Portfolio
Rhiannon Adler
Socially engaged project work
Room 627 project with Bath Mind: January 2021 - December 2022
A 2 year project, including 6 sessions I co-facilitated within a local primary school exploring the concepts of home & change. The children used chalks, pencils and pens to create artwork, before translating their designs to textile:
The resulting textile map the children made was displayed at a key project event in The Egg theatre in Bath:
Co-facilitation during a 3 day project event at The Egg Theatre in Bath for young people, using creative interventions (painting, drawing and collective mind mapping) to explore ways they could impact their local environment :
“Rhiannon is truly a dash of magic and an absolute pleasure to work with. She is full of creative flair, intuition, understanding of what is needed and her commitment to social & wellbeing projects shines though. We have loved every step of this project guided by her calm and knowledgeable influence.”
— Ailsa Eaglestone, special projects manager for Bath Mind on the Room 627 Project
The Hug Exchange with artist Ali Brown & Compassion Revolution: November 2020 - November 2021
A 1-year digital participatory project in the covid-era which gathered together written “hug” submissions from across the globe to create an online random “hug generator”. There were over 200 hug submissions from 15 different countries, with more than 2,000 hugs received.
“Getting hugs reminds me of how much I am loved and appreciated.”
— Lethu, Hug Exchange participant
RSC’s Big Green Week: 1st October 2022
Co-facilitating a day of creative family activities to inspire kindness and compassion. This included: painting & decorating clay “worry potatoes” where worries could be written down and stored, and creating collaged badges of kindness.
“Working with Rhiannon is full of ease, understanding and flow. She listens and really understands what it is you need, then acts on it super efficiently. Rhiannon has added so much to this project bringing in her creativity and knowledge. It was a joy to work with her."
— Ali Brown, collaborating artist on projects including RSC’s Big Green Week, The Hug Exchange & The Dept of Kindness
Independently facilitated workshops: 2022 - present
Selection of participant artwork from individual sessions I have been lead facilitator on. Activities use everyday found materials for inclusivity and accessibility, such as crayons, pens, pencils & collage using magazines and newspapers.
“I loved letting go of the outcome, and having fun sticking bits of paper and doodling on it. Creativity makes me feel brighter and in the flow, trusting my instincts. It was really good to think of the forgotten ways we are creative, like making spaces to enjoy life.”
— Participant feedback from a private workshop in a women’s community exploring innate creativity through collage
6 sessions leading creative warm-ups for a small community of female creatives, using pen & pencil sensory activities to connect to bodily experience and remove creative resistance.
A session leading a childhood play activity for adults used crayons to re-kindle a childlike sense of freedom and joy in their creativity.
“Rhiannon, thank you for the session. It was exactly what I needed - a beautiful way to listen to life and tap into my inner child’s playfulness and aliveness”
— Participant feedback from a private workshop in a women’s community exploring innate creativity through collaged found poetry
Personal practice
Emotional processing and transformation
The primary purpose of this work is to connect to and express body feelings and emotions for wellbeing. I use a variety of materials in response to the emotion present, including acrylic paints, inks, pastels and pencils.
Mixed media illustration
My observational work often takes the form of simple & playful mixed media illustration exploring nature, place & domestic spaces. I tend to work in watercolour & ink.
A new, more complex illustrative voice began developing in my sketchbooks during my artist residency, which I would like to explore further. This uses a broader range of mixed media, including pastel, pencil and acrylic as well as watercolour and ink:
Mixed media collage & word play
I also experiment with various wet media processes and collage, integrating words into the pieces:
Poetry: an emerging practice
My use of words in my creative practice has deepened even further since my artist residency, when a poetry practice began to emerge:
Mixed media play & experimentation
Play is an integral part of my practice as a way to explore the different facets of creativity. I experiment with processes and materials unfamiliar to me, such as abstract painting or using everyday found materials (e.g. bubble wrap, paint rollers, sticks and credit cards).
