About Me

Sophie Ball

I am a Creative Arts Practitioner from Newport, Wales. Over the years, I have unearthed a passion for bringing to light overlooked or undermined health conditions, particularly asthma, as someone with this condition myself. I enjoy a curious approach towards different styles and materials when making and I use discarded objects to upcycle as much as possible. I tend to work on a larger scale, through installation, sculpture, or relief work, often incorporating a participatory element within the work. My installation including lungs made from plastic piping and balloons, where viewers were invited to experience breathing through the lungs to understand some difficulty of asthma informed by my personal experience, is an example of this.

In my facilitation practice, I am passionate about using the therapeutic arts to support mental wellbeing. My approach is person-centred; I believe in the importance of participants having a safe space where they can express themselves through art making and realise their potential. I have experience working with participants aged 10 and above, from children on the autistic spectrum to elderly adults in a residential home for example. My sessions to date have been focussing on improving, social confidence in group settings, feelings of loneliness and isolation and low mental health.