Art Clubs for primary age children are active in Westhill on Monday and Tuesdays after school at the Trinity Church Hall. All 3 classes currently full.
And in Inverurie on Thursdays after school at the Roman Catholic Church Hall on North Street. Both classes are currently full.
Penny has worked as an art intervention specialist in primary and secondary schools across Aberdeenshire for the last 9 years. She brings her extensive knowledge and experience of creative engagement with children and young people to challenging, yet rewarding appointments in traditional educational environments.
Recently she has developed Creative Space which is her own innovative solution to the restrictions that learning pathways plus can present. Creative Space can be anywhere. A table in a hallway or a corner of the library can become a supportive and nurturing creative environment, with Penny’s own brand of positive, understanding, patience, and enthusiasm.
Penny uses art as a tool for basic engagement with pupils from P1-S6 with a wide range of emotional needs and abilities, enabling therapeutic art techniques to become part of their tools for life.
Each child/ group embarks on an initial 6 week Creative Space program to express their emotions in a positive way, through non verbal art techniques. Penny makes sure to first check in with staff, children and young people to get an over view of how they are feeling.
Creative Space sessions encourage young people to: Acknowledge feelings, Understand that feelings are individual, verbalising emotions through actions, understand how behaviour impacts others around you, verbalising triggers and self regulating emotions. Once children and young people have graduated past the initial 6 week program, then they are able to progress onto improve self confidence and resilience by developing bespoke art intervention projects based on participants interests and passions.
Your Creative Space can include: animation, video and sound editing, digital art on iPad Pro with Apple Pencil, drawing, painting, street art and spray painting, sensory art, super hero and comic book art, storyboards, model making, cosplay and prop creation and relaxing general arts and crafts sessions.
Penny offers accredited sessions through Youth Scotland Hi-5 awards which recognise participation through discovering new things, feeling better about oneself, gaining more skills and working better with others.