March 2024
Mary Caddick trained in art and design before taking a sideways step into psychotherapy and exploring the therapeutic benefits of creativity. She runs workshops in creative process and self-expression, the latest of which is planned for this month in central Bridport.
We met Mary at her home to find out about her career and what inspires her to help people connect with and develop their creativity…
The Bridge: Mary, what brought you to Bridport?
Mary Caddick: I moved here 20 years ago when my son was a baby. A friend had suggested Bridport and it seemed an ideal place to raise a child. I’d been living in Berlin, where my son was born, and in London before that. I immediately loved the West Dorset landscape and I felt at home in Bridport. It feels similar to the Essex market town where I spent the second half of my childhood.
TB: How and why did you begin to explore the crossover between art and psychotherapy?
MC: My first degree was in 3D design at Central St Martin’s in London, but at graduation I had already moved towards fine art. To support my studio work I started teaching part time in HE [higher education] and in a day centre. While teaching I soon witnessed the power of creativity. I realised I needed training to help people access and process their creativity, to keep the participant and myself safe, and I decided to train as an art therapist. My interest in the crossover between art therapy and art education continued to grow. I went on to study for a master’s degree at the Tavistock Clinic [an NHS mental health trust].
I continued teaching in art schools and built up a private art therapy practice, working mainly with artists and art students and training art therapists. My creative process workshops evolved out of my training and experience in three disciplines: teaching and learning, art practice and art therapy. I’ve been running these workshops since 1990, first in London and for the last 15 years here in Bridport.
I became passionate about improving the quality and safety of teaching and learning in art and design subjects in HE, for both the students and the practitioner tutors. Together with two colleagues I was working with at the University of East London, I developed a unique new course, the Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning Architecture. This incorporated my workshops in creative process and self-expression, and was influenced by the excellent education I received at the Tavistock.
I think being challenged by dyslexia as I am also motivated me to find ways to improve the teaching and learning experience.
TB: What do your workshops offer participants?
MC: To quote David Hockney, “I think you can’t have art without play… that allows for surprises,
the unexpected, discoveries… People tend to forget that play is serious.” My workshops offer serious play! I aim to facilitate rather than teach. I set a brief. Participants mainly work with visual arts materials, but they are free to develop their ideas in different directions – performance or text, for example. Some briefs are for individual work and some for group work. The ‘hands on’ working with materials is interspersed with discussion, which provides reflective practice and shared learning. I hold and protect the space to create a safe ‘playground’.
The course runs for five consecutive days, Monday to Friday, from 9.30am to 4pm in
the Yellow Room at the Chapel in the Garden.
TB: What materials do you use in your workshops?
MC: A wide variety of materials: paint, clay, charcoal, pastels, inks etc., and stuff from the kitchen
and the recycle bin. I supply all
the materials, which offers variety and helps participants explore materials more freely than if they bring their own.
TB: What sort of people take part?
MC: I enjoy and encourage diversity. There is so much to learn from each other. One year we had a 19-year-old and a 90-year-old in the same cohort and it was great. There are beginners, while others are trained in the arts and are looking to recharge. Some participants
have taken technique-based courses before, but are looking to explore their individual creativity further. Each group is different.
There are 10 to 12 places on each course, and I find it’s best to have at least 7 people. The group dynamic is very important to the way I work.
TB: And what do you get out of working with people in this way?
MC: I don’t think it’s tenuous to link my work with creativity to my commitment to social justice, for the individual as well as the wider community. Earlier in my life I was an independent witness for peace in Palestine and Israel and then in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. These experiences changed me, but I don’t know how much of a difference I managed to make. I’m delighted that my courses make a difference, whether that difference is a ripple or a wave.
Perhaps also, being challenged by dyslexia and struggling in conventional education, it feels good to provide an alternative environment for learning.
TB: What are your future plans? Will you be making your own art?
MC: I’m wondering about that myself! My life is less about making art, and more about living creatively, wherever that may take me. I’m still engaged in making work. My son is settled at university and there are new possibilities for me. Let’s see what happens next!
Mary’s next creative process and self-expression course runs 11–15 March, 9.30am–4pm at The Chapel in the Garden. The price is £295 + £50 for materials and refreshments (bursaries available). Contact 07557 275275 / mfcaddick22@gmail.com.