Care home art in online gallery

Six older people from Anchor’s Wetherby Manor in St James Street were thrilled to be told their artwork had been selected for the online gallery which is focusing on how arts have been used to keep care settings connected during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The residents did a variety of artwork, which was chosen to be featured on Anchor’s and the Arts in Care Homes Day websites. Audrey Sheard, Donald Deebank and Patricia Saville did paintings while Joan Dickinson, Malcolm and Meg Mosley worked on embroidery pieces.

Carer Stacie Posgate also joined in the fun with the motifs she designs on trainers being featured in the online exhibition.

Audrey, 95, who used to create oil paintings with her husband, Colin, said: “I feel very proud that my painting of sunflowers in the garden of The Manor House has been selected for the online gallery.

“Colin and I used to attend local art classes working with oil paints and we went to various places to paint the landscapes and things we saw.

“I’ve always loved painting from a young age because I like to be creative and I’ll carry on painting as long as I can.”

Art is so central to the home, that residents and staff had been working on a variety of artwork, including painting stones, for their own exhibition with the conservatory being turned into a walk-through gallery which was officially opened at a Champagne reception on Monday to mark National Day of Arts in Care Homes.

Windows in the conservatory have been blacked out so that visitors can see the photos better and window blinds have been used as paint canvases or to mount the artwork.

The residents joined more than 30 of Anchor’s care homes across England for an art-themed quiz on Zoom so that residents in the homes around the country could compete against each other.

There was also a live Indian dancing demonstration broadcast on the day.