1 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:07,960 Hello and welcome to the Brentwood Buzz, a podcast 2 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:11,160 celebrating all that's good about the people and places of 3 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:13,840 Brentwood, Essex. I'm Kay Bellwood. 4 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:17,560 Last time on the Brentwood bus, we were at King George's Playing 5 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:20,640 Fields hearing from Keely Heasman about all that's on 6 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,800 offer at the Pavilion. This week I visited one of the 7 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:27,280 groups who meet at the pavilion, Create Yourself Calm to hear 8 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:31,000 from directors Lindsay, Julie and Sue and some of those who 9 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,920 attend the sessions about how a combo of art and mindfulness 10 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:44,080 works wonders for well-being. Hello, my name is Lindsay. 11 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:45,840 I'm from Create Yourself Calm CIC. 12 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:48,760 OK, so tell me a little bit about create yourself calm. 13 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:52,800 So we're a community interest company we set up a couple of 14 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:56,160 years ago and where the business came from. 15 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:58,920 I'm a counsellor and Sue is an artist. 16 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,080 One of our other, my other colleagues and Julie's also a 17 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,800 counsellor and I was off work during a period of burnout 18 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:06,800 following a couple of bereavements. 19 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:11,120 I worked in the NHS as a counsellor and I attended art 20 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:15,240 classes which were with Sue. She was the teacher and I 21 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:18,200 noticed quite quickly that the two hours I spent in Sue's class 22 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:19,600 were the best I felt in the week. 23 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:24,160 So I sat tight, booked another class, considered whether I 24 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:28,040 could get back to my job, didn't work out, and then approached 25 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:30,000 Sue because I, I have a background in counselling, 26 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,000 obviously. And I'm a always been a 27 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:34,520 mindfulness practitioner. And I had taught courses, I 28 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:36,360 worked at the hospital and I taught courses there with my 29 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:40,040 colleagues who led them. And I decided to train as a 30 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:42,840 mindfulness teacher. And I thought it would be really 31 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:44,720 lovely if we could create something in the well-being 32 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:47,720 space that, that could combine the arts. 33 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:51,120 And, and what I got from Sue's class was very much what other 34 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:52,800 people got as well. There was a sense of everybody 35 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:54,680 settling. You know, people had things 36 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:56,880 going on in their lives that they were able to leave outside 37 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:59,160 the room. And we thought if we 38 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,640 conceptualized it as a, as a, as a thing that that was combining 39 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:06,840 them both from the get go, you know, really explicit about 40 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:10,280 that. We we just started by selling 41 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:13,440 tickets to family and friends. We very rapidly, we collected 42 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:14,880 feedback. We've both got, we're both 43 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:17,720 primary teachers as well. So we've got background and 44 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:20,400 collecting information and feedback. 45 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:22,360 Yeah. So we started with feedback 46 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,280 forms from write the get go and the data and the feedback we 47 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:27,920 were getting was that people were really feeling the benefit 48 00:02:27,920 --> 00:02:29,560 of this. And we, obviously, again, both 49 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:32,240 having a background in public sector, wanted to start 50 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:35,480 delivering it to people that couldn't necessarily pay for a 51 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:37,960 ticket. We wanted to be able to apply 52 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:39,320 for funding. And we looked at different 53 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:41,960 models to do that. Community interest company was 54 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:43,600 something neither of us knew about. 55 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:45,240 So it was a steep upward learning curve. 56 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:47,320 Yeah. It was a long old journey. 57 00:02:47,640 --> 00:02:51,680 And we realized that we needed a third unrelated director. 58 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:56,120 And Julie had attended a few of our workshops as a colleague. 59 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:59,640 Julie and I trained as counsellors together and she has 60 00:02:59,640 --> 00:03:03,440 a background in HR, so she, she had a kind of interesting angle 61 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:05,680 on it and she just was so enthusiastic about what we were 62 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:10,160 doing that we all had a coffee and some cake and here we are. 63 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:13,280 So we, yeah, joined forces and, yeah, became the community 64 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:15,080 interest company. So lots to learn because it's 65 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:19,240 quite a complex process doing that, but here we are, yeah. 66 00:03:19,640 --> 00:03:21,880 It, it is fascinating cause quite a lot of the businesses 67 00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:24,400 I've interviewed for the Brentwood Buzz, yes, are made-up 68 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:28,480 of women who have for some reason needed to change career 69 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:30,480 or they've had children or have you. 70 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:35,000 And some of the most interested and enthusiastic people come out 71 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,080 of that things. So it it, it, it feels like 72 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:39,640 you're, you're fitting a pattern somewhere. 73 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,880 It's it's midlife for women is complicated, right? 74 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:46,240 And I think it's complicated internally and it's complicated 75 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:48,600 externally in terms of the life events that are happening around 76 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:51,160 you. And you know, people can can 77 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:53,320 call it unravelling or they can call it a reinvention. 78 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:56,720 And that's very much how I feel. And it, it, it's a bit phoenix 79 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:59,640 from the flames, but this is life, right? 80 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,440 We have to swerve and redirect and swerve and redirect and 81 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:05,160 swerve and redirect. And actually, I lost my parents 82 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:08,840 rapidly during COVID. Julie's had a caring 83 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:11,600 responsibility, Sue also. So we've, we've got this kind of 84 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:15,280 passion for helping people that are in a situation where they're 85 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:17,200 really struggling to support themselves because they're so 86 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,519 busy supporting others, which is again, midlife women, right? 87 00:04:20,519 --> 00:04:22,720 Often. So we have a variety of projects 88 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:24,120 that we're doing. The one we're doing here today 89 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:27,480 is a creative Commission for rural Brentwood. 90 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:30,120 So we've, we've set up and fall locations across Brentwood, but 91 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:32,600 we have another project we're doing for carers specifically. 92 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:34,200 We work with carers groups of prosthetics. 93 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:37,360 So yeah, it's been a been a lot to learn, but really good. 94 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:39,400 Fun. And, and we started today by 95 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,280 doing a little mindfulness session and it, there was a 96 00:04:42,280 --> 00:04:44,640 strange kind of feeling of peacefulness and almost 97 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,280 religious quality without it being religious. 98 00:04:47,280 --> 00:04:48,960 Yeah. So the the meditation that we 99 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:51,760 did today is a very traditional one. 100 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:53,800 It's based on the meta meditation from the, the 101 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:56,720 Buddhist philosophy. But it is it's made, you know, 102 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:01,640 non secular for for modern life. It's actually the meditation 103 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,080 that comes with the most research as well in terms of the 104 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:05,400 benefits. If you practice a loving 105 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:09,560 kindness meditation regularly, daily, if you can, it, it's the 106 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:13,120 one that has got huge amounts of research behind the improvements 107 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:15,880 that can make in people's lives in terms of how how they feel 108 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:17,840 about themselves. It's often about improving that 109 00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:20,520 relationship with yourself and giving yourself permission to to 110 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:24,360 stop, to rest, to breathe, You know, just take a deep breath. 111 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:26,520 How about that? And it's, it's nice because it, 112 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:29,040 I, I could feel my brain kind of switch off, which I really 113 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:31,080 enjoyed. And also with the art, it's 114 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:33,880 using the left side of your brain and yeah, just a different 115 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:36,680 part of your brain that just isn't anxious and worried. 116 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:38,520 Exactly. And we, one of the things that 117 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:40,960 tools me, I haven't used it today is a glitter jar. 118 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:43,640 And I always talk about the fact that the glitter represents what 119 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:45,720 your brain, we shake it up. It's like a snow globe. 120 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,680 You shake it up and it's this whirl of colour and, and 121 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:51,880 busyness and all the rest of it. And we can't meditation 122 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:53,920 mindfulness, creative mindfulness is, which is what 123 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:55,920 we're doing here essentially. So even if people don't want to 124 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:58,080 practice the seated mindfulness, they're doing creative 125 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:00,640 mindfulness. It's allowing your brain to 126 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:02,560 settle. It's not magic. 127 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:04,920 It can't remove all the pressures and the stresses and 128 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,120 the strains. But actually what you end up 129 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,520 with is, is a brain that feels quieter from them. 130 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:12,720 That's the byproduct. I always tell people, you know, 131 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,440 people are sometimes told with mindfulness, relax, you know, we 132 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:17,440 will empty your mind. That's not possible. 133 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:21,320 I mean, I'd like to see them try and empty mind, you know, So 134 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:24,640 it's, it's not about emptying your mind, but it's about just 135 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:27,920 giving yourself permission to breathe, to stop, to notice how 136 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:29,960 full your mind is. Sometimes that's, that's 137 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:33,040 sometimes enough, you know, and then and then doing an activity 138 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:36,680 that kind of builds on that feeling of settling is, is 139 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:41,600 really what we offer. I am just giving myself some 140 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:48,240 time out from yeah busy life and it's a time where I can just 141 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:54,840 stop and only focus on something that's right in front of me and 142 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:57,400 not the whole world outside. Yeah. 143 00:06:57,400 --> 00:06:59,360 And, and have you found you've been able to do that today 144 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:01,880 because you've got a beautiful kind of almost a flower fairy 145 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:04,000 woven? Page here. 146 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:09,800 Yeah, yeah, no, I am. I'm actually, I came here to 147 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:14,320 originate because I'm quite a perfectionist and art has always 148 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:18,400 been something that challenges me because I want it to be the 149 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:21,920 best star ever. So I kind of come here with the 150 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:26,000 intention of just, you know, being kind to myself and, and 151 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:29,160 just having a go. And I've been really, yeah, I've 152 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:31,880 been really impressed with just being able to get things wrong 153 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:35,560 now and, and not beat myself with a stick about it, you know? 154 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:39,240 So, yeah, this weave has been really lovely to do. 155 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:46,320 It's taken me back to days of brownies, actually, and it's 156 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:48,880 childlike and I think that's really good as well. 157 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:51,720 You know, it's quite, it's just, yeah, a little bit of inner 158 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:55,560 child work as well. Hi, I'm Sue Mills and I'm one of 159 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:57,320 the directors of Create Yourself Calm. 160 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:02,160 OK, now you are, I'm going to say the arty one of the three is 161 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:04,280 that is that your you've got an artistic background. 162 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:06,320 Yes. So my background is I was a 163 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:10,760 primary school teacher for 15 years and I was the art 164 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:15,160 specialist in primary schools. But now I teach more workshops, 165 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:19,880 teach at the fold in Billericay once a week, multicolor class. 166 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:24,640 But I do workshops with all ages from three to 103 probably at 167 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,960 some point I imagine. Who are the most difficult to 168 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:30,040 work with? The primary school age children 169 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:34,520 or the the ones who are adults? Well good question. 170 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:37,360 Could be either or depending on the mood. 171 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:40,320 They're all, they all can lack confidence. 172 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:43,600 If they're new they can all compare themselves. 173 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:47,000 So when they get younger kids don't they just get on with it 174 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:50,080 and enjoy the process. But as you get older, in time, 175 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:54,720 you lose that creative confidence and you become more 176 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:56,840 aware. And that's partly why a lot of 177 00:08:56,840 --> 00:08:59,400 it we say we want, we want you to remember what it's like being 178 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:01,880 a child. And you know, when we put a 179 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:05,280 bunch of children, we give them some stuff, whether it's Lego or 180 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:09,400 construction material or paints or gluing scissors, they will 181 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:13,080 just happily go and play with it and not worry about it. 182 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:16,520 And we want that for adults as well, just to enjoy the process 183 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:20,040 and not thinking we're being creative to hang it on the 184 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,560 gallery and it would be lovely and and sell it for £1,000,000. 185 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:25,680 But that's not what it's about. We just want them to enjoy it 186 00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:27,040 all. I think that's the thing about 187 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:30,760 art is that in primary school, you know, so you must copy this 188 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:34,600 picture of some sunflowers and you must copy this picture of a 189 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:37,720 pond that's a bit blurry and, and you're not allowed to really 190 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:40,080 deviate from that. And so you think you have to do 191 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:42,120 things right. And that's not always the right 192 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:43,720 way of going about this. Yeah, I mean, obviously my 193 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:47,440 primary teaching background, you know, the teachers got to cover 194 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:49,400 these lesson objectives. You've got the office office 195 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:51,200 inspector looking over your shoulder. 196 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:54,040 You've got they've got have all done this and progressed this 197 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:56,640 this way. And of course that's what we get 198 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:58,320 job. You know, you've got to do all 199 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:02,040 these things by a certain time in a certain way because they've 200 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:04,240 got all the boxes to take. And that's what we want to try 201 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:06,320 and forget when we're being creative. 202 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:08,680 Definitely because. I think one of the things I 203 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:11,520 found most fascinating about art is that I'd always been brought 204 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:15,280 up to kind of look at old masters and that kind of thing. 205 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:18,200 You think that's good art. And then you see things by Tracy 206 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:20,840 Emin that's like an unmade bed. You go, well, that's what 207 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:23,840 anybody could do that. And then you see the different 208 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:27,480 shapes and colours and, and what's the word negative space 209 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:29,680 within it. And that's, I think I find 210 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:32,720 that's fascinating that you could have art in anything. 211 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:35,880 Yeah, absolutely. I think I think that is part of 212 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:36,960 it. I mean, you can it would 213 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:40,360 certainly admire the masters and how the skill of painting those 214 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:44,400 folds of fabric in the delicate details and how they show the 215 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:47,720 shadows on the faces. But there's also, well, how did 216 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:50,440 this person produce this piece of abstract art? 217 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:52,840 And as you say, like, you know, a good old Jackson Pollock 218 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:54,480 flicking all the paint everywhere. 219 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:58,200 But it's knowing how he was feeling when he was creating it 220 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:00,000 and what colours, what mood was he in? 221 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,680 Why did he pick those colours? Or unlike anybody's dating, you 222 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:06,360 know, there's, you might not consciously think of it, but 223 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:10,080 subconsciously I'm feeling I want the calming colours today 224 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:13,280 and I'm doing it in this way. And this might have inspired me. 225 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:15,760 I might have seen this the sunrise in the morning. 226 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,440 I saw that brilliant orange and I want to use that in my 227 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:20,880 painting. So, and I know, I know I 228 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:25,280 struggled when I first looked at looking at more abstract art. 229 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:26,880 I was think I always thought the same thing. 230 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:31,000 When you actually try it yourself, you realise what the 231 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,960 thought that goes into it and it's not not as easy as it might 232 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:35,440 look. Yeah, yeah. 233 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:37,560 And. And I love the fact that here, 234 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:41,160 by doing the mindfulness first, it just lets you check in with 235 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:43,840 your brain, just let it organise itself a little bit and just 236 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:46,160 let's get rid of some of those thoughts and then we'll bring in 237 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:49,680 just kind of lovely stuff. It's, yeah, it's, that's, that's 238 00:11:49,680 --> 00:11:53,200 switching off. And I've taught classes for 239 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:58,200 years and, and I, I became more aware of the mindfulness by, by 240 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:01,520 accident in a way, because people were saying to me, oh, 241 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:03,200 I've forgotten about, I don't have to worry about what I'm 242 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:05,600 cooking for dinner tonight. Or, you know, we've got people 243 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:07,760 come to my classes. They've got, you know, their 244 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:10,640 partners are not well or they've got, you know, think difficult 245 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:14,160 things going on at home. And it's, you know, they've come 246 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:15,480 and they've just forgotten about it. 247 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:18,480 Even if it's just for 5 minutes, you know, they've got absorbed 248 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:21,320 and not worrying about that. They can then enjoy, Yeah. 249 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:24,640 Enjoy the process of it all. You come up with the ideas 250 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:28,040 because today we're doing paper weaving and weaving little slats 251 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:32,000 of paper into other slats of paper using colour or design or 252 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:35,200 just however you want to do it. So how do you come up with those 253 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:36,880 ideas? Well, that, that's the very, 254 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:40,920 very good question, because it, it, we, we can change it last 255 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:43,800 minute because it's just get inspired all the time. 256 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:45,920 And I've and I've got all these, all these ideas or we could do 257 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:48,880 this, we could do this. So it's it that could be the 258 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:50,360 hardest bit. Sometimes we've got to make a 259 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:52,160 decision. We've got to buy the resources. 260 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:56,920 But what we try offer is we've got a starting point, but if 261 00:12:56,920 --> 00:12:59,560 people go off on a tangent and do something totally different, 262 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:01,720 which they regularly do, it doesn't matter. 263 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:05,000 So if they do something as you know, and that's what we like 264 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,040 about it, you know, it's what it's not. 265 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:11,720 It's nice not to worry. It's here's some stuff, have a 266 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:14,040 nice play with it. And I'm hoping to take some of 267 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:17,480 the artwork done today as part of the Brentwood Art Trail as 268 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:20,240 well. With fingers crossed if Berlin's 269 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:24,680 listening, but whatever we we'd like to produce something a 270 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:29,840 piece of joint artwork between the groups just to show 271 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:32,880 everybody what we've what we've, you know, a couple of sessions 272 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:38,040 what we've been doing and, and it's also trying to show 273 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:40,520 everybody that it's not scary. You're not having to do have 274 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:43,880 done GCSE art or been O level in my case. 275 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:48,360 And and probably quite a lot of people that come O levels and 276 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:51,480 it's just part of is enjoying the process and whether you've 277 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:53,120 not done. I mean, I've taught lots of 278 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:56,960 people before that haven't done art since school and it can be. 279 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:00,080 And they've retired and so they're a bit nervous, 280 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:03,280 understandably. Now, if the art trail is is is 281 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:07,360 coming up, you will probably see some of your individual work 282 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:09,120 around town as well. What are what are you going to 283 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:11,680 be doing? Yeah, so this year normally I 284 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:15,120 have three pieces. I've done one this year because 285 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:16,920 funnily enough, I've been a little bit busy elsewhere. 286 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:21,480 But yeah, so I've got one piece. I've done a portrait. 287 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:25,800 A lot of portraits is what I tend to go back to. 288 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:28,840 I've always enjoyed portraits. I've done some quite abstract 289 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:31,480 ones, bit of collage. I've done one. 290 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:36,760 I use alcohol inks quite a lot, which I tend to do in the summer 291 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:38,640 because they're a bit smelly and you have to have the windows 292 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:41,000 open because I teach watercolours once a week. 293 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:42,880 So I've done a watercolour one this time. 294 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:47,360 I'm here just to participate and fill, fill the day. 295 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:53,200 I'm currently in recovery from addictions, so I've discovered 296 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:57,160 art within that time sort of focuses me on one individual 297 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:00,920 thing. And yes, just being around other 298 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:05,160 people is quite important at the minute and just sitting and 299 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:08,200 chatting with random people. I I heavily enjoy it. 300 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:12,400 I don't know if they they would say the same, but yeah, no, I 301 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:16,120 just, I'm just trying loads of different things in the area at 302 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:18,320 the minute and this is the first time here. 303 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,600 So yeah, loving it because. I suppose if you've had an 304 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:24,600 addiction to anything, there's some, there's a gap to be 305 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:26,240 filled. If you're taking something out, 306 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:27,440 you've got to fill it with something else. 307 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:30,680 So this is this is quite a quite a positive way of filling time. 308 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:35,200 The day is a lot longer than you realise, so yes, definitely. 309 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:38,200 While I'm sort of not back into work and things like that, it's 310 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:43,720 art and these types of things play a huge part really, and in 311 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:46,840 getting together with people I already know, but also meeting 312 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:49,240 new people and I just really enjoy it, yeah. 313 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,120 I'm looking at a sweatshirt and it's either a designer 314 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:54,200 sweatshirt or you've been painting somewhere else. 315 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:57,480 What have you been up to? I'm just loving art at the 316 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:02,640 minute and I am rather lazy, so don't walk to the sink to wash 317 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:05,600 my brushes. I just cover them on myself. 318 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:10,320 But yeah, no, it's just, it's just one of the things and it's 319 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:15,360 sort of because I'm in recovery. It's really exciting learning 320 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:17,880 about yourself. So I would never have done art 321 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:19,480 before. I filled all my time with 322 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:23,560 negative activities and now it's sort of doing all these positive 323 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:26,760 things and discovering I really do enjoy art. 324 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:29,640 I like going to galleries at the minute and things like that. 325 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:34,280 So it's you just sort of start discovering yourself and there's 326 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:37,200 activities on that help you to do that as well, which is just 327 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:40,280 brilliant. It's just looking for a space to 328 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:42,080 do some art, like get back into it. 329 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:45,920 I'm not working at the moment so wanted somewhere to inspire me. 330 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:49,160 Yeah. So have you done art before in 331 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:52,440 any form? Yeah, just kind of do doodle 332 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:57,680 type Zentangle type things. I did art GCSE actually, but 333 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:01,800 yeah, just not that in the last few years of trying to get back 334 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:03,720 into it and. And what, what have you been 335 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:05,079 doing today? Because there's there's quite a 336 00:17:05,079 --> 00:17:07,760 lot of weaving going on. Yeah, weaving. 337 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:12,280 Yeah, yeah, just finding lots of different patterns and different 338 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:14,480 colours, trying to weave them all together. 339 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:17,800 I came to 1 and I absolutely loved it. 340 00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:24,040 One of these creative classes and I think my if I needed an 341 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:26,160 excuse, I've got very high blood pressure. 342 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:29,880 So this is great to come and just calm down. 343 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:33,560 And that's what it does. And, and what about the, the 344 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:35,600 people? Do you get to chat to, to people 345 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:37,840 while you're here or you've focused entirely on your, your 346 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:41,600 weaving and your artwork? Well, I moved from that table to 347 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:43,680 this table because I wanted to chat. 348 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:47,360 Hello, my name is Julie and I'm one of the directors of Create 349 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:49,880 Yourself Calm. Now I've spoken a little bit to 350 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:54,560 Lindsay already about create yourself calm and what it does. 351 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:56,600 But tell me and and and the background story. 352 00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:59,600 But, but tell me a little bit more about being a a community 353 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:03,880 interest company because that sounds you've been, you've got a 354 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:06,280 background in HR in the city, so you'll be able to explain it 355 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:08,400 really well. Oh, no pressure there then. 356 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:09,720 Thank you very much. Yeah. 357 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:12,600 So Community Interest Company is a not-for-profit company. 358 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:16,040 So the idea is that we're not a charity, but we don't make any 359 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:17,960 profits. We can pay ourselves and we can 360 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:21,520 pay people to do the work when we get to that big, but not at 361 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:23,640 the moment. But being a CIC is quite 362 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:25,600 important in terms of applying for funding. 363 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:27,760 So when you're applying for government funding for local 364 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:31,280 authorities, even just trusts and charities, they quite often 365 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:34,920 want you to be a CIC. So you're kind of doing what I 366 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:37,960 suppose they used to do in church halls or Wis is kind of 367 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:40,400 like bringing something to the community that people want to 368 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:43,240 do. It's free or very low cost, but 369 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:47,000 it has to be done within a a kind of a parameter these days 370 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:49,400 for for accountability. Yeah, absolutely. 371 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:52,240 So when we are pitching for work, we have to demonstrate 372 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:55,440 what the benefits will be. So we get lots of feedback from 373 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:56,600 all the different sessions that we've run. 374 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:59,800 We have run public sessions that people have played to come to in 375 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:02,280 the past and we will continue to do that when we can. 376 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:05,480 But we get the feedback and particularly we ask people how 377 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:07,560 it's affecting their mental health, how it's supporting 378 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:10,240 them. There's a lot of research around 379 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:14,640 which talks about how important creativity is for mental 380 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:16,960 well-being. And so, you know, we can quote 381 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:19,480 that, we can talk about, we can demonstrate the link between 382 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:22,560 what we do and improved outcomes for mental health. 383 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:26,120 So it, it doesn't mean, I mean, we've got about what, 15 people, 384 00:19:26,120 --> 00:19:28,960 12-15 people here today. We're not sitting here and 385 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:30,840 saying there's something wrong with all these people and 386 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:33,880 they've got to come along. This is an enjoyable thing that 387 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:35,440 you can come to if you're feeling a bit down, if you're 388 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:38,080 feeling a bit lonely, but just if you've got a spare couple of 389 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:40,480 hours on a Tuesday afternoon. Absolutely yes. 390 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:43,520 You don't have to have anything wrong in inverted commas with 391 00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:46,800 you at all. We all need space. 392 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:48,840 We all, we're all on the go all the time. 393 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:52,080 We all have these 70,000 odd thoughts that we all have in our 394 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:55,880 minds every day and it's about taking a bit of time out and a 395 00:19:55,880 --> 00:20:00,000 bit of focus, being creative and just feeling everything settle a 396 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:01,440 bit. And we all need that. 397 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:04,320 What I mean, we all have lots of stuff going on in our lives, but 398 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:06,240 whatever it is, we all need that. 399 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:08,800 Yeah, and coming from a a city background, what did you do in 400 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:10,720 the city? I was in human resources. 401 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:13,680 I was HR Director of a city law firm for 15 years. 402 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:18,960 OK, so quite a big job. So is this as complex as that or 403 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:22,680 is it a different vibe? Oh, very different, very 404 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:25,440 different vibe. It's Gee, I did enjoy my career, 405 00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:29,160 I did enjoy it, but it was really full on and I got quite 406 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:30,960 burnt out, which I didn't recognise. 407 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:35,080 And it's really only now looking back, I can see how burnt out I 408 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:39,240 got, how tired I got. This is incredibly rewarding in 409 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:41,640 a different way. HR can be very rewarding as 410 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:43,280 well. It can also be, it's a 411 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:47,640 nightmare, but it can also be rewarding seeing people develop. 412 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:49,880 That was the sort of stuff I like, seeing people coming and 413 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:52,920 their careers develop for this. You feel like you're giving 414 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:54,960 something that I feel like I'm giving something back. 415 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:57,160 I trained as a counsellor about 10 years ago. 416 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:01,200 That's How I Met Lindsay and part of that was having 417 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:03,920 experience counselling myself and realizing what a difference 418 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:06,240 it could make. It's I just wanted to give some 419 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:07,720 of that back to people. Yeah. 420 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:10,120 And and so where do you go from here? 421 00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:12,840 Because for all that it's it feels like a very calm and 422 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:15,480 lovely environment. And it's not like being in HR in 423 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:18,800 the city it you still have to have a vision to where you're 424 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:20,040 going to go. So I mean, could you see 425 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:22,800 yourself setting this up in franchising it across the 426 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:25,480 country and and building an entire empire, I think. 427 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:27,680 Global domination is really where we're going for. 428 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:29,880 It's interesting you say franchise because one of the 429 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:32,680 things I said to Lindsay and Sue when I first met them and talked 430 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:35,680 about it was I said you should trademark the name, which we 431 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:37,400 have. And I said I could see this 432 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:39,400 being a franchise. I don't know. 433 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:41,800 We've just started. We're three, been in our 50s, 434 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:45,200 just like don't quite know how we found ourselves here. 435 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:46,920 I think we love doing what we're doing. 436 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:48,960 I'd love to go to different areas and do it. 437 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:51,840 So not just the Brentwood area but other areas in Essex or in 438 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:55,320 East London and just get it out to as many people as we can. 439 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:58,640 It is nice though, that three local people have got together 440 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:01,880 and doing something to celebrate Brentwood and celebrate the 441 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:03,240 people of Brentwood. Absolutely. 442 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:06,000 And it's, I moved here, I've lived in Romford all my life and 443 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:09,320 I moved here a couple of years ago and I love hearing, I love 444 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:11,680 the vibe of Brentwood. I think it's a really nice area. 445 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:14,200 The people are really friendly. It's just, it's interesting. 446 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:16,720 It's 10 miles down the road from where I grew up and yet it's got 447 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:19,480 a completely different feel to it and it is back giving back to 448 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:24,240 this community, definitely. I've done courses in jewelry 449 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:27,320 making and creative crafts. Excellent. 450 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:29,440 And is it something that you enjoy doing? 451 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:33,120 Oh definitely. I've I've enjoyed doing crafts, 452 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:37,360 especially jewellery making for like making presents for 453 00:22:37,360 --> 00:22:40,680 Mother's Day, birthdays, those sort of things. 454 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:43,280 It's been very therapeutic and rewarding. 455 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:45,040 Yeah. And having the the kind of 456 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:47,640 mindfulness and meditation at the beginning is, it was very 457 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:50,200 freeing, I think. Yeah, definitely. 458 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:53,440 It was really relaxing and it's, it's definitely different when 459 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:58,320 you've got people around you and do it for the first time, you 460 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:02,480 know, can feel a bit strange, but after a while you feel more 461 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:05,880 relaxed. I'm here because I love crafting 462 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:08,800 and I know it's very therapeutic and it helps me. 463 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:11,760 So what what brought you here in the in the first place? 464 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:17,200 I did do a six week course with the same group of people. 465 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:19,600 And then I I was on their Facebook. 466 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:23,000 Page and I saw that they had these, so I thought that I would 467 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:26,200 join because I enjoyed that six week course and it did. 468 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:28,680 Help me a lot. Because at the time I was going 469 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:33,000 through a bad period at work and the creative aspect helps me to 470 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,680 relax. This is my sixth time of coming 471 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:39,640 so I like it very much. It's very relaxing. 472 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:43,040 It's a shame it can't be longer but I know it's to do with 473 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:45,680 funding. The ladies here run it are very 474 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:49,200 friendly and helpful and everyone. 475 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:52,840 It's nice social really and you also get a free coffee and cake 476 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:57,120 with extra bonus on top. And what brought you here for 477 00:23:57,120 --> 00:23:59,360 the first time? If this is your sixth time, what 478 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:00,880 what made you come in originally? 479 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:06,480 The first one I went to was at Snap at Wooley and to be honest, 480 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:11,400 I'm going through perimenopause and I started so I started 481 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:14,920 overthinking. So I thought, well at this rate 482 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:18,120 I need something to help me try and turn my brain off with the 483 00:24:18,120 --> 00:24:20,720 overthinking. And so I went to the first one 484 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:24,520 and really enjoyed it. So now I just, yeah, it's just a 485 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:28,760 normal thing that I come to. Thanks to Lindsay, Julie, Sue 486 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:31,640 and everyone at the Create Yourself Calm session. 487 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:34,880 They meet in various places around Brentwood each month, so 488 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:39,240 do check out the Create Yourself Calm website next time on the 489 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:41,480 Brentwood Buzz. We head back to Ingatestone to 490 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:45,120 find out about the trials and tribulations of setting up a new 491 00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:47,960 business. Please like, comment, and share 492 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:49,880 the podcast wherever you can.