MEET ANNETTE: A CREATIVE:VOICES PARTICIPANT

creative:voices is Create’s multi-artform project for adult carers, designed to offer creative respite and enable participants to explore new artforms in a supportive environment. Between February and April 2025, Create artist Liz Jackson led a series of visual art workshops at Enfield Carers Centre, where carers had the opportunity to experiment with a wide range of materials, from collage to clay. We spoke to Annette (64), one of the participants, about how creativity has helped her reconnect with herself.

Finding joy in creative discovery

Each week brought new materials, new techniques and, for Annette, new opportunities to learn and play:

“Today we were focusing on collage and using a variety of patterns and textures that we created beforehand. It was very freestyle, which I thought was good fun, so everybody ended up with something completely different.”

The workshops encouraged participants to move beyond their usual comfort zone:

“I really enjoyed using images from magazines – it’s not something I would normally do. I had never used FIMO [clay] before and I made a pendant and a brooch. I also loved stitching onto a postcard and I think I will utilise that in my own work at some point.”

No matter the activity, Annette found herself drawn in:

Every session I think ‘oh my goodness, this is so interesting, it’s so fun’. Whatever it is I’m doing I’m completely engrossed.

Balancing caring and self-care

Annette cares for her teenage son, who has autism. After leaving her career in teaching to focus on his needs, her role as a carer became a full-time responsibility:

“[Being a carer] has totally changed my lifestyle. I knew that I would need to be more on hand for him and the pressures of teaching were becoming too much in combination with what was going on at home.”

Making space to reconnect

Taking part in creative:voices offered something vital for Annette – time and space just for herself:

“Having [the opportunity] to come to these sessions – it’s like protected time. When I’m at home it’s very difficult to carve out that time but it’s something I’m going to be doing going forward.”

Creativity became more than just a distraction – it was a source of wellbeing and meaningful social connections:

When I’m being creative, it’s about just losing myself in what I’m doing, so I can’t think too much about things that might be bothering me or even really worrying me.

“I really enjoy being around other people. I actually enjoy being in an art ‘space’ with other people. The social aspect is what’s really important to me.”

The impact of creativity

For Annette, the workshops were not just enjoyable: they were vital:

“I couldn’t praise [these sessions] highly enough. These kinds of projects are just essential.”

This project was funded by the Smiles Fund via Comic Relief and Walkers.