Invited to explore The Tate at St. Ives, we were delighted to indulge our creative souls at the heart of Cornish art.

Taking part in two creative workshops led by local artist Ben Sanderson, we were thrilled to reunite with the Cove Ward’s patients and staff, and to engage with community members directly affected by Cornwall’s mental health services.

Together, we dove head first into the world of Cornish history, culture and creative expression on a whistlestop tour around the museum’s Modern Art and St Ives collection.

Freely exploring, we admired pieces which conquered themes of self and societal identification, gender, social politics and humanity in coexistence with nature. Contemplating a vast depth of ideas, we marveled at the work of Winifred Nicholson’s ‘Recollect’, the iconic Francis Bacon’s ‘Seated Figure’, and overlooked the awe-inspiringly picturesque Porthmeor beach.

Given a pencil and paper each, we welcomed conversations and let each piece of artwork inspire our own doodles and free-spirited creations. We appreciated the true accessibility of art by interpreting pieces and styles in our own unique ways, picking apart the beauty behind the works which caught our eyes.

Taking inspiration, we embraced our own artistic ingenuity through the process of paper making. Experimenting with colour schemes, artistic styles and personal influences to guide the design of our pieces, it was wonderful to witness staff and patients develop their paper making skills from the previous week.

Privileged to engage with people from local Cornish communities, we crafted plentifully, connected in conversations and united over our unique and wholesome shared experience.

We would love to thank Hospital Rooms again for this eye-opening opportunity, and for all the incredible projects, workshops and daily things they do. We can’t wait for the rest of the project to unfold, and to see Ben’s transformative final piece.

Follow along for the journey across our blogs, and keep updated on our Instagram @stevalcandles for all things Hospital Rooms.