With no prior arts initiatives having taken place at Airedale, we were thrilled to receive widespread enthusiasm for the project, and to receive a number of bookings ahead of time for our stamp making workshops. Additionally, I was able to connect with a number of clinical staff members from different areas of specialty who were excited to either show me around their work area or to sit for a chat and a portrait. 

 

When thinking about what medium to use for our creative workshops, I wanted to choose something with a low barrier to entry, which would be enjoyable without ever having tried it before, and which wouldn't need too much time commitment, in order for as many busy folks as possible to have the opportunity to join in. I felt stamp making made for a great beginner friendly process to teach. With a little psychological distance from the participants' carving work and the printed outcome - i.e., the stamp is carved, but many outcomes can then be created on paper, with different colours and textures with every print - as compared to drawing, for example, I felt this process worked well as a beginner-friendly, low-pressure way to play and explore, even if participants only had a fifteen minutes to spare.

 

In weeks preceding our project's launch date, I created a landing page to house project information and a bookings platform for our stamp making workshops, and worked with the hospital charity's team to send out a series of email memos to inform staff of our plans and create a bit of hype around the idea ahead of time.