 | |
You are here: Home > Workshops
Valentine offers workshops and training in worship, faith-sharing, and
personal spirituality, as well as in other creative arts such as movement and
dance, mask-making, encaustic, and work with colours - and regularly combines
all these things in weekend retreats and workshops for local groups and on a
wider basis.
Valentine also runs story telling workshops. For more
information about these please see the Story Telling
Workshops Page.
Wherever you live, if this sounds as if it could be for you, don't hesitate
to be in touch. Valentine is a regular world traveller, and with sufficient
notice can easily schedule a visit with your group.
 | In the community. (often through local authority social work departments)
Valentine regularly works with children, youth and adults who face physical and
mental challenges. Because clowning is holistic, using all the senses, it can
by-pass the cognitive blockage that many experience, and become a gateway to new
learning and renewed confidence. Olive has particular insights into the needs of
disadvantaged children and youths: for more than ten years she served as a
chairperson of the Children's Hearing System in her native Scotland (the
equivalent of family courts in other countries). |
| In schools. Valentine can integrate practical skills with other stages of
learning that a child may be exploring. Even a simple skill like juggling
facilitates learning in mathematics - whether simple counting or complex graph
work tracking the course taken by the balls. It develops eye/hand coordination,
encourages social interaction and instills the discipline of practice and persistence.
Unlike other forms of learning, clowning has a built-in experiential component:
teenagers who may be very noisy, even boisterous, will find a new outlet for
their energies when they try to balance on a plank of wood or juggle, or walk on
stilts. |
| In healthcare. The benefits of humour in terms of healing have been well
documented in recent years, something that has been highlighted through the
movie Patch Adams in which Robin Williams plays a doctor who transforms the
entire ethos of a hospital through clowning. At a time when healthcare
professionals all over the world are realizing the importance of spiritual care,
the kind of clowning offered by Valentine can open up completely new
possibilities and prospects - combining sensitive, caring approaches to people
with a concern for the deeper meanings of life and death. Care homes, hospices
and hospitals of all types are waking up to the benefits of this kind of
interaction with residents and patients. |
| In the church. The Holy Fool has played a significant part in
traditional liturgies since the Middle Ages, and historical evidence for the use
of clowning in Christian ministry can be traced as far back as the 4th century.
Valentine offers a unique perspective on the Christian message for today's
people - of all ages - and can make new spiritual connections with those who are
searching for meaning in a post-modern culture. A clown workshop that then leads
into participation in worship can create a new and spiritually empowering
experience for everyone involved. Valentine and Barni have both featured in
churches of all denominations, and all over the world. Barni has developed
special presentations of two of the most central Christian stories: the birth of
the Christ child; and the Eucharist, where bread and wine are offered in
transformational moments emerging from the experience of suffering and
oppression. All of this has a deep theological grounding within the Christian
tradition. Valentine (as Olive!) has a Master of Theology degree, and is an
adjunct professor in the School of Theology at Fuller Seminary,
California. |
| At conferences. Every conference or retreat needs someone to reflect on what
is happening, and offer feedback to the participants. A resident clown not only
notices things that others might miss, but can offer a unique style of creative
feedback that will make a real difference to the experience. Your delegates can
be guaranteed to pay serious attention, rather than moving off before the final
plenary! And the humour of a clown can help to defuse what might otherwise be
awkward conversations. Seeing ourselves as others do can be the first step on a
journey to renewal and transformation. |
|
