Reframe: Rediscovering You Through the Menopause Journey
Confidence • Care • Creativity
Drop-in creative sessions celebrating World Menopause Day
Join us for a day of creative reflection and discussion, focusing on confidence, body image, and self-care.
This free, drop-in event aims to provide a safe place for women and people living with menopause symptoms to come along and find out about local support services, speak to guest menopause support professionals who will be popping in throughout the day, and take part in fun, creative activities that will spark conversations around how we see ourselves.
Plus, local artist Nicky Ruddick will be facilitating a free, drop-in collage workshop titled ‘FILTER THIS!’ We know that Photoshop and filters are used constantly, creating a strange mix of real and enhanced body parts that aren't always easy to distinguish. These images influence women's view of their bodies and their confidence/self-esteem.
FILTER THIS! encourages participants to create their own hybrid using a collage of images from fashion magazines and beauty adverts. The resulting figures are just as 'real' as the images we see in magazines and online.The activity aims to add humour and provide a reality check about the images we encounter, how we view them, and how we compare them to our natural bodies, which we see unfiltered every day. By making the standard images of 'beauty' appear exaggerated, 'ugly', or ridiculous, women are liberated from these comparisons. Nicky will guide participants and offer support throughout the collage process. It promises to be a fun workshop, and participants are invited to have their work photographed before taking it home and displaying it somewhere visible as a daily reminder.
Additional information about menopause and resources for support will also be provided.
Sharon Gale is an artist, lifelong maker & until recently Director of Community Engagement at Studio KIND, a contempory art gallery in North Devon.
She writes the blog Hot Flush
"Through this Hot Flush blog, I hope to share supportive, creative, and practical resources for people experiencing menopause, especially here in North Devon and Torridge, where support can sometimes feel harder to find. I’m passionate about building conversations, sharing knowledge, and finding ways to navigate menopause with creativity, connection, and confidence.
You can find out more here www.hotflush.net/about
Part of the Get Creating season at Barnstaple Library