Project Title: 40 Handcrafted Objects, 3 Communities, 1 Maker

Sit with soup and me

And we can nourish our bodies.

Sit around the fire with me

And we can drink our tea.

Sit in rest with me

After our hard work is done.

Sit with me stranger

And let us eat and get to know one another.

Sit in sanctuary with me

And we shall find acceptance together.

– Original Poem

Communities are built up of family we have, friends we make and strangers we meet.

My work circles around eating together and sitting together as a means of connection. I have sought out different communities in the hopes of celebrating them through craft that is then given back to the communities that inspired them.

The idea began with how grief brings our communities closer together. I then followed other forms of community.

The Three Communities:
The Gardener Café – I made 30 personalised soup mugs for this pay as you feel café which runs on waste food.

Cuckfield Community Woodland – I made two woodland chairs on a log with wood from the woodland to highlight the seamless work the management team does.

My Family – I made a bench to celebrate our garden as a sanctuary for the community that was made strong by grief after we lost my brother.