planting herbs

It has been a long time since I  last posted, so it's a long post, with so many projects and changes to Poppies. 
Poppies started almost 7 years ago, it was time for Poppies new organisation plan to be put into practise.
In fact, an ankle injury at the end of November really did knock me off my feet; ohh how I missed the mad Christmas crafting sessions but not trying to clear up glitter.
(I only managed one art session at Poole Hospital Children's ward with volunteers running around for me!)I think maybe I did need this time to recharge, read, plan and prepare for the mass organisation of Poppies.

Over the last 7 years, with every session being especially tailored for the client, the hundreds of drawings, samples and equipment has been simply Eminence.
Each workshop/ client paperwork has been neatly filed and then archived at the year's end; storage of equipment divided down into big neat plastic boxes with labels such as paper craft,fabric painting etc. not to mention the thousands upon thousands of mosaic tiles filling floor to ceiling professional racking of a garage, 3 sheds, an office and a studio.
So we decided ( with the agreement of the board  of the directors) to cull, create space and organise every aspect of Poppies at grass roots level.


It went something like this:

O hh, when to start?!
R eally, do we need this & this & this?!
G oal of finishing within 2 days - dashed!
A nd so it goes on...and on..
N eeding lashing of tea...
I nspired by children's drawings & the many thank you cards
S orting out, space for new materials..
A chieving & seeing the light at the end of the tunnel or the garage in this case
T ons of art equipment donated to great causes
I personally got emotional remembering certain kids, projects - happy tears!
O nward and upwards..
N ew space, beautifully organised and streamlined.

We decided to donate tons of equipment with a high value to various charities, schools, individuals that we simply knew would really enjoy the arty activities and it felt really, really good. At the heart of Poppies we create the right environment for kids and adults to have that special moment.
The one where we see the person enjoying being creative and forgetting everything else; that joy of painting, cutting, sticking, drawing, choosing colours normally with a hint of their tongue sticking out due to total concentration of the task in hand.

Looking back, here are a handful of memories of our workshops..
We have grouted a mosaic with a full gospel choir singing to us; we have run workshops in a wide range of places including fields, festivals, cleaning cupboards, churches,random rooms in schools,playgrounds, gardens, hotels, offices, hospitals, hospices, daycentres, shopping centres, in the middle of Mothercare stores, mask making workshops in the Co-op in the Shetland Isles, libraries, dining huts, pubs, homes, halls, galleries, tents...
Not to mention some of the themes and what we have mosaiced or decorated in different forms:

Bugs, superheroes, ants, airoplanes, animals, badges, spices, trees, fish, sheep, chickens, crowns, cushions, mugs, clouds, children,crosses, flowers, herbs, birds, mobiles, sun, grass, beachhuts, mini towns, ark, houses, lions, elephants, frogs,trains, butterflies, seahorses, crabs, sea, sky, stars, logos, swings, flags, the Queen and her golden carriage, sayings, mirrors, picture frames, pirates, cards, pop art xmas trees, fairies, tractors, magic wands, reideer hats, snowflakes, bunnies...

Christmas card winner..

The Golden Carriage with the Queen

Young school girl with flag..

Team building mosaic butterflies..

Superhero glasses...

 

Parents painting Boscombe Cafe

'Finn' giving you a wink!

I never would have imagined some of the things we been asked to and have created, heard or seen all those years ago, when I decided to start up my own company sitting on a bench with Nigel Wood in front of the Tate Modern. I decided to start this company to be able to connect people and creativity - we really have made 'Creativity Bloom!' i am very proud and thankfull for being able to be able to do it! Thanks to everyone and a wonderful team and clients.

I attended my first after school art class at the age of 5, since then i have been able to find art rooms and just made myself at home..so it's come full circle huh?!!

Poppies will continue with its primary aim of bringing creativity to people of all ages and abilities tailormaking each and every workshop.   We will also focus our attention on our other company Natalie Guy Mosaics.   I hope we will meet again soon!