This week at Pulling Together we looked at last week’s work sheet and discussed “What my body image/art says about me.” Taking mehndi as an example we decided that it was an artistic display of our culture and South Asian heritage as well as some women wearing it to follow the hadith of the Islamic faith. A wedding ring is a western tradition that members of the group have adopted to show their marital status but it could also be seen as a symbol of conformity. Wearing a Mangal Sutra or Sindoor are also outward symbols of marriage and often seen as a very personal and emotional way to adorn ourselves.

This week at Pulling Together we continued with how we adorn ourselves and what that says about us.

This sheet was entitled “In what ways do we decorate our bodies to create the perfect body?” We labelled the body with as many things as possible we could think of. These included permanent alterations including breast implants and nose jobs; temporary alterations including makeup and jewellery fake nails, clothing; cultural adornments including henna and bindis. Then we created a colour code to represent the words selected in exercise two and then place coloured dots next to the labelling words. Several different colours could be used for each word if appropriate.

e.g,Nose piercing- fashion, culture, religion

Plastic surgery (boob job) – fashion, health, personal and emotional

Clothes- functional, political, culture, fashion, medical

This exercise was a good way to highlight that body adornments have multiple functions and it helped to challenge the group’s perceptions on certain areas.

This week we continued with our Body Art: A Mark of Identity project. This week we looked further into the way we adorn ourselves and what we want to say about ourselves. Collecting words about the way we see ourselves and other and making a montage of them. Giving us a base to work on in the next few weeks

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This week at Pulling Together we saw the group return for the first time this. After a quick catch up with each other of how we spent the holidays we started our new and exciting project. Body Art: A Mark of Identity is a six week project looking at how we see ourselves and what we use to adorn ourselves.

This week at Pulling Together we have completed our Taste of Asian Arts project and we all agree that it has been an extremely enjoyable project. Using simple techniques we have learned about and created Asian Arts and adapt them to enjoy in our busy lives. One of the members was upset that she was unable to apply henna but using the tattoos and henna cones on candles meant that she could practice her technique. Thank you to Hafsa who is able to apply henna and sent us the images of her applying it to her family members. We look forward to having a session when restrictions are lifted to showcase Hafsa’s talent and display the work created in the last 7 weeks. Thank you to GMCVO for funding the project and to everyone that took part.

Dr Farrah Sheikh, at Delamere Medical Centre in Stretford, urges all eligible adults to come forward for their Covid-19 booster jab. As Dr Sheikh explains, eligible patients registered with a Trafford GP should have received a text, or you can book via https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/, call 119 or visit a walk-in clinic: https://www.traffordccg.nhs.uk/Coronavirus/COVID-19-vaccine-walk-in-clinics-in-Trafford.aspx

We have continued with our Taste of Asian Arts project and have been working through the packs that we sent home for the group members. Seeing the wonderful work that has been created is always a joy. Hopefully the members will use what they have created in their homes and to give as gifts to help promote Pulling Together.

This week at Pulling Together we have continued with our Taste of Asian Arts project and created shadow puppets. Using these and other puppets created by the group we hope to create stories whenever the group is allowed to meet up again with restrictions.

This week at Pulling Together we celebrated the end of our Discussions, Debates and Dilemmas project. Thank you to The Community Fund for funding this interesting and informative project. Due to the current Covid restrictions we sent out bags of treats to the homes of all those that took part in the project. We also printed out the word cloud for members to remember this wonderful project. Thank you to all the members for attending the sessions and to the management committee for all their support.

This week at Pulling Together we have started to create our Rangoli designs and Diwali lamps. Using adhesive designs has made it easier for the younger members to produce quality patterns and those that were confident in their drawing used household groceries such as dhaals, rice and spices to make larger designs.