About
Express | Connect | Play
Our ColourPlay Ethos
At ColourPlay we aim to provide a play space which uses art as a means for open ended play to promote a sense of wellbeing within our community by encouraging self-expression, building meaningful connections with others and embracing a sense of playfulness.
Express
ColourPlay aims to bring Colour and enrichment into people's lives through art, play and to encourage connection with others by providing family activities in a social setting.
Art has often been shown to be beneficial to our mental health, something which our team is passionate about supporting and nurturing. ColourPlay aims to break down some of the barriers which prevent people from freely accessing the arts and all the benefits it brings.
Whether it’s the cost of investing in materials, time constraints preventing you from committing to a weekly class, or lack of confidence from feeling that there should be a recognisable “end product”, ColourPlay aims to break down these barriers and make art accessible to everyone. We can all be creative and sometimes its good to do things just for the sake of doing it!
Connect
Social connection is another huge factor in people's health and well-being. We are social mammals built for relationships and community. If the recent pandemic taught us anything, it's that isolation can be devastating to people's mental health. That’s why social connection is at the heart of what we do. We aim to structure our play sessions to enable groups and families to come together and play, meet new people, and try new things. Because these are not adult-led sessions, families can come together, and each finds something to do regardless of age or stage!
Play
“Play is the work of the child” – Maria Montessori
It's fairly well known now how vital play is to child development and that open-ended play, in particular, encourages creativity and imagination, supports language development and nurtures a positive attitude about learning. But given that play is also known to reduce stress, promote problem-solving and foster connection, we believe there’s no upper limit on the benefit of play! ColourPlay offers unstructured sessions which allow participants to explore the resources at their own pace and in their own way, meaning that everyone can join in whether they are a seasoned artist or haven’t picked up a crayon since childhood; ColourPlay aims to create an environment where everyone feels inspired to unleash their inner creativity.
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” – George Bernard Shaw
Hi, I'm Feona!
My background is in early years education, working with children aged 0-12 in private nurseries. I also have experience volunteering with various youth organisations, including spending a year as a youth development worker with Project Scotland and running a music and drama group for children aged 6-16.
After taking time out to focus on starting my own family, I found myself volunteering with NCT as a breastfeeding peer supporter, and with another local business as a babywearing peer supporter. Both roles saw me working closely with local families, offering social support and connection alongside practical advice and support.
Connection and creativity have always been vital to me. In all my work and volunteering roles and as a parent, I have always relied on a support network of peers and colleagues and equally loved being able to provide that support for others. None of us go through life in isolation; we always need each other, so building community is something I’m really passionate about!
As a kid, I always loved being creative! I was the kid mixing potions in the bathroom sink, getting up to my elbows in paint and doodling on my bedroom wall! At one point, I dreamed of being an artist…or a potter…or an illustrator….! Unfortunately, I wasn’t that great a student, and having to drop higher art made me think that maybe it wasn’t for me after all!
Then, through my work in my early years and with my own kids, I gradually began to remember the joy of art just for the sake of doing it! And it got me thinking…what if there was somewhere you could go and just PLAY with the art stuff? Where it didn’t matter what you did or whether there was necessarily an end product? Where no one was telling you how to do it or grading your efforts? Somewhere, you could just relax and follow the flow of your creativity. Somewhere, you could mix potions, Get up to your elbows in paint and draw on the walls…
ColourPlay and The Community
Making art accessible and creating community is at the heart of what we do. As a not-for-profit organisation, we are here for the community, and so our profits are directed back to the community. Whether that’s through funding community events, making sessions available to people who otherwise cannot access art activities, or donating profits to charitable organisations within our community.
East Dunbartonshire has an active arts and creative community, and ColourPlay aims to support that. While we are doing our thing with open-ended play, we aim to link with other organisations and champion all artistic endeavours in our community. We work with other organisations and signpost to other businesses where appropriate.