Longridge artist bringing people together with virtual support group through power of art

Rachel Phoenix, 33, was discharged from mental health services just over a year ago after a lifetime of suffering with her mental health.

She is now using her experiences and passion for art to encourage others to express themselves with a paintbrush with her new scheme 'Paint the Dog Yellow'.

Through virtual meetings held twice a week, Rachel hopes to give people suffering from mental illness the opportunity to meet new people and experiment with using art as a form of therapy.

Rachel said: "I am an artist and I have been into art for my whole life. I had always wanted to set up my own art group but it never came to fruition and then I realised that I wanted to set up a combination of both art and wellbeing.

"My long term goal is to be an art therapist because I really believe in the power of art and how much it can help our mental wellbeing. It gives people to chance to explore different emotions in a creative way and helps people to release what they are feeling and use their artwork to heal.

"I have struggled most of my life with mental illness and it has been very difficult for me over the years but now I am on the right side of recovery and want to help others do the same."

Despite not having any formal qualifications, Rachel founded and ran Rise and Shine Lancashire, a community support network for people battling mental health issues in the county.

And it was through her work offering guidance and support to her community that she said she knew her path was to "help people through their darkness."

She said: "I have come to realise that my passion and purpose is with mental health and supporting people on their journey to recovery whilst using my own experiences for good. The pandemic has really affected so many people, so I want to be able to reach as many people as I can.

"So many people are lonely or isolated, and coming together virtually and seeing a friendly face and making some artwork together can really help. People don't need any art skills and it isn't about creating something perfect.

"It is just a way to explore colours and styles and let people use their emotions and feelings to create whatever they want to create. I want to reach the wider community and get people on board who want to give it a try."

Recent activities included encouraging guests to create a colour wheel of various emotions, matching the different shades up to a particular feeling or experience in their lives.

Virtual meetings are held twice a week, with more information available on the Facebook or Twitter page for the group.

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