This project aimed to make visual arts more accessible to women in deprived areas and enable them to use the creation of artworks to open up conversations about their traumas and healing process. It also aimed to enable to women to develop skills that they can apply to future employment opportunities, such as:

• Cooperation

• Building trust in relationships

• Problem solving

• Seeing a project through from inception to completion

• Managing time

• Pricing products

• Sales

• Engaging with customers

• Presenting their work

I have always been at my happiest when engaging in a creative activity, whether it’s drawing, sewing, journalling or something else. The act of focussing on something I enjoy helps me to process my feelings, take a break from the jobs list and have some time just for me.

While it’s lovely to finish the creative task with a finished piece of something beautiful, I have learned in recent years that enjoying the process is even more important. If I dwell on the getting it finished too much it becomes more like a job, which is often what I need a break from in the first place.