Adam joined Creative Pathways in 2020, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, but still managed to complete the course and secure himself a job;
Background
Adam joined Creative Pathways in 2020 hoping to learn new creative skills, develop and commit to a good positive routine, build confidence, meet new people and recognise skills related to employability. He was initially apprehensive about meeting new people and speaking out in the group when he joined our Creative Pathways programme but seemed content to be taking part.
Progress
Adam seemed determined to get into a new routine and the group had many opportunities to discuss wellbeing, sleeping patterns, setting alarms as well as spontaneous chats about Creative Pathways being so different from school. By week 4 Adam seemed more at ease within the group, telling us;
“I’m happy and I’ve not been happy for a long time, and I feel I’m getting into a new routine and that’s helping me feel less tired.” – Adam
Adam had 99% attendance and quickly grew to participate fully in all activities, individual creative challenges, group work, employability tasks and SQA units.
Adam worked within a group of 13 young people as a team, he contributed suggestions and thoughts regularly, and was kind, patient and appreciative of his team. He got a lot out of being amongst his peer group and was able to recognise his skills, qualities and talents and sounds optimistic about his future.
Future
Adam sourced and started training for a job at one of the COVID centres following completion of Creative Pathways. He is very proud of what he has achieved and was glad to be starting work. He would also like to go to college and is exploring options relating to photography and film.
“I have to say that Creative Pathways has been an amazing experience. It’s helped me with my confidence. It’s helped me improve on my drawing and photography and its gave me a good routine. If I could replay a moment in life I’d love to do over Creative Pathways, I loved it!” – Adam
“It has been life changing for him. He learnt new skills, built his confidence and achieved a lot of firsts.” – Parent
Rebecca joined Creative Pathways in 2019;
Background
Rebecca lives at home with her parents in quite a busy household as she is one of 9 siblings. Rebecca had just turned 16 when she started Creative Pathways. She had been excluded from school and reports that school was not a good environment for her.
“I didn’t used to go to school much, but I like coming here.” – Rebecca
Progress
Rebecca displayed a great deal of adaptability during the project. She contributed to various aspects of the film production – constructing the costumes, acting, working with another participant to rehearse a scene to be performed live at the showcase, working with another YP to write and record the soundtrack. She loved working collaboratively with other participants. Her and another participant would isolate themselves from the group in order to concentrate on matching the lyrics to the guitar and was able to ask for help when she needed it. At the start she was struggling to find a melody for her lyrics but was able to work with the creative lead in order to create a personal and quirky tune which fitted well with the music created by anther young person. She persevered and wanted to get better at singing and took on board the advice of the Creative Lead gave her.
(After hearing the song for the first time edited) Creative lead: “You should be proud of yourself.”
Rebecca: “I actually am, that’s amazing I love it!“
Rebecca was supported to take the train for the first time and subsequently started taking the train every morning. This was significant for Rebecca as she had never taken the train before and was very anxious about doing so.
Near the beginning of the project Rebecca had some issues around her communication with others in the group, particularly more introverted young people. We discussed this with Rebecca. She accepted the feedback and made a concerted effort to be more tactful and adapt her approach/ communication to the person and situation. This was not smooth sailing and at times Rebecca had to be reminded about respecting people’s boundaries and appropriate workplace conduct. However, Rebecca continuously took feedback on board and worked on her approach. Towards the end of the project on a number of occasions Jenny (Pastoral Lead) purposely paired Rebecca with members of the group who benefitted from encouragement in a small group and pair work, and it worked really well.
Rebecca was able to encourage participation from peers who weren’t able to share ideas as readily, without taking over.
“I’ve gotten so much better at understanding people’s boundaries!” – Rebecca
Progression
Rebecca wants to go to college, she has been considering whether she wants to study performance or social sciences. She’s interested in drama and performance but she also loves working with people. She currently volunteers at a youth club in her local area. She’s now decided she wants to study social sciences and is working on her personal statement. She is much more concisions about the environment and has expressed her will to recycle more at home. During the lockdown she has started to make exercise routines which she shares with her niece in order to keep active.
“I am much more conscious about the environment and every time I am going to throw something into the bin I think about Elina (Creative Lead) and put the recycling into the recycling bin.” – Rebecca
In 2018 Laura joined our Creative Pathways course and was successful getting a place in college and a job at a fashion retailer!
Background
Laura lived in Glasgow with her mother. Her dad left the household when she was young, contributing to an unstable home environment. She dropped out of school at 16, and found it very difficult to re-enter education to pursue her interest in photography. She had little to no structure or framework for working towards her goals.
Journey
When the tutors first met Laura, she was distant and guarded. She did however express a desire to go to college, and said that she needed a course to help her develop a portfolio. She was also keen to get help finding employment. From the beginning, Laura showed that although she had confidence issues, she was dedicated to her opportunity at Impact Arts.
She impressed everyone with her photography skills and personal fashion style. At first she struggled with punctuality and committing herself to certain workshops and projects, but as the weeks progressed it became clear Laura was willing to keep pushing herself to overcome these barriers.
Laura struggled most with having confidence in her own creative ideas. In concept generation and prototyping workshops during the first weeks, she sat and stared at the floor. Her inability to move past her own mental barriers and trust her creative process was palpable. She was extremely frustrated, and would regress dramatically during these workshops.
However, through repetition and reframing the way Laura was asked to come up with and express creative concepts, she slowly began to trust her own process and generate work confidently. Eventually, she came up with a beautiful concept for the final series of sculptures – an inverted urban grid cast out of concrete. She ultimately created the city out of boxes of tea, clay and toothpaste, secured these “buildings” with hot glue, and then poured concrete over these to create the final sculpture.
Although Laura had always been drawn towards photography, through Creative Pathways she was able to develop and cultivate more creative interests. Her natural interest towards fashion was always evident, however in the beginning of the project she did not believe that she could consider fashion as a career. Through her employability based work with Impact Arts’ Opportunities Co-ordinator, she undertook her SQA Steps to Work Award – which involved community engagement sessions with people in north Glasgow. She also gained her Employability Award, completing the Responsibilities of Employment unit (covering workers’ rights and employers’ expectations), the Preparing for Employment unit (looking at her skills and weaknesses and how her life experiences translate to the work environment) and the Building Own Employability Skills unit (involving CV-building, job searching, interview skills and goal-setting).
“The course has been really helpful in getting me thinking about art in a different way. Before, I would look at a painting or something and just think ‘I like that’ or ‘I don’t like that’ – but now I’m really thinking about what the artwork means or what it’s trying to say.” – Laura
Future
Laura discovered the different career paths someone with an interest in fashion can pursue, and was ultimately successful in securing a college place in Fashion for when she finished the course. She was also successful in securing a job at a clothing shop in Glasgow city centre.
“Fashion was always something I was interested in but never something I thought I could do professionally. Talking to people at Impact Arts about what jobs there are showed me that it could be a career path, and I don’t think I would have had the confidence otherwise to go to college for it.” – Laura
“I would have never got the job without my employability work. Doing the mock interviews really boosted my confidence.”– Laura
Positive outcomes for Kendall in 2017;
Background
Kendall dropped out of school very young after experiencing severe bullying to the point where she struggled to get out of bed in the morning. Upon leaving school, Kendall became reclusive and shut herself away from her peers, fearing any further taunting. At this point in her life, she turned to alcohol and drugs for comfort, eventually abusing substances to the point of overdose. As a result, she was thrown out of her home by her Mum and eventually settled with her Gran after months of staying with friends.
When Kendall joined Impact Arts’ Creative Pathways course in Barrhead at the age of 16, she had very little confidence or self-esteem. Although on the face of things she is a lovely girl with a bubbly outlook, this masked a sadder side. Kendall suffered from severe anxiety, depression, panic attacks and spoke often about having suicidal thoughts.
Journey
It was clear that Kendall was finding it difficult to work with others in a group context. She had been so used to her own company that social anxiety had become a barrier to her participating in anything.
Eventually, as part of the course, she visited several places along with the group, including the Camera Obscura exhibition in Edinburgh, Rouken Glen Park, Glasgow’s Museum Resource Centre and the Letraset Exhibition at the Lighthouse in Glasgow. It was a huge step in her journey that she attended these and faced her fear of being out in public.
Kendall started to become more accustomed to being in company and began to interact freely and ask questions at visits. She began taking more care in her appearance and told us that she was socialising at weekends instead of shutting herself away. Her confidence was bolstered by the friends she was making in the group and the different experiences she gained visiting new places. She began to see herself as the kind, bubbly character the artists and fellow participants knew her as.
As part of their SQA Enterprise unit, Kendall and her group were asked to plan, design and create a wall mural for Barrhead’s Auchenback Resource Centre. This took a lot of research, planning and liaising with the centre staff and users to come up with a design that was suitable for everyone. This process helped Kendall develop a variety of skills including painting, drawing, communication and social skills.
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. You work with the best people – you couldn’t meet better people.” – Kendall
“It’s really nice to be a part of something and do something nice for the community. Being on the course has helped me to feel like myself again.” – Kendall
Future Plans
After successfully completing the 12-week programme, Kendall gained a position on a next-stage employability program with Rathbone and began applying for jobs to get work experience to put towards her dream of working in childcare.
Looking back at our work from the past 5 years of Our Bright Future and Creative Pathways. Highlighting some of the amazing achievements of young people who took part in the project.
Kevin took part in the Creative Pathways programme Glasgow in July 2016.
Background
Kevin was 16 when he joined our Creative Pathways programme and lived with his mum in the East end of Glasgow. He began Creative Pathways in the summer after a short spell of being unemployed after dropping out of college. Kevin had been at college studying plastering but he wanted to get in to outdoors work and had a particular interest in forestry. Kevin was really quiet and closed off when he first started and displayed intimidating body language. He had difficulty speaking clearly and displayed signs of being inwardly aggressive, and outwardly disruptive due to lack of confidence.
Journey
At the beginning of the 14 weeks, Kevin found his place within the dynamics of the group, and fitted in well amongst his peers, although was found to be easily distracted and detached from tasks set to the group. Kevin found it hard to be creative in the class, and was drawn towards physical tasks such as clearing the drive, wood work, and tasks aimed more towards his interests. By week 3, Kevin had created a bird house made from wood, and seemed excited to begin working with wood and screws, as apposed to paint and paper. Being visibly proud of this piece of work, week 4 was a turning point in Kevin’s attitude towards being productive, as he began to understand the importance environmental art in the community. Kevin’s confidence grew and he displayed great social skills improving his verbal communication. His body language changed as he felt more settled and he began to look relaxed and happy.
He gained confidence in the validity of his ideas and suggestions, and recognised his importance within the group to the extent he was able to work unsupervised with no worry of being disruptive.
Future Plans
Kevin worked hard on his SQA paperwork throughout the project and gained a full Employability Award, he also built up a really exciting portfolio of work and gained his Bronze Arts Award. Kevin applied for a job with Cadder Housing Association in week ten and was successful in securing the position. He started with Cadder before the Creative Pathways project finished.
The young people on our Creative Pathways: Environmental Design project in Irvine held a final showcase on Wednesday, gathering their favourites out of the vast collection of environment-inspired work they have produced over the last 11 weeks.
Friends, family and teachers were treated to a spectacular collection of lino prints, scraffito studies, self-portraits, origami boats and bird boxes. The group also produced a zine featuring some outstanding examples of work.
The young people who have engaged with the project over the past eleven weeks were presented with certificates. As well as showcasing work to others, it was a great opportunity to underline to themselves exactly what they had achieved and the volume and diversity of work they have produced.
Funded by Our Bright Future, the Creative Pathways: Environmental Design programme is all about getting young people to think about their surroundings, increasing awareness of environmental issues, building confidence and learning new skills.
Some participants in Irvine are re-engaging with school after a period of absence, others have been successful with college interviews, and others have reached other positive destinations. We would like to congratulate all participants on what they have achieved during their time on the project and wish them all the best on their route to a bright future!
The Irvine team working with Creative Pathways: Environmental Design have just passed the midway point on their 11-week course and it’s full steam ahead in preparation for their final showcase.
They have also been getting stuck into collaborative environmental projects. One has involved transforming car tyres into alternative outdoor planters. Rather than letting the tyres be burned in the salvage yard and release poisonous emissions, the group instead gave back to the environment by planting winter shrubs inside their recycled planters.
The group has also been working on a large mosaic for Ancho Housing Association, which they completed this week, while at Eglinton Park in Irvine, they were hard at work cutting and sanding to make an amazing birdhouse village installation.
Young people between the ages of 14 and 17 from various schools across the East End of Glasgow have been coming together to engage with their environment through researching and producing nature-inspired artworks.
Part of our Creative Pathways: Environmental Design programme funded by Our Bright Future, the young people participating have been encouraged to raise awareness of the importance of preserving green spaces in their area. Through their own ideas and creativity, they have been learning that giving something back to the local community makes a big difference to the area and other residents.
The group looked at mandala designs – a spiritual symbol in Indian religions – and made their own repeat patterns and intricate designs. As well as drawing and painting their patterns on templates, they took a different approach and collected their own natural material, such as leaves and twigs, from Alexandra Park. Using these, they worked together on a bigger piece, and the final product looked amazing!
Building on their creative skills, the group have also been getting involved in creating abstract pieces on the run up to a showcase on the 7th of December at the Briggait. They were inspired by sketching outdoors and game-based shape creation workshops. They combined the shapes they made to produce a large work combining colours and patterns.
Colour has been a central theme in their visual research. The group collected colour palettes from nature and looked at complementary colours on the colour wheel. These works will be scale models used for plywood sculptures to be presented at the showcase and will ultimately be installed in the garden at Bridgeton Community Centre.
While designing these sculptures, the group have also been getting into gardening. The young people produced their own video giving detailed insight on how to grow garlic, and also planted and harvested their own that was later made into garlic bread! This will also be presented at the showcase, where the young people will be able to show off their skills and knowledge about planting.
The group have enjoyed using photographs they have taken of nature as inspiration for their paintings and getting involved in clay workshops, where clay is pressed against various textures (e.g. trees) to produce unique patterns.
For now the group is working hard on developing finished pieces for the exhibition and we look forward to showing everyone the work on December 7th!
This week in Irvine, the Our Bright Future team have been focusing on colour and texture!
In preparation for the Illumination Festival at the Harbour on November 30th, the team have been mass producing origami like nobody’s business! Pigs, monkeys, dogs, and a huge fleet of origami boats which will set sail at the harbour side for the Festival, once spray-painted and hooked up with LED lights.
The team also visited Eglinton Park in preparation for installing their bird boxes (which are being made from fallen wood from trees in the park). The young people were encouraged to take rubbings of different natural textures they found in the environment and discuss what they would change about their environment.
Going forward, the group will be getting increasingly hands-on, building bird boxes and planting some hearty winter shrubs.
