About B Creative Art
B Creative first began in 2013 with a group of local children, including my 2 daughters who wanted to try different arts and crafts. My aim was to create an informal environment where children could explore their creative talents through a variety of art and craft activities with opportunities to develop their own style and ideas.
Following on from the regular classes, B Creative then extended its activities outside of my home studio to become involved with local schools, art events and community art installations.
More recently I have taken the concept of B Creative and developed activities for adults to benefit from the therepeutic nature of art or simply with to tap into their 'inner child'!
About Belinda
My name is Belinda Poon, I qualified as a Primary school teacher in 1992, specialising in Creative Arts.
I have taught in a variety of City and County schools in Birmingham and Nottingham and held the art co-odinator’s role in many of the schools.
I have been involved in many community-based projects such as the Lady Bay Arts Trail where I helped run workshops with children at the local school culminating in a public exhibition. I also facilitated workshops during the weekend for the children attending the Arts Trail.
Through the various activities of B Creative, my aim is always to guide participants to explore their enjoyment of art and craft, enabling them to experiment and push themselves outside their comfort zone. This can be applied to all ages; from Pre-School through to Pensioners!
My Artwork
I am an artist intrigued and energised by the narrative details found in the patterns and landscape of ‘the every day’. My inspiration is drawn from natures diverse structures in flora through to derelict buildings and the wider built environment. My artwork comprises of a collaboration of photographs I have taken, experimentation with watercolours and other mixed media, printing and drawing. I have a curiosity to discover my own way of working, developing my unique practice. The process as much as the finished piece really suits the scrapbooking technique. I often make a start and add to the different pages over a period of time. It is a very mindful activity, it also organises my photographs and helps me keep a journal of memories.
I love to encourage innocent and informative investigations into art and I invite others joining me in workshops or art sessions to be inquisitive, observant and instinctive. I find it important to sometimes work with visual structures in place but other times working in a more chaotic and child like way being more spontaneous.
I believe creativity needs to be practiced and exercised so aspirations can move in directions that feel comfortable, fun and not intimidating.
I have been very lucky to travel to some amazing places that inspire and feeds my creativity; exploring colour, line, pattern and texture and I pass on these skills to others in a nurturing and calm working space.
Photography
As well as taking photos of landscapes and plants, I have a fascination with dereliction, finding beauty in forgotten places.
Watercolour Painting and Mixed Media
I enjoy experimenting with watercolour paints, inks and pastels to create abstract
designs and more detailed botanical images.
Scrapbooking
I use a combination of my photographs, printing, drawing and other collected art works to create scrapbook pages. I enjoy using colour, pattern and composition to create unique pages of art work.
Mosaic and Felting
Creating mosaics allows me to explore colour and pattern, whilst felting is a very therapeutic and sensory craft with surprising outcomes.
Testimonials
"Alice loves 'Artclub', it's her favourite part of the week. Sometimes if she's had a difficult day she tells me that it will all be okay because she'll be going to see Belinda for her art session. The environment is calm, supportive and nurturing, and I think she finds it therapeutic. It's like a spa day for creative children, and we both love it."
- Hayley Lang
"It was a pleasure working alongside Belinda who facilitated several community workshops to create a Butterfly Art Installation. Residents each created a unique hand-crafted paper butterfly as a symbol of covid recovery, change and growth, Covid-19 affected people in many different ways and through the Art workshops, Belinda helped capture residents' thoughts, personal experiences and stories. Thank you Belinda, such an inspirational and positive experience for everyone involved and for some the first step to building community confidence."
- Katrina Campbell-Coupland, Regional Community Coordinator, Metropolitan Housing