Welcome to my website, I hope my art brings you joy, the meaning of my surname in fact!
I have recently re-kindled my love of creating art. As a child I would paint and draw for hours with my siblings, even winning a few prizes along the way. My first was at Norwich Castle Museum and I went on to see my art exhibited in London and Tokyo via other National competitions.
However…. University and work eventually got in the way! Art was confined to doodling during seminars then staff meetings. I enjoyed my work with mental health organisations, in particular an arts based one. Inspired by witnessing the power of the arts to transform people's lives, I trained in Creative Arts at the Institute of Arts in Therapy and Education (IATE), London. Since then, for many years now, I’ve used my experience to run activity, training and therapeutic groups and often combine these with Mindfulness meditation for which I am also an accredited Teacher.
I got ‘back into’ doing my own art about 4 years ago via workshops in Bournemouth where I was based at the time. We were encouraged to work intuitively (no planning allowed!), often painting over something we thought looked “good/ okay enough” to see what emerged. It teaches you to be brave and take risks! I also took lessons in seascapes.
Alongside my coaching job at the time - running creative personal development sessions for people out of work - my weekends were spent re-igniting the artist within me abandoned years before!
So to present time, 2019. Now my art is still created intuitively but with prior ‘planning’ in my mind in terms of colour and form. I use good quality acrylics (loads of it as my paintings are pretty layered!) sometimes ink, sometimes collage. I would like to develop the seascapes aspect of my work, especially now I’ve moved back to my home town/ county of Norfolk with its gorgeous coastlines.
I have been back here for nearly 2 years to help support my mother who still lives here. As well as doing my own art, when i find time i like to write poems, songs and music, another passion of mine. I have also set up some Wellbeing Workshops using the medium of creativity. These are held in central Norwich. For more info, please see the workshop page on this site.
Thank you for reading and I hope to meet you soon either at my Open Studio - I am currently taking part in the annual Norwich and Norfolk Open Studios (please see my first blog!!) - or at one of my workshops.
Mina Sassoon