Here is an updated version of our poster for The Curveball night!
Thursday 18 November 2010
Monday 8 November 2010
Thursday 14 October 2010
Wednesday 13 October 2010
Dice at Eastleigh Carnival 2010
Creatures from Outer Space! 2nd Prize for the Dice Group at the Carnival.
Costumes all made by the group from recycled materials.
Wednesday 22 September 2010
Monday 6 September 2010
Finances down - but plans are afoot!
After a look at the finances of the group, spirits were a little low as it seems that there's not a lot left in the kitty. In the meeting a few options were discussed to stretch the pennies out and to raise some more.
The main thing is to keep the DICE group going whilst we continue to apply for funding and wait to hear about recent applications!
If you want to help, here are some ideas....
If you can afford to donate any dosh, please do so either online here: http://keepthedicerolling10.eventbrite.com/or by sending a cheque made out to DICE c/o Malcolm Wilson, Area Service Manager, Mencap, Admiral House, 43 High Street, Hants, PO16 7BQ or care of The Art House
If you can volunteer to help with a session in the next 7 weeks on a Monday between 10.30 and 12 in Eastleigh, that would be great too and would give you the chance to meet the group!
Invite your friends to be friends of DICE on facebook! DICE needs lots of friends!
If you have any ideas for fundraising including events we could run, people or groups we could approach or silly stunts we could pull (oh dear) please drop us a line.
If you are part of a group who may consider doing a fundraiser - maybe your colleagues at work will dress up, or have a coffee morning?
If you are a person who likes to bake, let us know so that we can contact you when we've a date and location for a cake sale!
If you are an artist or craftsperson and would consider donating a piece to an art & craft raffle, please let us know!
Thanks for your continued support of the group and we will keep you posted! Please pass this plea on to anyone you think may be willing to help.
Wednesday 25 August 2010
Been a bad blogger!
I've been shocking at blogging lately so here is a quick update!
The group took part in the Eastleigh Carnival on 14th August and won second prize in our category, with our mighty fine 'aliens and robots' theme. Mags from MENCAP showed his darker side by scaring many small children with his costume.
Plans are now afoot to make a series of DICE films, in the be-kind-rewind style, using the robot costumes for inspiration.
This week we did printmaking with some fantastic results!
The group took part in the Eastleigh Carnival on 14th August and won second prize in our category, with our mighty fine 'aliens and robots' theme. Mags from MENCAP showed his darker side by scaring many small children with his costume.
Plans are now afoot to make a series of DICE films, in the be-kind-rewind style, using the robot costumes for inspiration.
This week we did printmaking with some fantastic results!
Tuesday 23 March 2010
Easter eggs!
This week's session was decorating Easter eggs in preparation for the egg hunt (weather permitting) in the park next week!The group really got into this activity, even though the eggs this week were not chocolate :)
Still no news on the lottery funding, but the group have been made one of Waitrose's 'Good Causes' for May, so that will bring some much-needed pennies.
Monday 15 March 2010
Monday 8 March 2010
Staying positive!
The meeting today was well attended and the group are still very keen for DICE to continue. We have our fingers crossed for the lottery fund application, which we should get an answer on any day now. Other plans discussed were having a table at the tabletop sale at Wells Place, approaching local businesses (which Adam is working on at the moment) for donations and looking for free venues where the group could meet.
In the meantime, I've been booked for the remaining sessions until 31st May, so it looks like I have a programme to plan! The group were keen to have photographs of the activities we'd be doing, and simple written explainations - so I'd better get cracking :)
Sunday 7 March 2010
Cross fingers (and toes)
For the lottery grant - answer expected any day now!
In the meantime, we've set up a donation page via the Art House, to 'keep the D.I.C.E rolling, and have already raised £100 for the group.
In the meantime, we've set up a donation page via the Art House, to 'keep the D.I.C.E rolling, and have already raised £100 for the group.
Monday 1 March 2010
Today's session and plans for Easter Egg hunt
Well, it was a lovely sunny day so there were only a few of us today (I think the others may have headed off to the park. We took along some juggling kit, games (including skittles and kerplunk), music, hula hoop and poi.
Carol absolutely rocks at skittles and Kerplunk! We should maybe start a team!
We also agreed a programme for the next few sessions, including another carnival day (when hopefully there will be more people!), Easter Egg painting, drama and another music session. We're also going to do a short one-hour percussion session next week before the meeting :)
The new 'Disco Greats' CD went down well with club users, not so well with Stuart who I think thought it was a bit lame!
After the session, Bik and I headed down to Eastleigh Lakeside Park to check it out as a possible venue, if we run out of money for room hire (the hall at Wells Place Centre costs £40 per session to hire) - or for occasional sessions at least when the weather is fine.
The lakes are lovely and can be reached by bus, I hope the group will be up for this - there is an indoor room available to hire, with hot water & cups so we can make coffees.The plan at the moment (subject to approval by the group next week!) is to hold an Easter Egg hunt & picnic there at the end of March, so that everyone can see what they think of using the space down there for some sessions in the summer.
We also are looking into the possibility of joining the monthly 'table top sale' at Wells Place Centre to raise some funds.
http://www.tabletops.webs.com/
Monday 15 February 2010
Chinese new year - DICE Club learning Chinese writing :)
Well, when the group woke up this morning, I bet none of them imagined that they would learn to write their names in Chinese today!
Today is the first day of the Chinese 'Year of the Tiger' and I looked up everybody's name online here http://www.chinese-tools.com/nameshttp://www.chinese-tools.com/names
and printed them off. Of course there is no such language as 'Chinese' so I'm guessing it's Mandarin, although the website doesn't actually specify, which is a shame.
The fun of the session is that NOBODY can do this writing, so there are no experts.
Ways of working were varied from tracing the characters to copying them, or even making uo our own! I also brought along tiger pictures, the character for 'Tiger' and some others like 'Friendship' 'Luck' 'Sky' 'Peace' etc.
Everyone had a go first with marker pens, then with pen and ink, some copied the tiger picture & some traced it or used it as a collage. By the end, everyone had managed to copy some Chinese characters, I was really proud (as it's by no means an easy thing to do!).
Today is the first day of the Chinese 'Year of the Tiger' and I looked up everybody's name online here http://www.chinese-tools.com/nameshttp://www.chinese-tools.com/names
and printed them off. Of course there is no such language as 'Chinese' so I'm guessing it's Mandarin, although the website doesn't actually specify, which is a shame.
The fun of the session is that NOBODY can do this writing, so there are no experts.
Ways of working were varied from tracing the characters to copying them, or even making uo our own! I also brought along tiger pictures, the character for 'Tiger' and some others like 'Friendship' 'Luck' 'Sky' 'Peace' etc.
Everyone had a go first with marker pens, then with pen and ink, some copied the tiger picture & some traced it or used it as a collage. By the end, everyone had managed to copy some Chinese characters, I was really proud (as it's by no means an easy thing to do!).
Tuesday 2 February 2010
Monday 1 February 2010
Today's session & meeting
Today we did drawing from objects - I brought along a lot of colourful toys, plastic fruit & flowers, fridge magnets, ornaments etc plus some big sheets of coloured sugar paper, pastels & pens and the group drew from what they liked.
As usual I'm blown away by the scope of what people at DICE draw - from abstracts to realistic depictions of what they see.
The meeting this afternoon focussed a lot on where the funding for the group is going to come from, as it's now very low. Several ideas were put forward, applications are being put in and I hope that these lovely folks will get the cash they need to keep the Dice rolling. The best thing about this group is how user-led it is, which makes it fun, always surprising and very informal - also very empowering for the people who use the drop-in.
I've got some ideas to get blog entries from those who don't use computers, so that it's not just me going on all the time, too :)
Highlights of the day - the huge smile on Mark's face when he arrived and saw Bik, Laura singing Abba songs, Mark O's undersea drawing and the group's contributions to the meeting (which makes meetings a lot more fun than they usually are!).
As usual I'm blown away by the scope of what people at DICE draw - from abstracts to realistic depictions of what they see.
The meeting this afternoon focussed a lot on where the funding for the group is going to come from, as it's now very low. Several ideas were put forward, applications are being put in and I hope that these lovely folks will get the cash they need to keep the Dice rolling. The best thing about this group is how user-led it is, which makes it fun, always surprising and very informal - also very empowering for the people who use the drop-in.
I've got some ideas to get blog entries from those who don't use computers, so that it's not just me going on all the time, too :)
Highlights of the day - the huge smile on Mark's face when he arrived and saw Bik, Laura singing Abba songs, Mark O's undersea drawing and the group's contributions to the meeting (which makes meetings a lot more fun than they usually are!).
Thursday 28 January 2010
Post by Mags
Hi all,
It's Mags here. i am Area Service Manager for Royal Mencap Society in Eastleigh. I have never blogged before, so this is a new experience for me. I have been involved with the DICE club from before it opened and it has been a very exciting journey.
Firstly, a big thank you to Jani and Bick for their enthusiasm and hard work in the art sessions that they run, as well as setting this blog site up
The funding that is in place for the club runs out in May, but there are a number of funding applications being made at the moment to continue this group.
I am due to present one of these funding applications at this Monday's LIG (Local Implementation Group)This will be for the venue, sessional workers and a facilitator (and for those that have been involved with DICE for a long time will know, this has been an area that has caused a few challenges for a while now).
This funding application is for the LDDF (learning disability Development Fund) and they are currently funding the group at the moment, so I am very hopeful.
We have a DICE meeting this Monday at 2pm at Wells place, to discuss the future of the club - and the more the merrier for this, so hope to see you then. I will be able to feed back how the application went - fingers crossed
Bye for now
Mags
28 January 2010 09:32
It's Mags here. i am Area Service Manager for Royal Mencap Society in Eastleigh. I have never blogged before, so this is a new experience for me. I have been involved with the DICE club from before it opened and it has been a very exciting journey.
Firstly, a big thank you to Jani and Bick for their enthusiasm and hard work in the art sessions that they run, as well as setting this blog site up
The funding that is in place for the club runs out in May, but there are a number of funding applications being made at the moment to continue this group.
I am due to present one of these funding applications at this Monday's LIG (Local Implementation Group)This will be for the venue, sessional workers and a facilitator (and for those that have been involved with DICE for a long time will know, this has been an area that has caused a few challenges for a while now).
This funding application is for the LDDF (learning disability Development Fund) and they are currently funding the group at the moment, so I am very hopeful.
We have a DICE meeting this Monday at 2pm at Wells place, to discuss the future of the club - and the more the merrier for this, so hope to see you then. I will be able to feed back how the application went - fingers crossed
Bye for now
Mags
28 January 2010 09:32
Monday 25 January 2010
Monday 24/01/10
Today Adam & Mark had a cunning plan to make a banner for the MENCAP open day, so we worked with collage, sticky letters and brightly coloured card to answer what the service users liked about DICE and (for those who are with MENCAP) what they like about the support they receive from MENCAP.
Quite good attendance today, after it being a little quiet for the past few weeks (probably due to bad weather). It would be good to get more people along though!
Adam has done a fab job of getting together some art materials, which means lots of sorting out of the art box (which gets awfully full) and the ever-present issue of what to do with the work people do at the club, as often they don't want to take it home.
I think I feel an exhibition coming on....... I'd thought of doing one at The Art House, but wonder if it wouldn't be better to do one in Eastleigh where the club users could drop in and see it anytime.
Quite good attendance today, after it being a little quiet for the past few weeks (probably due to bad weather). It would be good to get more people along though!
Adam has done a fab job of getting together some art materials, which means lots of sorting out of the art box (which gets awfully full) and the ever-present issue of what to do with the work people do at the club, as often they don't want to take it home.
I think I feel an exhibition coming on....... I'd thought of doing one at The Art House, but wonder if it wouldn't be better to do one in Eastleigh where the club users could drop in and see it anytime.
Monday 18 January 2010
Monday 18th January 2010
What a fun session! Bik and I trundled in at about ten with a load of instruments. At first the group didn't look very sure, Monday mornings are not the best time to propose a noisy activity :)
Stuart Jebbitt was there, it's his very last week with the Community Builders project and I just can't quite believe it's been three years! The DICE group was set up with the support of the project and is still going well, although looking for some other funding sources now.
We started off having a cuppa and painting some cards with watercolours, which Stuart had brought along. Finally Bik couldn't stand it any longer and started drumming, which of course got everyone up gradually.
I was a bit worried about the noise once we got going, but apparently the staff at Wells Place quite enjoyed our musical offerings!
The group played around with improvisation, making rain noises, playing along with a motherbeat, adding some piano and recorder and finally singing as many Beatles songs as we could remember, and half the soundtrack of 'My Fair Lady'!
A great session, this group really do make my Monday - so many people I know hate going to work on Monday mornings, but this is a great way to start the week. The group have been so good at engaging with whatever madcap scheme we come up with for the session.
Am thinking of starting a DICE band as these folks have some serious rhythm (may leave the recorder out though...... enthusiastic recorder playing is a bit ear splitting!).
Stuart Jebbitt was there, it's his very last week with the Community Builders project and I just can't quite believe it's been three years! The DICE group was set up with the support of the project and is still going well, although looking for some other funding sources now.
We started off having a cuppa and painting some cards with watercolours, which Stuart had brought along. Finally Bik couldn't stand it any longer and started drumming, which of course got everyone up gradually.
I was a bit worried about the noise once we got going, but apparently the staff at Wells Place quite enjoyed our musical offerings!
The group played around with improvisation, making rain noises, playing along with a motherbeat, adding some piano and recorder and finally singing as many Beatles songs as we could remember, and half the soundtrack of 'My Fair Lady'!
A great session, this group really do make my Monday - so many people I know hate going to work on Monday mornings, but this is a great way to start the week. The group have been so good at engaging with whatever madcap scheme we come up with for the session.
Am thinking of starting a DICE band as these folks have some serious rhythm (may leave the recorder out though...... enthusiastic recorder playing is a bit ear splitting!).
Introduction
Right, well I am Jani and I facilitate arts activities for the DICE group and have done some since summer 2008.
The group meet every Monday in Eastleigh at Wells Place Centre and we've done just about everything from collage to still life, to painting a great big UV reactive banner for a club night!
DICE is a drop-in centre for adults with learning disabilities, which meets every Monday from 10.30 - 3pm in Eastleigh.
The club has been running since February 2008 and is run by the people who use it, with the support of Mencap, Southampton Scrapstore Community Builders Project and The Art House Southampton CIC.
They are open to over 18s with learning disabilities in the Eastleigh and Southampton area and welcome new people!
The group meet every Monday in Eastleigh at Wells Place Centre and we've done just about everything from collage to still life, to painting a great big UV reactive banner for a club night!
DICE is a drop-in centre for adults with learning disabilities, which meets every Monday from 10.30 - 3pm in Eastleigh.
The club has been running since February 2008 and is run by the people who use it, with the support of Mencap, Southampton Scrapstore Community Builders Project and The Art House Southampton CIC.
They are open to over 18s with learning disabilities in the Eastleigh and Southampton area and welcome new people!
New year & time to BLOG
The Community Builders Project does have some older blogs for DICE, but I thought it would be nice to carry it on fro DICE now that the CB project is coming to an end.
Previous blogs are here
http://cbproject.blogspot.com/2008/09/double-wammy-at-eastleigh-carnival-2.html
Previous blogs are here
http://cbproject.blogspot.com/2008/09/double-wammy-at-eastleigh-carnival-2.html
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